The Mickey And Donald Show Ends

When he reached the top of his bowling mark, Allan Donald would turn around,narrow his eyes and throw a piercing glare at the batsman getting ready to facehim. He would then bend forward just a tad and start running, from side-on,resembling a horse in stride. As the canter turned into a gallop, his face,smeared with zinc cream for protection against the sun and dramatic effect,would contort, accentuating the cheekbones on his lean face. As he arrived atthe wicket, he would leap high, as if to surmount a hurdle in a dressage.Suspended in mid-air, time would pause, for a spell short enough not to breakthe delivery motion but long enough to remind the batsman, and us, of the showof hostility coming. Still with both feet off the ground, he would slip in asecond look to the batsman, and cock his wrist. The feet would land with a thudand the arm would hurl a hard, round ball like a guided missile.

All this while, at point, a diminutive, fresh-faced man would be moving instealthily, ready to pounce on anything that would come off the batsman’saccoutrements. When the bowler started his run-up, Jonty Rhodes would startwalking briskly towards the wicket, head bent, hands and feet apart, eyesfocused on the action in front of him, narrowing the angle for the batsman. Whenthe ball reached the batsman, Rhodes would stand erect, his feet would do aquick shimmy, anticipate the direction and speed of the ball, and dart acrossthe ground or take flight to get it into the safety of those seemingly large andextremely dependable palms.

Sometimes, batsmen would spoon up or slash hard at a Donald delivery inRhodes’s direction, who would, more often than not, pluck it out forsafe-keeping. Glee writ large on his face, Rhodes would make a dash towardsDonald, who, following through in his delivery stride, would already be half-wayto him. Arms held aloft, unbridled joy on their faces, they would converge andlock arms for a high-five and bodies for an unbashful embrace. As would the restof the team.

It all happened in the space of seconds. It was a burst of action that was asexciting as any seen on the cricket field ever. It was the kind of celebrationthat had the power to make a non-partisan fan sit up and say, "this is abeautiful game". It sure was when Donald and Rhodes were on song.

As two of the most distinctive characters to have graced the sport bid adieu,they leave behind enduring memories and legacies that are distinctive yetstrikingly similar. Both Donald and Rhodes were among the first flag-bearers forSouth African cricket after the country’s re-admittance into the internationalfold in 1991. Both were strong team men, who blossomed under the collectiveleadership of captain Hansie Cronje and coach Bob Woolmer. Both were members offour successive World Cup teams haunted by a condition called ‘heartbreak’.The despair of painful World Cup exits notwithstanding, Donald and Rhodes willbe -- and should be -- remembered for more, such was the impact they made onmodern cricket.

Donald snared 330 scalps in 72 Test matches (at an average of 22.25,including 20 five-wicket hauls) and 272 in 164 one-day internationals. He couldhave had more in Test cricket, probably a 100 more, but he was a victim ofcircumstances. The apartheid-enforced boycott on sporting contact with SouthAfrica meant Donald’s formative years were spent in rebel tours and playingfirst-class cricket in South Africa and England.

When he eventually got a chance to play the big league in 1991, Donald was25, and he had missed a good two to three years of top-flight cricket. Still,compared to fellow countrymen like Barry Richards and Greame Pollock, Donaldwould have a good, lengthy spell of international cricket.

Donald was a man of spells. Like most quickies, he would work his way into aspell. But unlike most quickies, who tend to flatten out after five or six overs,he could keep coming at batsmen for eight, nine, ten overs. Captains like tounleash their best bowler at the best bats the opposing side has to offer. Likea big game hunter, Donald relished this challenge. And such was his prowess, hedelivered with remarkable consistency, in a manner quite like McGrath doestoday.

A run-down the list of Donald’s top dismissals makes for pretty impressivereading: Mike Atherton (11 times), Mark Waugh (10), Alec Stewart (9), SaeedAnwar (7), Brian Lara (6). Tendulkar, who has been scalped five times by Donald(the most number of times a bowler has claimed the champion batsman in Tests),averages 12 against Donald in Test cricket! The only batsman who has playedagainst him for a sustained period of time and got some measure of him has beenSteve Waugh, who averages a phenomenal 115 against Donald.

These numbers mask the drama that surrounded these confrontations, as theywere some of those rare moments when in a team sport like cricket, individualswent head-on and played to sub-plots that lived up to their billing. They hidemany a memorable battle that Donald waged in Test cricket, of which, he won someand lost some.

He bowled some torrid spells to the Waugh brothers (like Sydney 1998). Forsome reason, he seemed to reserve his best for Michael Atherton, the mainstay ofthe English batting for most of the nineties. Of the 32 times Atherton wasdismissed against South Africa, Donald accounted for 11.

The most memorable of these duels was the fourth Test of the 1998 seriesplayed at Trent Bridge. Chasing 247 for victory, which would level the series,England lost opener Mark Butcher with the score on 40 during the last session ofthe fourth day’s play. As Nasser Hussain joined Atherton, a fired-up Donaldstarted to crank it up.

Coming round the wicket, he peppered Atherton with fast, short balls. Onenicked the glove, but wasn’t given. It enraged Donald, who started bowlingquicker and threw in some verbals for good measure. Another nick of Hussain wasspilled by Boucher. It further enraged Donald. During a hostile spell of nineovers, of sustained swing and seam bowling, he beat the bat countless times.Several times the ball hissed past Atherton’s face, who continued to sport histrademark wry grin, or cannoned into his body. Atherton withstood the assault,survived the day, sealed the match the next day, and England went on to win theseries 2-1.

It was another heartbreaking interlude for South Africa, which has otherwisesteadily marched to the top echelons of world cricket. And one of the reasonsfor that forward march was Jonty Rhodes, with his spectacular fielding, niftybatting and peppy presence.

Rhodes, the proverbial jack-in-the-box, redefined the art of fielding, andmade it into the art form that it today. He was, and probably still is, the onlyplayer in the world who could draw fans on the strength of the beauty andartistry of his fielding alone. A banner that often made its appearance ingrounds across the world summed it up: "Water covers 70 per cent of theearth, Jonty covers the rest." Countless times he proved why it wasn’t anexaggeration, with near-impossible run saves and catches.

Much was made of the South Africans when they travelled Down Under for the1992 World Cup. In a team still finding its feet in the international arena, alot of attention centred around two men in particular, for the reputation theywere said to be tugging along: Donald, for his express pace, and Rhodes, becauseword was that he was the best fielder in the business. Rhodes imprinted himselfin the minds of the cricketing public with that swooping, now immortalised, runout of a lumbering Inzamam.

About a year later, in India, he would win a one-day match with his fieldingalone. Playing against the West Indies in the Hero Cup at the Brabourne Stadium,the last time an international match would be played here, Rhodes snared fivecatches, including three half-chances, absolute stunners. Such was the manner inwhich he had managed to endear himself to the crowd that mid-way through thatperformance, they were chanting his name. How common is that?

Rhodes charm lay as much in what he did as in the way he did it. He was allleaps and lunges, arcs and angles, athleticism and anticipation, guts and glory,fun and frolic. He would pull off the most daring of stops with nay a fuss. Withthe ball in his grasp, nonchalantly, he would get up, wipe of the specks of dirton his flannels and shirt, sport a chuckle, adjust his cap, exchange a word ortwo with his mates, and go back to his original position -- buzzing to do it allover again.

He was the archetypal hard-working cricketer, personifying a strong workethic, playing hard but fair, always game for a contest.

Rhodes embarrassed countless batsmen on their abilities to judge a run. Healso foxed countless fielders with his ability to judge a run, and sneak out anextra run where most others wouldn’t have found one. Not the most attractivebatsman, Rhodes could still be extremely effective in one-dayers with hisunorthodox style of batting, which was based on deft nudges and countless sweepshots, and aggressive running between the wickets. Rhodes played 245 one-dayers,scoring 5,935 runs at an average of 35 and taking 105 catches.

For the pleasure and entertainment they brought to cricket fans around theworld, it is indeed ironical that Donald and Rhodes should sign-off not with abang, but with a whimper. Quite like their team. The injury to Rhodes and theaxing of Donald from the playing 11 was tragic, more so given the enormity ofthe occasion, what with South Africa being the hosts and this being the chosenswansong of these two fine players. Would it have been a different ending forSouth Africa had Rhodes been fit and Donald on song? Perhaps.

Already, people have started writing the obituary of South African cricket.Question marks have been raised over the predictable style of Shaun Pollock’scaptaincy, rightly so. Question marks have also been raised over the ability ofplayers like Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, wrongly so.

Perhaps, it’s a sign of the times, a by-product of the ball-by-ballcoverage, which results in every distinct performance, good or bad, shaping along-term opinion. So, by that yardstick, James Anderson and Ashish Nehra becomepacemen of the highest calibre after one match-winning haul, and South Africathe spent force of world cricket.It’s a view shorn of perspective.

Sure, South Africa disappointed by not playing to their potential, butneither did they play as badly as is made out. They let matches slip from theirgrasp, not once but thrice. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ricardo Powell pounded Pollockin the death overs, and turned 250 into 278; Boucher floored Stephen Fleming,who went on to play the innings of his life; the Proteas bungled in theirreading of the Duckworth-Lewis system and ended up a run short. Small momentsmade the difference, and each time the South Africans drew the short straw.

It’s hard to forget the forlorn faces in that dressing room on that fatefulrainy night. It’s hard not to feel for them, especially Donald, who a year agohad limped off with a torn hamstring in what would be his final Test appearance.

A few days later, as New Zealand were chasing 252 against Zimbabwe inBloemfontein, Donald convened a press conference in the stadium premises toannounce his retirement. The conference was being telecast on a big screenoutside the stadium, and a small crowd gathered to watch. "I would like tobe remembered as someone who gave his all. I was very passionate about the badgeand the country and about every team I've played for," he told reporterspresent at the news conference.

As Donald’s last words rang out, people watching outside on the big screenstood up and applauded. It was a fitting tribute to a great player. Allan Donaldand Jonty Rhodes, take a bow.