Back in 1992 when the Indian cricket team was touring down-under, Subroto Banerjee was constantly reminded by his mentor, Aussie pace legend Dennis Lillee, not to be overwhelmed by the bounce and pace of the lively pitches of Australia. Despite being a young bowler, Banerjee, as he was better known, did well to heed his coach’s advice and among his successes one Test match stands out. Here he dismissed three established Aussie front-line batsmen — Mark Taylor, Geoff Marsh and Mark Waugh — in the first innings. After this tour, never was he asked to bowl for India again. Unfortunate story indeed.
Almost twenty-three years later, another young pacer from Jharkhand, Banerjee’s state, Varun Aaron, has come into the limelight. He is young, and bowls fast. Unlike Banerjee, he has already played five Test matches, bagging 13 wickets so far in his career. At this point Varun would do well to imbibe the advice given to Banerjee by his coach all those years ago. He needs to be less carried away by the pace of the Australian tracks.
In the last two Test matches that he has played for India, Aaron has bowled with great pace – but has tended to pitch it too full or bang it short. In the process, the Australian top-order and even their tail-enders have learnt how to tackle him. Aaron may not have the steading hand of Lillee on his shoulder. But he is in the same circles, and anyone who has played with the Australian legend will tell you that the tendency to bowl fast without discipline is a deadly way to go. It doesn’t help a bowler’s cause. It also hurts the team in the process.
Aaron doesn’t have the heart of Australian Mitchell Johnson because he is just a newbie in international cricket. But he could learn some lessons from the way Johnson approaches a Test match. In contemporary cricket, Johnson has earned the reputation of being a fierce fast bowler who has the ability to instill fear in the hearts of players from the opposition. And believe you me, this didn’t happen overnight. Even Johnson had to go through the grind of international cricket.
There were occasions where he was dropped from the Australian team due to non-performance, but he kept making his comebacks on the back of a few strong shows with the ball. The international stage makes great demands on a player’s performance – you can’t falter here no matter what. Now take the case of Johnson — he got two wickets apiece in the Adelaide game but went wicketless in the first innings of the Brisbane Test.
Thereafter, everyone knows what he did with the Indian team in the second innings in Brisbane. After treating the Indian bowlers with disdain with the bat in the first innings, he broke the backbone of the Indian batting in the second essay of the match. This, after much chatter of him, having lost his zip, after he remained wicketless in the earlier innings. Such is the unpredictable nature of the game. There’s just no telling when you zoom from being zero to hero, or vice-versa!
Fortunately for Aaron, age is on his side and he could get better from here — provided he is willing to learn from the mistakes he has committed during the last two Tests. India needs fast bowlers and it’s only this special breed, which can give any team an edge over the opposition. Aaron has the makings of a very potent force for India — but he has to learn to control his wayward deliveries.
At the moment his selection in the playing 11, for the third test, depends on how the team management feel about this matter. It’s a crucial time for this promising newbie and he must do all he can to retain his place in the team each time he is given a chance.
