The wizardry of Hirwani
In this week’s edition of In Search of West Indies Cricket, Roger Seymour returns to the dossier exploring the 15 losses incurred by the West Indies in the 115 Tests played between the 1980 Tour of England and the 1995 visit to New Zealand, during which t
Achilles, in Greek mythology, was the son of the mortal Peleus, King of the Myrmidons, and the Nereid, or sea nymph, Thetis. Achilles was the bravest, handsomest, and greatest warrior of the army of Agamemnon in the Trojan War. According to Homer, Achilles was brought up by his mother at Phthia with his inseparable companion Patroclus. Another non-Homeric episode relates that Thetis dipped Achilles as a child in the waters of the River Styx, by which means he became invulnerable, except for the part of his heel by which she held him – the proverbial “Achilles’ heel.”
- Excerpted from the Encyclopedia Britannica
If younger cricket fans in the West Indies customarily accuse the older generation of heaping mythological dimensions on the Glory Days of the 1980s, their skepticism can be easily forgiven since, unfortunately, they have come of age in an era of incessant losing. The winning percentage during that epoch was 51.30, an unprecedented number, (46.27 percent in away matches [31 in 67 Tests] and 58.33 percent [28/48] at home), off the charts of reality, reflecting an unmatched level of dominance. However, like Achilles, the All Conquering West Indies, apart from the few occasions where they fell on their own swords, were susceptible to one vulnerability.
India 1987/1988
Sunday, 8th November, 1987; Calcutta, India; the Fourth ICC World Cup Final – Australia vs England; Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. It was the first World Cup final not played at Lord’s, it was also the first without the formidable West Indies, several of whom were present to witness the spectacle. Drawn in Group B with England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the West Indies split their six first round matches, inclusive of two heart rendering last over losses to England and Pakistan, and failed to qualify for the semi-finals. On the eve of an arduous tour of India, they were relegated to the unaccustomed status of spectator at the final. It was a bittersweet moment.
It was a critical tour for the West Indies. Viv Richards was at the helm of a team in transition, crucial parts were missing. All three of the fast bowlers with over 200 Test wickets were absent. Michael Holding and Joel Garner had retired from Test cricket, and Malcolm Marshall had opted for a break from the game. ‘Mr Reliable’ Larry Gomes, the dependable middle-order batsman also walked off into the sunset a few months prior. Gordon Greenidge, the long-serving opener, having missed the Reliance World Cup due to knee surgery, had returned for his third Indian sojourn. The remodelled team, which did not lack experience or talent, included the likes of Greenidge’s partner, Desmond Haynes, wicketkeeper/batsman Jeff Dujon, middle-order batsmen Richie Richardson and Gus Logie, fast bowlers Winston Davis and the Jamaican duo of Courtney Walsh and Patrick Patterson. Guyanese allrounders Roger Harper, the new vice captain, and Carl Hooper, the exciting young prospect on his first tour, were the focus of the future.
The tour encompassed a packed itinerary, inclusive of five Tests with frequent and long travel. Coming on the heels of the World Cup, in which the co-hosts India and Pakistan were both eliminated in the semi-finals, the Indian Cricket Board anticipated poor attendances at the Tests. At the last minute, the itinerary was altered, the Second Test scheduled for Kanpur was cancelled, and two more One Day Internationals (ODIs) were added to the five already slated, a decision that the West Indies were not too happy with, but agreed to, nonetheless.
November 15, 16, 17, at Hyderabad. The match against Hyderabad, the Ranji Trophy Champions was abandoned without a ball bowled, as a cyclone swept across southern India just prior to the match, causing devastating damage and leaving several dead in its wake. It was the first occasion on a West Indies tour to India that an entire match was lost to the weather.
November 21, 22, 23, at Chandigarh, Northwest India, in the foothills of the Shivalik Range of the Himalayas, the West Indies encountered India’s Under-25 XI. It was the only first-class match before the start of the Test series, and the young Indians exposed to international competition were anxious to show their true mettle to the selection panel. The Under-25s were led by wicketkeeper batsman Chandrakant Pandit, who made his Test debut the previous summer in England, and subsequently played two more Tests against the visiting Australians in the fall, chosen in all three as a middleorder batsman. Other players included Carlton Saldanha, a former India Under-19 player and the leading run scorer in the the 1986/87 Ranji Trophy with 782 at an average of more than 71; Krishnan Pillai, a solid batsman for the dominant Delhi side of the 1980s; and the promising batsman Sanjay Mandrekar, the son of former Indian Test cricketer, Vijay Mandrekar, of whom much is expected. Narendra Hirwani, a 19-year-old spin bowler, who had previously bagged 23 wickets in an Under-19 three Tests series versus Australia, also made the final cut.
Richards won the toss and elected to bat. Following the early losses of Phil Simmons and Richardson, Greenidge and Richards plundered the attack, to the tune of 303 runs in 203 minutes. At tea time, the West Indies were 331 for two, as Greenidge retired out for 174. West Indies’ total of 550, included scores of 138 (retired hurt) from Richards, 50 from number ten, Walsh and 47 from Clyde Butts.
The overawed Under-25s were soon reduced to 73 for seven, before numbers eight and nine in the batting order, S K Sharma and Jaspal Singh, launched a fearless counter attack, slamming sixes and fours, in a similar vein to Greenidge and Richards in the West Indian innings. The spinners Butts, Harper and Richards were the focus of the
whirlwind eighth wicket partnership which produced 135 runs in 70 minutes. Despite Sharma’s 76 and Singh’s 70, the Under-25s were dismissed for 228, conceding a lead of 222. Richards forsook the follow-on and opted for batting practice on the final day, and the West Indies cruised to 237 for six before declaring, with Phil Simmons (72), Dujon (42 not out), Richardson (37), and Greenidge (37), the leading run scorers. The match ended in a draw as the Under-25s reached 41 for one. The highlight of the day was that all six of the West Indies wickets fell to the young leg spinner Hirwani who delivered an unchanged spell of 30 overs, yielding figures of 30 -7 – 100 – 6. Simmons, Richardson and Butts were clean bowled by googlies.
When the Indian Test squad was announced the names of Sanjay Mandrekar and Narendra Hirwani were included. Who was this mystery spinner? Hirwani hailed from Gorakhpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh, near the foothills of the Himalayas, where his father owned a brick-making business. One night Hirwani had a dream in which he was bowling for India. Passionate about cricket he decided to pursue his dream. With his father’s blessing, and a little money, the pudgy 15-year-old set off for Indore, the largest city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in central India. He had represented Uttar Pradesh Under-15s in the zonal Under-15 at Indore, and enthralled by the beauty of the city and the fact that Hindi was the spoken language, the only language he knew, he was determined to make it his new home. He rode in the general compartment on the long train journey, a green metal box with his possessions under one arm, his bedding tucked under the other.