When suspect action forced bowler to become star batsman
MOHALI: There are very few examples in cricket where a bowler called for suspect action has made a strong comeback. But Scotland’s Calum MacLeod did something entirely out of the box. He went out of the game as a medium pacer, called for suspect action, only to make a triumphant return as a top-order batsman.
Now a regular at first down for Scotland, MacLeod’s troubles started in 2009, when he was reported for suspect action. He spent the next 18 months rectifying his action.
But with cricket not possible as a bowler, the Scot worked on his batting. He did enough to ‘turn his game around’, and from a bowling all-rounder, he fine-tuned his game to return as a batsman.
“I was 19-20 years old and cricket was my passion. I had played a few games for Scotland as a bowler. The ban came as a surprise. We, at Warwickshire, were already talking about the changes required in my bowling. (South Africa great) Allan Donald was there and he was the first of many coaches who pro- vided support and counselling to me to turn things around,” MacLeod, who has two centuries to his credit in ODIs, said. HARD WORK Remembering his days away from the game, MacLeod said that he spent the entire English winter indoor working on his batting.
“I had strokes but as a bowler, I never took my batting seriously. I had to learn how to leave the ball and also defend. All top players in the game have solid defence and as an out-and-out batsman you need to be good. A bowler gets another chance, but that is not the case with a batsman,” he said.
Just when MacLeod, who was subsequently cleared by the ICC, was making his return to the game, Paul Collingwood spotted his talent and recommended him for the central contract to the Scotland Cricket Board.
“He gave me a lot of confidence, but still I thought of myself as a bowling all-rounder and there was that itch to bowl again. I went without bowling for 7-8 games but managed to score runs. While playing for the Warwickshire second team I scored a 100 and that was followed by my first half century for Scotland in Namibia. Then, my first century for Scotland took a lot of burden off my shoulders,” he said.
MacLeod’s moment came in 2014 when he scored two consecutive centuries — 113 off 62 balls against UAE and 175 against Canada to help Scotland qualify for the 2015 World Cup. “I still want to bowl but I guess there is a mental block. I do roll my arms over and have started bowling off-spin. In hindsight, I think everything happens for the best,” he added.