Bowler's Undramatic Rise To The Top

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30043, 30 January 1963, Page 9

Bowler's Undramatic Rise To The Top

HTWELVE years ago a slim, x pale-faced fast bowler was flown from a Tancaahire winter to Australia to reinforce the depleted attack of the M.C.C. team. That bowler, J. B. Statham, did not create a great impression. He did not play in a test; did not bowl very fast in the new and strange heat in Australia, and took only three wickets in three first-class matches.

On Saturday at the Adelaide cricket ground Statham, now on his fourth tour of Australia, took two wickets to make him the holder of the record for the most wickets taken in test cricket. When he bowled A. K. Davidson, he passed the 236 wickets taken by A. V. Bedser.

Statham, who has now bowled in 66 test matches, came quietly into test cricket His first match was against New Zealand in 1951, when he took one wicket for 47 runs and then tor a number of years he had to struggle hard to keep a place as an England opening bowler while competing with F. S. Trueman, F. H. Tyson, P. J. Loader and A. V. Bedser.

But when Bedser finally left the test scene, Statham, at first with Tyson and now with Trueman, has had the position of England’s opening bowler as of right. His earlier performances reflected his character; they were undramatic. Statham's rise to prominence was baaed on sound performances transfigured now and then by a truly great effort It has been said of Statham that he has often

Some of the less prominent of the Old Collegians’ bowlers were given an opportunity on Saturday. In the absence of J. H. M. Dawson, D. 8. Bank* shared the opening attack with N. F. Curtis, while N. G. Clark bore the brunt of the slow bowling. In this he met with more than average success. M. G. Lester was another who had more opportunity than usual. T* J. Haydon, the St Albans wicketkeeper, has had a successful season, taking some fine catches and making some swift stumpings. He has missed some catches, too, but it is certain that he will remember for a long time a chance he dropped against Riccarton. W E. Muncaeter swung at a ball from T. L Jones and hit the ball high in the air above the wicket Haydon called for the catch and positioned himself underneath it Down came the ball, after some considerable time, plopped into Haydon's glove, and then dropped out again on to the ground. ♦ * ♦

Regarded as a useful hit- ; ter further down the bat- ■ ting order. C. K. fiaaart bat-. ted very well when he ■ opened for East Christ-; church-Shirley. He made 26 ; with sensible batting and , had much to do with his; team getting away to a. fairly good start His bowling was also effective. In; one spell he gave away; only one run in seven overs.< ♦ * Thirteen-year-old Michael; Fisher made an early debut ( in senior cricket when he; fielded substitute tar the; West Christchurch - Univer- ; sity team on Saturday. A; rery keen cricketer. Michael.; who also is the official; scorer for the team, was; dressed in immaculate flan-, nets and although having; little to do, chased round; the field with great enthusiasm. When a is nine wlc-; keto down the taking of the] Anal wicket to end the inn-; tags does not usually pre-; sent many problems. This , is especially so when the| hasWien; cheaply. However, the Mar-; ; tst second grade C ride was. ■ nine for 80 when the last, man. X Byall, came to the; ; wicket last Saturday. Due; ' largely to his attractive 50. not cut the side's score; ; reached • more respectable; ; total of 160. !

England, but never badly. Indeed it has also been said that he bowls too well. That is in the sense that he presents less threat to the experienced batsman than the more erratic, and therefore more unpredictable bowler. The element of surprise in his bowling is reduced by the very perfection of his technique.

Statham is the true professional bowler. His length and direction verge on the mechanical because of their extraordinary accuracy. He has perseverance and stamina and like other true artisans of the bowling craft it would be foreign to him to bowl a rank bad ball.

Before Statham begins to bowl there is no impressive display of calisthenics and he does not appear to take a great interest in his field settings. He knows Whait his task to—to bowl as fast and accurately as he can—there is no need to give a preparatory demonstration.

His run up is smooth—not fearsome. The action is high ard the ball comes down ait about 30 miles an hour, on an immaculate length—always. There is swing, not generous, just enough to beat the bait or induce the false stroke. Ait the end of a hot and tiring day he will be doing the same whether he has taken five wickets or none.

Often called an unlucky bowler, and perhaps rightly so, Statham now has 238 teat wickets to disprove that all has not been bad luck. But if the number of times he has defeated the stroke

to see the ball Shave the etumps or the edge of the bat were added to his total number of wickets the result would be incßAcuHabile end incredible.

Statham perhaps lacks the sheer pace of Tyson; the colourful and aggressive personality of Trueman, but because of the very honesty of hiis bowling he earns the admiirartioin and respect of the spectators. He is a men that can be relied on. Like two other stout hearted English bowlers, A. V. Bedser and M. W. Tate, he has gained the affection of cricket followers all over the world; particularly in Australia where the quality of tenacity receives more approval than erratic flights of genius. • He is the most phlegmatic of fast bowlers. The near miss, the dropped catch, do not evoke a display of petulance or even emotion. But then he had to cultivate that shell of philosophic resignation; otherwise he would have committed suicide or turned batsman long ago.

However, occastanally Statham’s placidity is ruffled. In the second test at Melbourne, D. S. Sheppard dropped R. Benaiud off him in the last over of the day. The next ball was a bumper, and a vicious one. The crowd roared its disapproval. Trueman spoke

consolingly to Starthiaim—fast bowlers have Close sympathies—but in ai l probability the bumper was directed not so much at Benaud as at Sheppard, but he was safely away at square-leg and Benaiud became the target for Sheppard’s lapse. Statham’s nick-name is ••Greyhound.” An odd name for a fast bowler when one thinks of the “Typhoon” Tyson and “Fiery Freddie,” but Statham does not seek to take wickets through fear of life and limb. He achieves his wickets through his own perfection. His challenge is to the technical skill of the batsman. He pits his ability against theirs; a straightforward contest unalloyed by threats of violence. And he has won most contests. The bowling fires within Statham burn steadily. He does not suddenly overwhelm a team in a few overs as has been done by Trueman and Tyson. His 238 test wickets have been the result of persistence and accuracy rather than from sudden fierce flares of inspiration.

Typically, his greatest test bowling efforts have come from hours of sweated endeavour. Against South Africa at Lords in 1955 he

bowled 29 overs unchanged —almost three hours’ bowling—and took seven for 29. In 1960 he took six for 63 over 20 over* and five for 34 off 21 overs, again against South Africa, and again at Lords. Many, many years ago, W. G. Grace, who would have admired Statham’s Victorian traits of honest, length bowling, was asked who he would like to open with him against Australia. His answer was “Give me Arthur,” meaning Arthur Shrewsbury, the Nottinghamshire professional. If a similar question had been asked England captains of recent years about which fast bowler they wanted the answer certainly would have been “Give me Brian.” It has been a favourite pastime of cricket writers to imagine some cricketing Valhalla where the great cricketers could gather to play the game under the conditions they liked best. If Statham was there, no doubt he would want to bowl with the wind behind him, always using the new ball on a green wicket and with the stumps having an extra coat of varnish and the bat just that little bit wider to edge the ball to fieldsmen who never dropped catches.