Had Johnny Gleason who first bowled a “flicker” in international cricket seen Ajnatha Mendis yesterday he would be in awe. It’s been a long while since I wrote something new for the blog – just like it’s been a long while since Sri Lanka found a new spinner who could last a while in International Cricket. Ajantha Mendis who every Indian cricket fan hates since yesterday night is here to stay, he’s got a smooth action and there are no qualms about his action being legitimate. He is a good old fashioned finger spinner some might say, but he’s different. Ask any Indian batsman, they will tell you.
What makes him hard to read are his numerous variations. Mahela Jayawardena, the Sri Lankan captain claims that Mendis has six different deliveries. He bowls the conventional off spin, doosra, leg spin, googly, topspin and a “Gleason” flicker, now called the “Carrom Ball”. True, batsman over the world will study him during coming months and his real test will come when they are able to relate minute differences in his action to the different types of deliveries, but something tells me he’s special and will be good or even better than Murali in the long run. That is quite a statement and only time can tell if it’s true.
Sri Lanka continues to unearth unconventional bowlers and coincidently their surnames start with “M” – Murali, Malinga and now Mendis. If Malinga is fully fit for the coming Indian tour, The Sri Lankan attack would probably be: Vaas, Malinga, Fernando, Murali and Mendis. India has the batting firepower to counter this quality attack but it is going be one heck of a contest. India’s short coming would be their own spin department. Kumble’s days are numbered but no replacement is in sight. Chawla looks the part but like any leg spinner needs time to mature.
Back to Mendis, he has shown in the little international cricket that he has played to date that he is able to locate not just the arrow-straight line but the length consistently: too far forward, you look a fool, stay back and risk being trapped. Admittedly, some of his victims gave themselves up yesterday. The leg-break to remove RP Singh should've been reserved for a more capable opponent. Even a hat-trick could've been his, but you suspect more opportunities might come his way against clueless tail-enders. Just ask Murali, he will tell you.
Definite credit should go to Mendis’ coach – reason “Not doing anything”. That’s a lot of credit for doing nothing but modern day coaches all over the world try to teach youngsters what they have learnt i.e. Text book cricket. This is good as long as the natural abilities of a cricketer are not compromised. Imagine Malinga trying to bowl round arm or Mendis being told by his coach to stick to bowling either off spin or leg spin. They would not have made it to the International stage.
“Finger Flicking Good” – that’s what I call him. Sri Lankan selectors can breathe a sigh of relief. Finding a replacement for Murali has been their long standing problem and Mendis seems to have solved it. But put off that vacation selectors; go find a replacement for Jayasuriya now – That’ll scare any bowler.
