Not all mavericks are same: What Rishabh can, Rahul might not & what Duckett managed, Stokes won't

Indian Express

6 hours ago

Having watched Ben Duckett repeatedly reverse sweep left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja on the tricky fifth day track, skipper Ben Stokes sought out the opener during one of the rain breaks. In a dressing room where everyone is encouraged to express themselves, this wasn't going to be some 'hair dryer' treatment. It was in fact Stokes asking his fellow left-hander if he could play the same stroke to Jadeja. Duckett said he could, but Stokes couldn't.
Hidden in this charming anecdote, narrated by Stokes at the press conference, lies a cricketing lesson and an eternal truth. Like a chef chopping onions or a pianist smoothly working their keys during a tough piece with ease; the mastery of a skill gives an illusion of it being simple and easy to accomplish. Mavericks, and geniuses, aren't easy to understand. As the tennis great Pete Sampras said about the false impression of effortlessness that he and Roger Federer gave to the world: 'Just because it looks easy doesn't mean it's not hard.'
The first Test at Leeds had two batsmen who were making batting look ridiculously easy by playing outrageous shots but as Stokes found out, it wasn't the same for others. Stokes tried to Duckett' it, employ the reverse sweep on a pitch with bounce and turn from the rough – and failed.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul, too correct and conservative, despite the temptation, didn't walk the fire like his partner Rishabh Pant. He was never going to attempt the tumbling paddle off pace bowlers to fine leg but, like Pant, he didn't dance down the track to spin or play the ramp shot to express pacers. Two strokes he plays in IPL or T20Is. 'I enjoy watching Rishabh's game, I don't think I can play like that,' he says when asked about the influence Pant has on his batting partner.
Stokes is known for his daredevilry, he is the original Bazballer, who made risk-taking a fashion and English tradition. His batting was too unconventional and open to ideas but Leeds showed he too has limitations.
In his innings of 51 balls, the England captain brought out the reverse sweep four times. It got him two runs and also cost him his wicket. Stokes top-edged while reverse sweeping and the ball ballooned into the hands of the slip. In contrast Duckett hit 5 fours and 1 six with reverse sweep against Jadeja. What works for Duckett doesn't work for Stokes.
After the game, Stokes was asked how he struggled to reverse sweep, a stroke that came so natural and easy to Duckett. The England captain would give the background of his moment of inspiration.
'I actually spoke to him when we came off that team break, rain break, whichever one … Look he is among the best players in the world when it comes to sweeps and reverse sweeps … he is a fantastic player of spin on really tricky surfaces,' he would say. 'I am also left-handed like him. You think that on that surface, if you go forward or get back and try to manipulate the ball on leg side, there is a chance you can get out. So it is good to have a clear game plan and put Jadeja under pressure by playing the reverse sweep.'
Rahul was pretty clear in his head that he would continue to play close to his body and be restrained in his approach. 'I don't think I can play like that, I won't even think that I have to play like him (Pant). I will let Rishabh play his game like that, you just have to admire his shots and his bravery. I just stand there and admire him, I will play my game in my zone,' he said.
Rahul didn't stop there, calling Pant a very different player with his own methods. 'He's a unique, unique player and we just let him be. He likes to express himself … He obviously has a method to his batting which none of us in this room understand, but it seems to work for him.'
Rahul understands the effort that goes into the 'effortlessness' of Pant's aggression. Back to Sampras to understand this. 'It might look like Roger (Federer) and I are not trying or we are not that into it. We are just very efficient, be it our movement and our games and our strokes. It's like one swing of the racket, one forehand, one serve, and boom, it's done … while most other players are grinding, grinding, grinding,' he once said.
Like Duckett's innings, Kevin Pietersen too played an inning against India that still gets talked about. His 186 at Wankhede in 2012, on a tougher surface than Leeds, was the difference between the two sides. On a track where most batsmen struggled, Pietersen was at ease. It was again because of the long overs spent training.
KP has spoken about it. 'I went to the nets straight after I was out in the second innings in Ahmedabad. I didn't even take off my pads. I just changed my shirt and went straight out with Mushtaq Ahmed [England's spin coach at the time] and Andy Flower. I batted for at least an hour and straight away I started playing properly. During the Mumbai game, I kept saying to myself, 'It's a practice game. Take your practice into the middle. Play like you practise.'
Even Pant speaks to himself while batting, as has been evident from the stump microphone recordings from the first Test. And this gives a rare peek into his mind. During his second hundred of the Test, Pant totally missed a high-speed delivery from Brydon Carse as he tried his tumbling leg-side paddle.
'This is a fast ball, play straight. Rishabh! why are you trying to help it along with the wind,' he is heard saying. That's when you notice the wind direction and the reason behind the choice of this unusual shot. And that's when you think that this wasn't mindless slogging and why everyone cannot pull them off. There isn't just a method, but a meticulousness to this madness.