WHEN DETERMINATION BEATS TALENT

Determination and temperament are two pillar to success without which talent cannot succeed.


The game of cricket is the best example where we have seen some of the most extraordinary


talents failing to live up to the expectations .On the other hand some of the lesser talented


cricketers went on to achieve much more glorious heights with their sheer determination and


strong temperament. In the two part series we will discuss about these two breed of cricketers.



In the first part we will analyze four of the most talented cricketers who failed to live up to the


expectations they generated:-






1. Greame Hick : Probably the biggest disappointment of the generation . By the time Hick


played his first test he was a star. He was all over in the British tabloids rating him future of


England. However he failed miserably in first two summers and it was only against India at


Bombay in 1993 it looked the Hick everyone saw in county has arrived . The Inning was played


against Indian Spin Trio on a turning Wankhede pitch w when his teammates were falling in


heap .For next three years Hick became integral part of England middle order scoring 2284 runs


at 46.61 . He flourished almost against all the position be it South Africa against whom he


scored 304 and 255 at home and away series in 1994 and 1995-96 at average of 61 and 64


respectively or West Indies against whom he plundered 403 runs in home summer of 1995 at 50.


However things started to fall after World Cup . After failures in 4 tests against India and


Pakistan in 1996 , Hick was dropped again by selectors sending him in darkness. He returned


again in 1998 but it was clear that he was passed his best , he averaged only 21 for next 19 tests




till his retirement , low performances again West indies in 2000 and Pakistan and Srilanka


marked the end of much talked career which promised more than it delivered. He played 65


tests with just an average of 31.



2. Vinod Kambli : If Hick was the case of a talent which never delivered consistency Vinod


Kambli was an example of a talent which failed due to indiscipline and mismanagement . With


tremendous success in his first year of test cricket Kambli was touted a prodigious talent even


better than Tendulkar . After remarkable seasons in 1992 -93 and 1993-94 where he hammered


two double hundreds against Zimbabwe and England his ballooned to 80 ,Kambli was the next


poster boy. However Courtney Walsh led West indies exposed chink in his armour. Kambli was


found out against short pitched high quality fast bowling and after that life never remained same


within a year he had played his last test , he was only 24 then. In 1996 World cup apart from 106


against Zimbabweans in Kanpur he failed to live up to expectations and with growing news of


indiscipline he was out of the team . He did made a come back in 1998 which was cut short by


injury . His final comeback was later that year , he though failed to find the consistency and was


never the player everyone expected him to be .There were many reasons for his career ending


abruptly but the prime one was his indiscipline lifestyle while Tendulkar despite being of same


age was highly disciplined dedicated and had simple lifestyle , Kambli on other hand lived


extravagant life , with many instances of indiscipline and late night partying . Marriage and


Divorce at an early age also didn’t helped much to his cause .






3. Mark Ramprakash : Mark Ramprakash case was so curious that a bollywood movie could


be made out of it . Neither the cricket fans nor the critics were able to understand why a man

who plundered thousand of runs in county cricket failed miserably at the international level .


Ramprakash made his Test debut alongside Greame Hick against West Indies in 1991. In


first three years of international cricket he struggled against quality short pitch bowling and was


in and out consistently but his performance in county cricket made it sure that he was on radar


of the selectors. It was in 1998 that he made his mark on international arena against West


Indies in Bridgetown with a brilliant 154. After that he enjoyed success against South Africa


in 1998 , Australia in 1998 and 2001 and India in 2001 . Especially his innings of 133 against


Australians at The Oval is still considered to as one of his best test innings. The Inning against


one of the best attacks of all time .However after a horror tour of Newzealand at the end of


2001-02 he was again out of the taste of the selectors . He continued to amass thousand and


thousand runs at county level but by that time selectors have decided to move on . He was


never given another opportunity. His average of 27 at test level couldn’t justify his talent


and his record at county level where he scored more than 35000 runs with an average of 54 .


He was great example of promise which never fulfilled.



4. Basit Ali : Basit Ali was another example where talent was never cared and couldn’t


able to achieve dizzy heights which he could have achieved .In his first three years of


international cricket 1990-93 Basit showed great temperament and maturity . He had similar


style as Javed Miandad and was touted to replace the talismanic batsman after his retirement.


His attitude to respond to pressure situation made him most dependable batsman in short time .


He bravely faced the fearsome West Indian bowlers in the series played in Caribbean in 1993


With these performance he proved he belonged here . Especially his innings of 127 against


like of Ambrose , Walsh at Sharjah was special and is still remembered as one of the finest


innings to have played at desert venue But then a lean season next year where he struggled




against Australians and Tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe and to stand up against his own


captain Saleem Malik which abruptly resulted in his retirement after Zimbabwe tour in February


1995 singled the end of a career which had all the recipes of being a great one . He made a


comeback but it was clearly evident that he was no more the same Basit. Lack of support from


his own team mates, lack of trust and shifted focus on Match Fixing ended his career soon.


Pakistan lost the talent which it should never had let go.






These cricketers force us to think what they could have achieved had they been cared


properly , they have been disciplined and have been able to cope with pressure . But then


these are the qualities which differentiates the great like Tendulkar ,Warne, Lara, Ponting ,


Murlitharan and Kallis from others. In the next part of the series we will discuss about some of



the gutsiest cricketers who came triumph despite of the limited ability they had.

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