There was a time when a white batsman facing Ajantha Mendis would involve, a lot of nervous nudges, edgy singles and then an embarrassing bowled slash LBW as the batsman tried to break the shackles.
There was a time before that when the subbie batsmen and Windies batsmen were the same.
At one stage only the true prophet Sehwag could play him.
It was if all of life’s mysteries were wrapped up in the elegant fingers of Mendis and while the rest of us tried to think about a way to play him, the Lord just smited him.
Now it is all unraveling for Mendis.
According to Iain O’Brien his carom ball and wrong one are fairly easy to pick from the hand.
But that is not the worst bit.
The worst was when Cameron White failed to pick his wrong one. What should have happened was a couple of nervy deliveries later White played an ugly slog and Mendis picked up another easy wicket.
Instead the Big Bear got cave man on Mendis. He took 34 off 16 balls, and it was only a brilliantly madcap field placing by King Kumar, putting Dilshan directly behind the bowler, that slowed White down.
It wasn’t that White even seemed to be picking Mendis, it was that he didn’t care what Mendis bowled, he was just trusting his eye and hitting the ball a long way.
It was brutal and easy. After that one wrong one White never truly looked in trouble, but a few people in the crowd and the camera man certainly did.
Watching the Australian top order struggle against Randiv, a fairly faceless innocuous type spinner, Mendis would have been quite excited. He probably thought he could cash in with a few wickets and start to restore his career a little.
Instead he was beaten up. And by Australia, who seem to make the most simple spinner look good. That must have embarrassed Mendis especially after the way Australia’s two best players of spin, Clarke and FFPM David Hussey, went out.
Since originally saying Mendis would be worked out, I have said that he either bowls like Chris Harris to batsmen who know him, or Jim Laker to those that don’t.
With the way Australia play regular spin of late; you’d say that they were going to be the last to work him out of those who have faced him. England still haven’t played against Mendis, but he might not be around long enough to ever play them if he keeps having days like he did against White.
Although even without mystery he might still confuse England.
With no real spin or flight, Mendis is less mystery and more a fading curiosity. Like Winona Ryder.
If Mendis does get to bowl at England, they will find a way to make him look good, generally involving forgetting to worry about scoring runs and eventually getting out due to the law of averages.
.-= GoodCricketWicket´s last blog ..Civil war in English cricket =-.
Hush yo’ mouth!
Winona Ryder was the Natalie Portman of my generation. Just because she’s partial to a spot of cough syrup before shoplifting is no reason to dismiss her as a curiosity.
And I never said I didn’t believe you were 6’1″, I said I didn’t picture you as that tall. I was misquoted by the Sofa and demand a retraction.
You do talk utter tripe.. One performance is not enough to write this crap article about. I actually think Mendis is not bad. He is the sort of guy (with variety) who will only improve. To say it was embarrasing means he must normally be good. In fact he is supremely talented and this means player-haters like yourself can’t wait to knock him down all the time.
Did’ja see Mendis on the sidelines practicing bowling out the front of his hand after Smith bowled Kapugedera with a Warne ball out of the front of his hand?
.-= Tony´s last blog ..AUSTRALIA v. WEST INDIES, GROS ISLET =-.
AGB, I didn’t, but the man is a sponge, I doubt there isn’t a ball he could master having seen it a few times. He is like a slightly out of tune poorer song writing version of Robert Johnson.
Tony, It isn’t one performance, Mendis has been getting hit further and further for some time now. Hence why he hardly plays IPL, has been dropped by Sri Lanka’s test team, and was dropped for their must win game against India. But I do agree with you, I do talk utter tripe. I aint a player hater, though, I like Mendis, and I hope he sticks around because he is something different. That doesn’t mean I can’t see his career slowly slipping away if he doesn’t find some new weapons. I also like Chris Harris, but I wouldn’t mind facing him.
Beggy, she was, and I loved her too, but the more I knew about her, the less I liked her.
So sad. But true. There is really not that much to him anymore. Especially on tracks that don’t take much turn.
An outstanding piece….Ian O Brien and “cavemen”……u surely know how to tickle the funny bone Jrod