Ravi Shastri on Zimbabwe - no need to panic
Former Indian all-rounder and current television commentator Ravi Shastri believes there is no need for panic in the Zimbabwean ranks, despite the recent poor performances of their team
John Ward
23-Dec-1999
Former Indian all-rounder and current television commentator Ravi
Shastri believes there is no need for panic in the Zimbabwean
ranks, despite the recent poor performances of their team. He
talks to John Ward about the Sri Lankan tour.
JW: Ravi, perhaps we can start with a word about yourself. You
ended your Test career rather prematurely, I remember.
RS: Yes, it was more to do with injury than anything else. I
injured my knee when I was playing my best cricket, in Australia,
and that kept me out of the game for almost eight months. I came
back ad played for India in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and my
knee went again.
It was at that stage that I was very clearly told by the doctor
who operated on me; he said, "Ravi, I know you won't like me
saying this, but you had better choose an alternative career,
because this could be a chronic problem." I didn't believe him
and I tried playing for another year in first-class cricket, but
then I realised that what he said was true. And that's when I
decided to quit the game. It was unfortunate to have to finish
the game at 32; I played my last Test at 30, just when I would
expect to have four or five years of my prime ahead. If you look
back and say, "Well, if that injury had happened to you when you
were 22 or 23, then what?" So I'm happy with the amount of
cricket I played and the people I played against.
JW: Does your knee give you any trouble now?
RS: It does; I still can't go for a run, for example, because
there is still plenty of swelling, and I've lost 70 per cent of a
ligament in my knee - that's something that doesn't grow back.
JW: And what have you been doing since then?
RS: Straight away I was offered work on television, and I have
not looked back since. I've been doing television now for the
last six years; I started in 1994, and it's been most enjoyable.
I am freelance, so whenever the opportunity is there I go and do
it.
JW: Have you covered a series in Zimbabwe before?
RS: I have; I was here last year when India were here.
JW: Was it your first visit to Zimbabwe when you were captain of
the Young Indian team back in 1983/84?
RS: Yes, and it was a very good trip because it taught us a lot,
it was a good hard trip, and I still believe that is the
strongest side Zimbabwe has produced since independence. That
was a very strong Zimbabwean side; we played against six or seven
players who could get into any Zimbabwean team, even today - the
likes of Duncan Fletcher, Dave Houghton, Andy Pycroft, Graeme
Hick, Kevin Curran, a very good John Traicos. We were an
Under-25 side and if you look at that team ten out of the eleven
played for India within two or three years.
JW: When was your next visit?
RS: I was here for the 1991/92 inaugural Test; that was my last
tour, when we also visited South Africa.
JW: What is your feeling about the Zimbabwe team at that time
compared with the team today?
RS: I think there has been a lot of talk about how badly
Zimbabwe is playing at the moment. Let's put it very honestly:
they cannot be happy with the way they are playing at the moment,
and that's understandable, but you have to realise that four or
five of their top players aren't there. When they come back, it
will make a huge difference to the balance of the side.
I do think at the moment that they lack self-belief more than
anything. I just get the feeling that they don't have the belief
that they can win. They get themselves into winning positions
and then blow it away. Meanwhile just the opposite is happening
with Sri Lanka. They believe they can win anything! If they are
100 for seven, they think they can pull that game through, and
that's just the way it's going at the moment. I think it will
take time; I think you need your key players to come back from
injury, and probably learn a lot from what has happened in the
last two-and-a-half or three months.
If you're prepared to learn, I always believe there's scope for
improvement. But if you're bull-headed and say, "I know
everything," then, my friend, on your bike! It's all a game of
self-confidence. The top sides in the world are teams with that
belief that they can win in any situation. Look at the
Australians at the moment: they are 50 for four, and they end up
getting 400; they could be 100 for six, chasing 360, and still
get it. It all comes down to self-belief.
JW: Have you seen any technical or other weaknesses that need to
be worked on?
RS: I think the problem you have had in Test matches is with
your top order. I'm afraid there haven't been enough players who
have gone on to make big scores. They have made starts, but it
has been a start that ends up at 30, 40, 50, rather than someone
going through and getting 100, 120. When was the last time,
apart from Andy Flower, that any of the Zimbabwean players got a
hundred in a Test match?
JW: Almost two years ago.
RS: So when that doesn't happen, there is very little you can
do. And I must say that at times I have been amazed at the
selection. It's beyond me how a guy like Eddo Brandes, if he's
fit, cannot play. He must be the oldest man carrying drinks in
world cricket at the moment! Why do you have a guy of 36
carrying drinks? If you don't want to play him, don't pick him
in the fifteen! He's good enough to walk into the eleven -
whatever people might say, this is my opinion - and whenever he's
playing I do believe there's a buzz within the team. He did well
in the Test match, and straight away he's sidelined! I thought
Zimbabwe should have started with their strongest team in the
first game.
JW: Do you feel there are any other players who should be
getting more opportunity? What are your thoughts about Bryan
Strang, for example, who has done well in the Tests but is
omitted from the one-day side?
RS: From what I've seen, it's very difficult to make judgements
on who should be given chances, because I really haven't seen the
reserve strength. I really do believe that players like Murray
Goodwin, Grant Flower - Neil Johnson is injured but he's a fine
player - have to take more responsibility. They can't get into
the forties and fifties and then get out. They are the senior
players in the side now, and they've got to convert the thirties
and forties into bigger scores. At times it's not the bowler
getting them out; 60 or 70 per cent of the time they've given it
away. There's no excuse for that.
Andy Flower has had a fantastic season and you can't ask for
more; he's shown that he's Zimbabwe's best player. No doubt
about that at the moment. He's consistent, he's hungry, and he's
a good role model for younger players.
Bryan Strang bowled well in the Test series, and comes across as
a player who knows his limitations and sticks to them. He is
always a handy man to have in the team, especially when the
conditions are conducive to seam and swing. Probably for the
one-day side he will need to be a genuine all-rounder to hold
down a regular place; he will have to be able to contribute more
with the bat.
I think Ray Price is a bowler you should persevere with. He has
a good temperament and just needs to relax and take his time. I
was also very impressed with Everton Matambanadzo, who bowled one
or two good spells in the Second Test.
To me, Henry Olonga really stood out. He had a difficult job as
your strike bowler when so many others were injured, but he kept
fit right through the series despite all the hard work he had to
do, and impressed me very much.
JW: What do you feel the best current Zimbabwe batting order
would be?
RS: I liked the little I saw of Gavin Rennie in the First Test
match - and that's another problem that Zimbabwe have had because
I do believe that when you change your openers in every Test
match you are giving the opposition a huge advantage. Firstly,
the new man who comes in is under pressure, and secondly, the
opposition know they can have the best Zimbabwe batsmen in very
quickly, numbers four, five and six. So I would rather have
continuity there. Take one player, give him a run for three Test
matches, and if he doesn't do well, fine. But give him a run,
make him feel confident. Otherwise he's on the edge, knowing
that 'if I don't get 30 or 40 in this game I'm out.' It's one of
the toughest positions in the game, and continuity I believe is
very important. It didn't happen in this series, and as a result
Zimbabwe never got off to a start.
The middle order is fine; there is nothing wrong with Goodwin,
Andy Flower, Neil Johnson. Alistair Campbell - I believe he's
the kind of player who likes the ball coming on to the bat; if
he's playing, I believe he's wasted at six. He should be up the
order, maybe even at three. Then Goodwin or Johnson four, Flower
five; everyone can take one step back, because he's the kind of
guy who doesn't mind playing his shots and has batted at three
for Zimbabwe for most of his Test career. If he's in for a while
and then the spinners come on, he will handle them much better.
If the worst comes to the worst and you don't have an opener, or
feel all your openers are struggling, ask Campbell to open. Then
go for Goodwin, Johnson, Andy Flower, and groom another player at
six. Then see from there.
But when you have Heath Streak and Paul Strang, it's a different
balance to the side because both can bat as well. Then you get
more depth in your batting. Heath Streak's absence is crucial
because he's a quality bowler, and there's no doubt about the
fact that he would have made a big difference.
But having said all this, I do believe after hearing people
talking, that there's no need to panic. There's absolutely no
need to panic, as long as you're prepared to learn - and you can
just hope that your main players come back soon. Zimbabwe have
played quality sides in Australia and South Africa; Sri Lanka is
an upcoming, talented side. There's nothing like going through a
period when nothing goes right for you because at the end of the
day you know you can't do worse than that. I do believe the
learning curve starts here for Zimbabwe. If you don't know how
to accept defeat, you'll never know how to win.
JW: Obviously Zimbabwe haven't been playing their best, but I
get the impression Sri Lanka haven't been playing quite their
best either.
RS: It's not easy for them to lose players like de Silva and
Ranatunga who have played for so long. They have suddenly had to
find replacements for them. But I think from what I've seen that
this is the best I've seen Sri Lanka play on a tour. The bowling
has been extremely disciplined, and I promise you they would have
tested a lot of batting sides in world cricket, just with their
discipline and the way they bowl.
Chaminda Vaas I thought was the pick of their bowlers; he's had a
wonderful tour, and they have a good quartet as well with
Pushpakumara, Zoysa and Wickramasinghe. The find of the tour for
me: Dilshan. I think he's a real crackerjack in the making, and
if he works hard at his game and tightens up his defence, I think
there's a future star for you.
JW: So many Sri Lankan innings on the tour, though, have been
one batsman dominating and ten others contributing little.
RS: At least they played around him. They had their problems
with guys getting out for thirties and forties, for example,
Russel Arnold, who got there a couple of times but couldn't
really go on. But he changed all that in the last two weeks of
the tour, with two very fine hundreds. He's maturing into a very
fine player because he comes across as a batsman with mental
toughness, who is really prepared to fight it out.
And on the whole I was very impressed with Jayasuriya's
captaincy. He may not have got runs, but his time will come.
But as a captain he's done very little wrong. I like the way
he's marshalled his resources; he's never allowed the game to
drift, he's been right on the button most of the time with his
bowling changes, he's studied the strengths and weaknesses of the
opposing batsmen, he knows the strengths of his bowlers, and has
all the qualities that go into the making of a good captain.
Plus he comes across as a good communicator on the field. When
the chips are down he seems to get the best out of his boys, and
that's very important.
JW: Do you think Murali has been at his best on this tour?
RS: He's a very fine spinner, and he's the kind of guy who might
go a couple of matches without getting a bagful of wickets, but
as he showed in the last one-day game when he's on a roll he can
run through a side very quickly. In his case I think he's just
got to be patient because in his case I think sides are so
worried about him that they pay extra attention to seeing him
off. It's not like it was at the start of his career where
people would go after him and he would get wickets; now they pay
him a lot of respect, so at times he's got to be patient and play
the waiting game.
JW: how do you think the Zimbabweans are playing him?
RS: I think Andy Flower is playing him superbly; he's played him
as well as any left-hander I've seen. If I look round the world
for left-handers who have really played Muralitharan well I would
say Saurav Ganguly and Andy Flower. Brian Lara of course is a
champion player but I don't think he's played enough against
Muralitharan at Test match level.
As for the others, it's not easy when they're not used to playing
spin on turning tracks. They need to work on their game. You
can see from Andy Flower, the way he worked on his game and I
think he played him superbly. He knew exactly the areas he was
going to score off him, and exactly the shots he was going to
play against him. When you're tackling a quality spin bowler
like Muralitharan, shot selection is very important. You have to
blank out certain shots from your mind and just say, "I'll make
him bowl here, and if he does that I'll score here. If he
doesn't, I'll kick him! Or block him!" And that's exactly what
he did, and if you occupy the crease you'll get runs.
JW: Have you any other comments to make about the series?
RS: As I said, Zimbabwe had their moments but were not able to
sustain them. There have been games when they looked good for 60
or 70 per cent of the time, like in Bulawayo, and then thrown it
away. So I think these are things they've got to learn; they've
got to work at it. I have mentioned things like the continuity
of the top order, picking a player you think is talented and then
persevering with him. Rapid changes are going to get you
nowhere. We had a season when West Indies went to England
[1988], and they had four captains in five Test matches! It made
no difference. The same when you change openers.
JW: What are your views on cricket generally in this country?
RS: I think it's got a lot of potential. The infrastructure is
there, the facilities are there, and I do believe that once
Zimbabwe start having a regular season of their own like they had
this year, another three or four years when they have regular
cricket being played, with a good number of Test matches and
one-dayers, that can only help the Zimbabwean side. They need
more exposure; you've got the right kind of climate and
facilities. I believe the months of May, June and July are good
months to play cricket, and it also gives you a window that's
open because the only other cricket at that time of year is in
England - and Sri Lanka, but that's later on in the year. You
will always get teams coming to this part of the world, so that
means more exposure for your players, more competition against
the best, and that's where you improve. But I say there's no
need to panic at this stage. Disappointed, yes, no doubt about
that because they've not played to their full potential, but
absolutely no need to panic. You've got to be patient.
JW: Do you think there are any areas of cricket in this country
that need a bit more attention?
RS: I believe there's a cricket academy; I do believe the supply
line should be very important. That should be looked into; you
must always have a good Under-19 team. That will push your
senior players and keep them on their toes, and you need a
Zimbabwe A team travelling constantly. When that happens, you
know that even the players who are in the top eleven are edgy;
they want to concentrate and get runs because there'll be
somebody else pushing. By making a Zimbabwe A team travel a lot,
it's the young players who are getting the exposure and learning
quickly.