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The Cricket Interview/Mike Coward

'It is of great concern that India plays little Test cricket'

Part two, of an in-depth conversation the eminent Australian cricket writer had with Haresh Pandya

"Stability. Sheer stability," says Mike Coward, discussing what, in his opinion, lies behind the Aussie cricketing success story. "Australian cricket in the mid-eighties had all kinds of problems, caused by the World Series Cricket and the Packer rebellion of the seventies, compounded by the rebel tours to South Africa in the eighties. What all this did was to create a situation where there were no reserves left, no bench strength. And just at that time, the likes of Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh retired.

"So from being a powerful side, Australia was left with virtually nothing, it had to start from scratch.

"That was why stability became crucial. And Australian cricket got this, from people like Bobby Simpson who was the coach for almost ten years, Errol Alcott who was then, and still is, the physiotherapist, Allan Border who remained as captain for a good 12 years, Ian McDonald who, during that period and right up to now functioned as media manager, Jim Higgs who has had a long stint as selector... what we are saying is that five or six critical positions have been in the hands of committed and competitive people. And that kind of thing provides immense stability.

"Border created and fostered a great team, which Mark Taylor has taken over in brilliant fashion. And again, it must be emphasised that this was possible only because of the prevailing environment of stability.

"In such a situation, you find that the core of the side picks itself, and that in turn means your captain has good backup -- like Taylor has good back up from people like Ian Healy, Steve and Mark Waugh, Shane Warne...this builds the team into a tight unit on and off the field, there is a sense of camaraderie, of belonging, and all this translates into confidence and that, in turn, into success."

Coward in unequivocal when it comes to discussing his belief that Australia ranks at the very top of the cricketing totem pole. "I do believe Australia is the best Test side in the world at the moment," he says. "A beautifully-balanced side, very adaptable, besides being a very good one day team as well. I think India is probably as good as us in the one day game, I wish India played more Test cricket though, the fact that it plays so little in the longer version of the game is becoming a very great concern to people outside this country, there is a feeling among us that India has lost interest in Test match cricket.

"It is doubly unfortunate because Test cricket has come back strongly in Australia, it is strong again in New Zealand and getting stronger in South Africa, England, the Caribbean. It is only on the subcontinent that the emphasis is more on the shorter version of the game.

"I think this is a very sad thing. Tendulkar for instance maybe as great a player as the game has seen in the last fifty years, but he is not going to get the opportunities to show his wares to the cricket world in the traditional arena, at least not as much as we would like. People in Australia for instance feel very deprived at not seeing much of Tendulkar, he hasn't been to Australia since 1991-'92 when, as a boy he scored that magnificent century at Sydney when he was just 18. We in Australia feel deprived that we have not seen more of such innings from him, and the same to a lesser degree is true about Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, and Vinod Kambli, too. Kambli was just starting out when he came to Australia for the 1992 World Cup, we realise his ability but regret that we have at first hand seen so little of it.

"We see more of India in one-day internationals in different parts o the world. Fortunately, this time, Australia's itinerary in India includes three Tests -- the last time, there was just a one off Test, and that is too little to really see the top players compete with each other, to display their talents.

"I think it is about time the Indian Board moved to show the rest of the world that they are interested in Test cricket, you have a great team and it deserves the best platform to show itself off."

Getting back to what makes Australia an outstanding side, Coward thinks that mental toughness has a lot to do with it. "From a very early age, Australians are brought up in a competitive sports environment, taught to play competitively from the time they first play sports. Added to this is a fierce sense of pride, at least part of which has to do with geographical isolation.

"In fact, the same can be said about the South Africans, they are a long way away from the rest of the world, and perhaps as a result, are dead keen to put themselves on the map, to show everyone what a good side they are.

"Sports plays such an important in the fabric of society in Australia, our international identity is based on sporting achievements. In the olden days it was swimming and tennis and of course cricket, it is our success in these things that put us on the map, and I guess that is where our passion for sports gets its fuel."

The Aussie bid to be called the best Test nation in the world began in the Caribbean, where Taylor led his side to a spectacular win against the hosts way back in 1995. This, analysts at the time held, was the harbinger of change, of the ending of an established world order, the birth of a new era.

"I think we have got to be fair to the West Indies," muses Coward. "They have lost only two series since 1980-81; and both times to Australia. Of course, they haven't played good one-day cricket for many years, the last World Cup was no exception. Now, historically, we have always judged nations on the basis of what they could do in Tests, not ODIs. Sri Lanka for instance may be a great one-day side today, but what is its record in Test match cricket? Do they have bowlers who can bowl out sides twice in a match or two?

"Similarly, it seems to me that a lot of the judgement being made about the West Indies have been based on one-day cricket and not Test cricket. Of course, there is no doubt that the great era of the West Indies had ended -- but again, I think the most remarkable thing was the ability of the Windies to go to the top and stay there for so many years, and then to continue to be a good Test side after the exit of Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Jeff Dujon, Joel Garner and Desmond Haynes, among others. You could argue that they should have lost to South Africa in that amazing Test match in Barbados in 1992, which they won from the jaws of defeat. Just like in that dramatic Test against India more recently at the same venue. Again, they were on the verge of losing the Test series to Australia in 1992-'93 when they won the last Test in Adelaide by one run and saved their pride. What becomes obvious here is that they were on the brink for several years before they finally fell.

"Eras end, epochal periods come to a close, and that is what happened to the West Indies. Certainly, the West Indians are not what they are. Certainly, there is some dissension within the team because of the politics involved. But you hear of the personality clashes, the controversies and drama only when a side is losing. When you win, none of the dirty linen comes out. It will be interesting to see the West Indies' progress in international cricket in the immediate future. To my mind, it is unrealistic, first, to expect them to have been able to continue at the top, so rather than mourning the decline, I think we the international cricket community should be taking our hats off to one of the greatest eras in the history of cricket. It is one thing to establish a standard, quite another to maintain it -- and maintain it is what the Windies did, so brilliantly."

Asked to name the five greatest batsmen he has seen in his time of covering cricket, Coward says that is a huge challenge. "I think I will name the five who have given me most joy to watch, and Ian Chappell has always to be there. He was very tough mentally and certainly the best captain I've seen, hard and tough, a magnificent batsman in all conditions. David Gower I thought was probably the greatest artist of the time I've been writing and commentating, I could watch him for hours, he was one of the sweetest timers of the cricket ball, a very delicate, touch type, player. I respect Sunil Gavaskar enormously because of his achievements against the West Indies, who were the power side of the modern era, for Gavaskar to perform against them the way he did was absolutely remarkable. He was arguably the finest opening batsman of his time, sound technique, very large repertoire strokes.

"I respect Clive Lloyd ver much, one of the most influential cricketers of the modern era. Like with Vivian Richards later, his was a question of black culture, of proving to the world the great ability of the West Indian cricketers and in the process, of giving the world an idea of their culture, of the Africans playing for the Windies. Then there was Greg Chappell, another batsman you would gladly pay to watch... you can go on and on like that, talking of the ones who give you undiluted pleasure.

"For me, a player is judged not only by the nature of his batting, but also in a historical perspective, you should judge them on the contributions they have made to the game and the society, and not only as cricketers.

"If you were to ask me which was the most significant innings I had seen, I would probably say Dean Jones' 210 in the tied Test at Chennai in 1986, because it was an innings of such extraordinary courage. It had come at such a critical time in the evolution of Australian cricket, like Greg Chappell's 131 at Lord's in 1972 -- both signalled the start of a new era in Australian cricket. Similarly, when you think of the greatest of cricketers, you think too of the enormous contributions they have made to the game. And by this yardstick, the Chappels, Lloyd and Gavaskar have made enormous contributions to every aspect of cricket -- not only in the middle, but also off the field as well."

Obviously, Coward's mindset differs radically from that of the majority of his contemporaries -- and this differing perspective permeates into his books as well.

"Obviously," he says, when asked about his book Cricket Beyond the Bazaar, "I love the game of cricket, and I am interested in the people who play it, I am interested in the people around the game, in cricket conversations and so on. But I am, above all, interested in cricket in context of any given society. So when I write, I try to take the reader beyond the boundary, to a side he probably hasn't seen.

"I've been very lucky to get to travel, see different societies, to see different people and have different experiences. For instance, when I was living in the fishing village of Palavakkam near Chennai, writing some parts of Beyond the Bazaar, I used to play with the kids on the beach. And we used to get along very well even though I can't speak Tamil -- all we needed was the language of cricket, and that is a very powerful language indeed.

"I had a very good time with a young boy from Neelangarai, whose name was G. Santhanam. I spent a lovely day at the beach with him and his friends Kumar and Premkumar, and later we had dosas at the excellent restaurant at New Woodlands Hotel where I was staying.

"Another time, I met a boy in Peshawar, on the road, a boy who had heard of Allan Border but not of Australia. He had been born in the Afghan Refugees' Camp and was taught cricket by the north-east frontier boys. What I'm trying to say is that I am interested in the impact that cricket has on any society. And I try to convey that in my writing."

Coward says it is difficult, for him, to rank his books, to name any one of them as the best. "Let's put it this way, they've all been very satisfying to do. But I've always had got a soft spot for Cricket Beyond the Bazaar for two reasons. One, of course, is because it was my first cricket book of real quality, of the kind I wanted to do. I think too that it was an area that was crying out for an examination, because the tied Test in Chennai had been ignored in Australia. Also, Australia's success in the 1987 World Cup had been largely ignored, particularly by television and radio. I was so angered by that, I have in fact been very disappointed that Australia has paid so little attention to cricket in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Partly because Australian cricket has had such an important role to play in this region, and also because Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans have such a great understanding, passion and respect for Australian cricket, which I have wished was returned in kind.

"I would like to see Australian schools coming to play cricket against schools in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka rather than going to New Zealand or to England. In fact, I've spoken to John Inverarity, the former Australian Test player and vice-captain who is now a headmaster, in this regard. I've tried to encourage him to bring his boys to India.

"For many years, Australians have been involved in cricket in India. Lillee's association with the MRF Pace Foundation is too well known to mention here. But even before him there were lots of Aussies involved in Indian cricket, one way or the other. There is a strong cricketing link between Australia and India, but it is not widely recognised.

"Hopefully, thanks to television, there should be a new appreciation cricket in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka so far as Australia is concerned. And that will be wonderful. My big motivation for Cricket Beyond the Bazaar was because I feel very comfortable in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I enjoy the region, I enjoy the people, I enjoy the experience, and I wanted to convey that enjoyment, wanted to make sure the Australian success was recorded for posterity, particularly the account of the Tied Test in Chennai since it was only the second of its kind in Test history."

Coward makes no secret of his fascination for Asian cricket. Born in Adelaide and placed for adoption at birth, Coward was educated at Pulteney Grammar School and Saltash Business College but was, in his own words, an "an unremarkable student, to say the least."

He began work with the now defunct Adelaide News, which was the base from which Rupert Murdoch built his media empire, News Corporation International. Coward's mentor was Lawrie Jervis, who he remembers as a brillant sports writer who began professional journalism in politics, a bit like Jack Fingleton, before shifting to sports.

"He gave me some priceless advice at the start of my career. "Be a journalist before you are a sportswriter," Jervis told me. So before I got into sports, I did the police rounds, was a court reporter, did general news. Even in 1986, when I was in New Zealand covering the Australian tour for the Sydney Morning Herald, I was able to answer the call from a news editor to cover the sinking of a luxury Russian ship."

Sports, however, remained his ideal. Coward recalls how as a child, much of his waking moments were spent in "worship" of Australian batsman Les Favell (whose sole Test century incidentally came at the old Corporation Ground in Chennai. "He played the game as I believe it should be played - as a celebration. I defended him in schoolyard arguments and extolled his virtues to any one who would listen. Many years later, it was my good fortune to know him personally and to work alongside him. His death from cancer in 1987 was very hard to accept. A portrait of Les hangs above my writing desk, one of my proudest possessions is a South Australian cap Les's wife Berry and children Alan and Jane presented to me. I have some lovely pieces of cricket memorabilia but nothing with the power and significance of that cap," says a visibly proud Coward.

In his view, writing like other forms of expression is an "expression of the personality". "The style of writing should not be contrived," he elaborates. "I am always cynical of those who demand total objectivity in their writing. To me, total objectivity suggests a lack of passion and pride, and that is unacceptable. The best writing is passionate, caring writing. Rather than total objectivity, I think the writer/journalist should strive for impartiality and honesty and write with fervor.

"Certainly, television has changed writing styles and, I sense, the expectations of readers. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the reader wants strong and responsible opinion and analysis from the scribes, rather than just another version of what they've already seen on the screen.

"The demands on contemporary cricket writers are vast, and usually overlooked. People talk often of the revolution which occurred in the game over the last 15 years, but rarely recognise the revolution which has taken place within the cricketing writing community.

"My favourite cricket writer was John Arlott. His autobiography, Basingstoke Boy, was so very interesting, and that he wrote it in the third person was characteristic of such a self-effacing man. I enjoyed his work because of its warmth and honesty. He was a humanist first, and that was always evident in his work.

"For much the same reason, I think Ray Robinson was the finest cricket writer from Australia and I still classify his On Top Down Under as the best of the Australian cricket books. While perhaps it is difficult for me to be impartial when discussing contemporary writers - many of them being numbered among my friends - I particularly enjoy the work of Englishmen Matthew Engel, Scyld Berry, Alan Lee and Peter Roebuck and also have a very high regard for the work of R Mohan of India.

"The modern writer must have an in time knowledge of the vexed politics of the game, and Mohan's reading of the international game at all levels is exceptional. And for good measure, he writes in an elegant and incisive manner.

"With cricket, there is always a tendency to live in the past. As understandable as it might be, it is also potentially destructive. It's much like the old Bradman argument. How often you hear stuff like, imagine what Bradman would have averaged had he been playing today, and so on? Of course he would have scored heavily, but then why not pose the same rhetorical question about a Border, a Gavaskar? A Richards? Why not twist the question, stand it on its head, wonder what the modern masters would have scored in Bradman's time? A time when they would have had to contend with uncovered wickets, but where on the other hand they only needed to play in one or two countries?

"Much the same goes for journalists and writers. It is a different world today, it is difficult to compare today's greats with the masters of the past. I guess it is sufficient to say there are outstanding writers around the world, upholding the finest tradition of Arlott, Robinson, Fingleton, Neville Cardus and company.

"I am proud of what I've achieved, but feel I have a long way to go still. It is 25 years since my first tour - to England with Ian Chappell's team - where I had the good fortune to work alongside both Arlott, unquestionably the doyen of broadcasters, and Fingleton. In that sense I have been fortunate, I've had wonderful moments during my career as a cricket writer, none more so than being present at the Chennai tied Test. And my reconstruction of that match, in Cricket Beyond the Bazaar, is a piece of work I hold dear. I look back on 30 years in journalism with pride and satisfaction, but I know there is much more to accomplish. I want to write more books, and perhaps even explore fiction writing and script writing. Inshallah!"