Strong and forthright, it's Merv with no mo
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday December 19, 2009
Doug Bollinger turned the match on its head with a splendid post-lunch spell. Already the Australians had raised their game by cutting out the loose deliveries so thoughtfully provided on the previous evening.Even so, they lacked menace until the uncompromising speedster grabbed the ball and went to work. Steaming to the crease, managing to convey his low opinion of batsmen without opening his mouth, hitting his length and his straps, he caused first a commotion and then a collapse. Upon taking his fifth wicket, he held the ball aloft and looked as pleased as punch. His smile will have lingered deep into the nightBollinger is a throwback and none the worse for that. It is hard to imagine him twittering or facebooking or worrying about carbon footprints or sipping sherry. For all this column knows he may favour delicatessens and waxed chests, but it seems unlikely. He looks like a beer-and-sawdust man, a straight shooter, unstinting, unwavering, uncomplicated. Certainly he bowls along these lines. As far as he is concerned, coaches over-elaborate and captains confuse the issue. Umpires are tolerable so long as they answer his appeals in the affirmative. Otherwise they are as much use as traffic wardens. Referees are beyond the pale.Honouring a great tradition, Bollinger ran to the crease and let rip. Throughout he set the tone, gave the attack the leadership it craved.Strength and simplicity count among his virtues. Immediately he coaxed an indiscretion from Ramnaresh Sarwan, a shaky off-driver with a poor record against these opponents. Hitherto the Australians had been wayward. Focus had been lost in a flurry of boundaries and words. Bollinger changed all that.All morning the hosts continued to plug away like a busy electrician but only one more wicket fell as Narsingh Deonarine's tentative tenure reached its conclusion. But West Indies batting is fragile, dependent on the captain. Dwayne Bravo had been playing a strange game, combining watchful defence with sudden rushes of blood. More had been expected from him.Bollinger's second burst was potent and canny. Bravo drove a boundary and next ball moved back expecting reprisals. But Bollinger has been around a while. Out-thinking Bravo, he pitched up, angled across the stranded right-hander and celebrated as ball grazed bat. Experts detected reverse swing in the delivery, further evidence that Bollinger has his secrets. Some of these bruisers are more subtle than they appear. It must be admitted, though, that wisdom is not so easily detected in other parts of his game, especially his somewhat hazardous running between wickets.By now Bollinger had been embraced by the crowd. Seeking a hero, sensing a character, spectators chanted his name, urged him on. It is a local custom.They know he is not Dennis Lillee but reckon he might have a bit of Merv Hughes in him. They can tell, too, that he is one of them. By the same token, Sulieman Benn serves as the visiting villain, a role for which he has auditioned unsparingly. Bollinger greeted the maligned tailender with a barrage of bumpers.Meanwhile, Nathan Hauritz was proving a capable foil as he flighted his off-breaks enticingly and extracted bounce and deviation from a superb track. A few months ago it was hard to imagine Bollinger and Hauritz running through a field let alone a Test team. Admittedly West Indies batting is fragile. The tweaker picked up three wickets, reward for his willingness to out-stare punishment. Off-spinners are gaining ground as southpaws take over the game. At present there are more lefties in cricket than in Copenhagen.Scenting blood, Bollinger kept going. Ricky Ponting is a brave man but even he baulked at taking the ball from the paceman. Nor did fate deny the left-armer. Dinesh Ramdin wandered across his sticks and lost them.Bollinger had taken his fourth wicket, one to go. And it came his way as a bunny drove lavishly and snicked whereupon a loquacious home gloveman dived and claimed a tricky snare. Bollinger was ecstatic. He left the field a man proud of his position and satisfied with his work.Stronger teams than West Indies await, but that is a tale for another day.For now it is enough to salute the unstinting speedster, an honest toiler whose day had come. Bollinger has many fine qualities, including one that has so far escaped mention. He stays fit. Bowlers are going down like morteined mozzies, and not only in Australia. Almost an entire Ashes attack has been wiped out. South Africa and West Indies have not emerged unscathed.Everything except swine flu has been blamed.Meanwhile, Bollinger keeps rolling up his sleeves, striding back to his mark and having another go. In short he is a captain's delight.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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