Chappell: Shane Warne Did Not Bowl That Badly In The Match

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has named the historic 2001 Test match innings by VVS Laxman, where he hit 281 runs against Australia as one of the two greatest knocks against spin.

The other innings are by Australian Doug Walters against India in Madras, present-day Chennai, in 1969.

The marathon partnership of 376 runs between Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) helped India win the Test despite Australia forcing follow-on India.

Chappell wrote about the innings which were played at Eden Gardens,” The absence of any cricket (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) allows me to reflect on an aspect of the game I enjoy: watching a batsman utilize good footwork to combat top-class spin bowling. Two innings stand out: one played by India’s VVS Laxman, the other by Doug Walters of Australia.”

He added,” “Laxman’s incredible 281 at Calcutta in 2001 is the best I’ve seen against top-class leg-spin. At the conclusion of that exhilarating series, I asked Shane Warne how he thought he bowled. He replied that he did not bowl that badly, and I agreed.”

He further wrote,” “If Laxman comes three paces out of his crease and hits an unbelievable on-drive against the spin. You then flight the next delivery a little higher and shorter to invite another drive, and instead, he quickly goes onto the back foot and pulls it, that’s not bad bowling. That’s good footwork.

“Laxman regularly did this during his 452-ball stay, in which he hit 44 boundaries. Therein lies a clue to Laxman’s success: he consistently hit the ball along the ground,” said Chappell, also praising Laxman’s temperament.

“Walters Was The Best Player Of Off-spin Bowling I Have Seen”

Writing about the other innings, he said,” “Walters scored a Test century in a session three times. There are no complete records regarding this feat, but I suspect only Sir Donald Bradman did it more often.

“Walters was the best player of off-spin bowling I have seen; he didn’t just survive against the very best, he occasionally battered them into submission. He scored a sublime hundred on a Madras minefield in 1969, facing the off-spin wizardry of Erapalli Prasanna, clubbing 14 fours and two sixes in the process,”