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A Roger Binny appreciation post on his birthday. To begin with, look at the rolled sleeves. To begin with, no bowler, Indian or otherwise, looked as cool while rolling up his sleeve.
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Let me start with a childhood memory. India got 403 in Calcutta Test of 1986-87, but Miandad kept Pakistan in control. Another draw was the general consensus.
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I was there, all of nine and trying to figure out who was who and was good at what. An evening breeze used to blow to the ground from the Hooghly in those days, especially in late afternoon.
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That day was no exception, I remember. What I also remember was that it brought Roger Binny to breathe life into what looked like a dead contest.
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The ball that got Miandad must have been special, because the elderly men in the stands mentioned terms like "straight seam" (at nine in the Doordarshan era I had no clue). Miandad was caught behind, and later in the same over, Malik was trapped leg-before.
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The door had not been pushed open – yet – but you could see the faintest of lights through it. And that enormous coliseum broke into a rhythmic, almost ritualistic chant.
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Kapil bowled Rizwan, but it was clearly going to be Binny's day. Binny had Imran caught. Then a young Wasim Akram looked clueless till Binny bowled him.
From 178/2 Pakistan were suddenly 207/7. The spell, I later found out, was 4/9 from 30 balls.
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From 178/2 Pakistan were suddenly 207/7. The spell, I later found out, was 4/9 from 30 balls.
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Pakistan were bowled out for 229 next morning, Binny 6/56.
I have had cricketing heroes before, but on television. Binny was the first I saw create magic in front of my own eyes.
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I have had cricketing heroes before, but on television. Binny was the first I saw create magic in front of my own eyes.
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Binny was a better bowler than he is usually given credit for. Everyone knows he was India's leading wicket-taker in the 1983 World Cup.
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What is not as well-known is the fact that he was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the Benson & Hedges World Championship of 1984-85. His average (13.67) was next to only Garner's, and his strike rate (19.8) was the best.
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If one takes performances against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe away, only Kapil and Srinath had better averages among Indian seamers till 2015, when the Golden Age of Indian Seam Bowling began. Binny also had a better strike rate than both Srinath and Kapil.
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Curiously, his First-Class bowling average was an ordinary, even poor, 36. But he was an an all-rounder at that level, often opening batting for Karnataka. In 1977-78, he and Sanjay Desai added an unbroken 451 for the first wicket at 6.17 an over.
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He has opened batting for India in Tests (thrice) and ODIs (11 times) as well. There were also rearguard acts, especially in the 1983-84 home season, when he got 83* and 54 against Pakistan as well as 39, 52, 32, 65, and 44 against West Indies.
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Then there were the bursts. At Bombay in 1979-80 he got Majid, Zaheer, and Miandad, leaving Pakistan at 53/3.
At Ahmedabad in 1983-84 he jolted West Indies with 6-0-18-3 (Haynes, Greenidge, Richards) before getting injured. From 27/3 West Indies recovered to 281.
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At Ahmedabad in 1983-84 he jolted West Indies with 6-0-18-3 (Haynes, Greenidge, Richards) before getting injured. From 27/3 West Indies recovered to 281.
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In England in 1986, Binny had 3/55 in 1/44 at Lord's, then 5/40 and 2/18 at Headingley. These were the two Tests India won on that tour. And played two crucial innings of 26 and 40.
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In fact, the first Anglo-Indian to play Test cricket for India averaged 20.91 in Tests and 19.13 in ODIs on English soil.
And when India won the 2000 Under-19s World Cup, Binny became the first Indian to win a World Cup as player and coach.
And when India won the 2000 Under-19s World Cup, Binny became the first Indian to win a World Cup as player and coach.
