The Stars that shone bright during 2009

Biswajit Jha

The year 2009 saw the emergence of a number of young and bright cricketers. Despite the political instability back home, Pakistan played good cricket and produced two fine talents in Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer, while the Aussies and South Africans had tales of joy of their own too.
After the retirement of some famous cricketers, Australia needed quality players to be their apt replacement. They got at least five or six players, who can take the team forward in the coming days.

Though India became the number one side in ODI for a brief period and in the Test arena too at the end of this year, it’s surprising that they were unable to throw up any new stars. In their case, the tried and tested performed consistently in this year. Let’s reflect at some of the hits of 2009 from Zeecric’s angle and look in anticipation towards the coming year:

Mohammad Aamer: Pakistan is well-known to be the cradle of fast bowlers of high repute. A nation which gave birth to a number of famous pacers like Mohammad Nissar, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, has again dished out a promising left-arm fast bowler- Mohammad Aamer- who set the cricketing field on fire with his pace and swing in the second edition of T20 World Cup in 2009. Spotted by the great Wasim Akram and Aaqib Javed two years ago at a training camp as a 15-year-old talented boy, Mohammad Aamer has become a force to reckon with in world cricket within a few months of his international debut. It was his performance that helped Pakistan claim the T20 World Cup. A bowler who can consistently bowl around 90mph, Aamer has a unique ability to move the ball both ways. Though he is still in his formative days as a cricketer, he is destined to become a pace bowling great if the same grit is pursued that earned him the berth in the Pakistan team.Umar Akmal: Along with Mohammad Aamer, Pakistan has successfully produced a rare batting talent in Umar Akmal, the younger brother of Pakistani wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. A natural talent and red hitter, Umar can take on any opposition and collar them all over the park. Umar came into the Pakistan side through the ranks, playing for the country at the Under-19 level first and then broke into the Pakistan A side before making his debut for the Pakistan national team. He impressed one and all with his flair in the shorter versions of cricket in the last few months. But no one expected him to play a counter-attacking innings against New Zealand in their own den on his debut Test. Undeterred by the unfavorable Dunedin conditions, undaunted by the reputation of Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori, and unmindful of the failure of his illustrious team mates, Umar launched a scathing attack against the Kiwis and earned his maiden century in no time. Watching his enormous potential from close quarters, Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam declared: “He is something very special and a very exciting player. He is a very hard working, dedicated young person [and] a very exciting cricketer. We are lucky to have him in the side and I think he`s got a great future for Pakistan. The good thing is that he never gets under pressure. He plays his own natural game.” The above mentioned observations are enough for any cricket lover to understand Umar Akmal’s talent and potential.Marcus North: When the Australian team, after being defeated by South Africa in the home series earlier in the year, landed in South Africa for the away series one month later, no one gave them an iota of chance. What will an Australian team do without the likes of Haydens, Gilchrists and McGraths? But, they proved their critics wrong, winning the Test series in style, got some exciting new prodigies and displayed fortitude in the face of adversity. Though they lost the ODI series 2-3, they regained their supremacy in Tests, winning two out of the three Tests convincingly, and kept their number one Test ranking intact. More importantly, the rookies, who were dismissed as not the worthy successors, set the cricket field on fire and won crucial matches. That particular series marked the remarkable turn-around for Australian cricket and showed again that they have enough talent to carry forward their legacy. It may take sometime for the greenhorns to mature at the international arena, but they are ready to fight it out to hold on to their supremacy. Debutant Marcus North set the tone in the series as he hit a classy century in the first Test. After being on the fringes of the national side for years with consistent show for Western Australia, he finally got his due when he was selected for the tour of South Africa. In the first match, he rescued Australia’s fortune by scoring a gutsy 117. He then proved that his first century was not a fluke with two tons in the Ashes series. And there is no doubt that 30-year-old player will provide the much-needed solidity to the Australian batting line-up in the next few years to come.Peter Siddle: In the absence of McGrath (due to retirement) and Brett Lee (due to injury), Australia were in dire need for a quality fast bowling pair. Mitchell Johnson was the only paceman, whom Ricky Ponting could trust with the shiny cherry. The Oz attack suddenly looked toothless in the beginning of the year 2009. At that time Peter Siddle came forward to help Johnson as his opening partner. He has been one of the players who played an important role in Australia’s re-emergence as a super power in international cricket. A real fast bowler who can move the ball both ways, Siddle promises to lead the Oz bowling attack in the future. Though he showed his talent in the home series against South Africa, he excelled in the tour of South Africa couple of months later. In the 13 Test matches he has played so far, Siddle has captured 51 wickets with 5/21 being his best.Tim Paine: The post Adam Gilchrist era in Australian cricket saw several wicketkeepers donning the baggy-green cap, but no one seemed to fulfill the void created by the redoubtable wicketkeeper-batsman. Brad Haddin is a good cricketer. But he surely lacks the flamboyancy and talent of Gilchrist and with age catching up with him, Australia needed a wicketkeeper-batsman who could play an important role in their team. And when Haddin got injured in England ahead of the seven-match ODI series, Tim Paine got his chance and he grabbed it with both hands. In the fourth ODI against England he first showed his batting prowess with a clinical fifty while opening the innings, and in the sixth ODI he got the taste of his first hundred which helped his team thrash England in the seven-match series. In the subsequent India tour, Paine continued with his rich form, playing some fine innings for Oz in the ODI series before being forced to fly home due to injury. Just where Paine will fit into the national set-up upon Haddin`s return is unclear at present. Graham Manou`s commendable glove-work for Australia in the Edgbaston Test would suggest he remains Haddin`s understudy at the Test level, but Paine`s age and batting skills make for a compelling case. His lightness of feet and sure hands behind the stumps are also noteworthy. Surely, more international cricket is to come.Roelof van der Merwe: An ideal T20 player with all-round skills, South African Roelof van der Merwe’s performance played a key role in the transformation of Royal Challengers Bangalore this time in the IPL. Van der Merwe attracted the attention of the cricketing world by being presented Man of the Match award in his first T20 International against Australia, where he scored a quickfire 48 and claimed a wicket too. An ideal T20 spinner, who has the capacity to keep a tight noose around batsmen, Van der Merwe can hit the ball out of the park at will, which makes him a deadly player in the abbreviate format of the match. Besides contributing with the bat in crunch situations, he picked up 9 wickets in the 10 matches he played for runners-up Royals Challenger Bangalore. His performance in the IPL made him a regular member in South Africa’s T20 and ODI squads.Dirk Nannes: It’s not easy to keep Glen McGrath out of any cricket squad. However, Victoria left-arm paceman Dirk Nannes did exactly that. The son of Dutch migrant parents, Dirk Nannes is really a curious case as he was a World Cup skier and a self-proclaimed ‘accidental cricketer’. When he was not selected in the Australian T20 team for World T20 Championships, he declared that he would play for Netherlands in the upcoming T20 World Cup. This made him the first Dutch player to play in the IPL. Anything but a real quick bowler, Nannes can speak Japanese, studied the saxophone at university and runs a successful ski-travel company. So his entry into the IPL is another cap in his already eventful life. But most importantly, he did not disappoint Indian fans. A happy-go-lucky character, whom Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag described as the ‘fastest bowler he ever faced’, Nannes forged a deadly new-ball pair with Ashish Nehra and took 15 wickets in the T20 event. He gave Delhi Daredevils important breakthroughs early in every match and his performance remained one of the reasons that Delhi, despite losing in the semis, was the most consistent IPL team this year. His superb show in IPL earned him an Australia call-up for a T20 match.