In September 1960, before going to university, I gained three weeks' work experience as a (so-called) carpenter's mate through one of the players who was a manager at my father's cricket club. This grounds was exceptional. Marlborough House in St James was where the Queen Mother lived until her death in 1953. The mansion is being renovated in preparation for rental to the Federal Secretariat, an arrangement that continues.
There were two types of carpenters who worked on the house. The elderly trade union craftsmen worked delicately, slowly and steadily but deftly repairing the window sashes of the grand drawing room. They were conscious of their hard-won rights and requirements, such as long apprenticeships, tea breaks, lunch breaks, and seniority-based pay. They grunted as steadily as they did their work, in monotonous London accents, mostly sotto voce. The other group were young men from Barbados, lively and energetic, speaking Patois. As expected, the unionists have little time for them, despise what they have, and just recently came off a boat “with no training and a hammer and saw in a paper bag.” they said. The Bajans were given minor mundane tasks. I remember standing there “helping” them install a false ceiling in the side room. They were huddled on the ceiling, speaking animatedly in accents I couldn't understand. it was fun. Both carpenters were kind, or at least tolerant, to me in their own ways.
I am reminded of this situation when I look at the composition of the England cricket tour party to India this winter and the selection of the squad for the first two Tests. The point of comparison is not racial attitudes, but apprenticeships and seniority. While Jimmy Anderson, the ultimate craftsman, has moments where he is not averse to groaning, the rest of his bowling attack was raw and inexperienced. Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir have more than a saw and a hammer, but they don't have the experience of a Bajan carpenter. Hartley and Bashir had played in the first Test, followed by 20 and six first-class matches respectively. Ahmed played one Test for Pakistan over a year ago but only played 13 first-class matches.
I wonder what the people who were bowlers during my playing days would have muttered if they had seen such a selection. For example, Raymond Illingworth, Fred Titmuss, and many others to name, played two innings, six days a week, for at least five months, over several seasons and in varying conditions. I played a long game, before being selected for the England squad. I would agree that it takes time to learn the difficult trade of slow bowling. The Test team thought that such an inexperienced bowler could barely accommodate one, let alone two or three.
Compare Indian teams in the same match. Two of the three spinners at Hyderabad, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, had taken 500 Test wickets in the matches they played together. It was particularly dominant in India. The third, Axar Patel, had played 13 Tests and 53 first-class matches. When Jadeja missed the second match in Visakhapatnam due to injury, they brought in Kuldeep Yadav. He had already played eight Tests and 34 four-day matches.
I wonder what the people who were bowlers during my playing days would have muttered if they had seen such a selection.
And yet…England's young bowlers carried out their task bravely. In Hyderabad, where England won an extraordinary match by 28 runs, India's highly experienced spinners tested their accuracy with bold and innovative batting. Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Joe Root were versatile and daring, all masters of both the more or less orthodox sweep stroke and reverse sweep. Apparently the perfect delivery was sent in an unusual direction. Fielders had to be deployed to protect these boundaries, which meant other positions became available. The length of the bowlers was also disrupted, resulting in more half-volleys and short balls being bowled than usual.
When it was England's spinners' turn, they faced few unconventional shots from the Indian batsmen. They also weren't fazed by their own occasional errors and multiple full tosses and long hops. There were no signs of the 'yips', or panic attacks that can disrupt a bowler's stability.
Stokes' attitude was a huge factor in the resilience of England's young spinners. He gave debutant Hartley a new ball and kept him playing for long stretches despite an early whack from talented Indian opener Yashavsh Jaismal. He continued his relationship with Ahmed after that. In the second game, Bashir, making his debut, suffered a long struggle in the first inning.
These bowlers clearly have talent and confidence. Hartley and Bashir's height is well over his six feet, which is an advantage when bouncing and bowling at above-average speed. Moreover, neither seem to have lost the ability that many shorter bowlers have, namely the ability to release the ball from their hands above the batsman's line of sight.
Ahmed, on the other hand, has strong shoulders and a lively action that reminds us of Shane Warne, the greatest leg-spinner of all time. He puts his energy into delivery.
A final word about Hartley. He reminds me of Hedley Verity, the great Yorkshire and England bowler of the 1930s. He is easy going, has a high level of action, and is reliable without being pushy. He took 14 wickets in two matches. He bats and fields well too, and his batting average is higher than his bowling average. he has a good temperament. He is a quick learner.
The Greek goddess Athena was born fully formed from the head of Zeus. Perhaps Hartley can already repair the window sash.
