Power of Rohan Kanhai an extraordinary Caribbean batsman
food
Caribbean Life, A BQ ug. 16-23, 2019 11
men could wear down
an attack, Kanhai would
dissect it with clinical
precision. He was poetry,
rather than prose. Ballet,
rather than dance.
Artistry, rather than
sheer power, although
this never compromised
the force with which he
hit the ball. He glided in
riveting stroke play, batting
with the dexterity of
a virtuoso, yet prone to
Shakespearian tragedy at
any time. Kanhai on the
rampage was a mesmeric
joy to behold, even for
bowlers.
He did not have the
superlative statistics nor
the sheer all-round cricketing
genius of Garfield
Sobers, the awesome
power of Viv Richards,
Clyde Walcott, Clive Lloyd
or Gordon Greenidge, the
classical poise of Sachin
Tendulkar or Frank Worrell,
or the steadfastness
of George Headley or
Steve Waugh.
Nor did he have the
impregnable technique
or patience of Geoff
Boycott, Jack Hobbs or
Sunil Gavaskar, the insatiable
appetite for runs
like Don Bradman, the
grace of Greg Chappell
or Zaheer Abbas or the
oriental calm of Majid
Khan. Nor did his interaction
with the game of
cricket spawn changes
to the socio-political
structures of society
and effect reforms of a
radical nature as Learie
Constantine’s and W.G.
Grace’s did.
Nor did he assume
superstar status like
Brian Lara or Sachin
Tendulkar. Nor did he
achieve batting statistics
to propel him to the type
of immortality attained
by Sir Don Bradman, Lara
or Tendulkar. Yet, Kanhai
possessed a combination
of batting prowess, originality
and sportsmanship
above and beyond
the reach of all of these
great players to such an
unparalleled degree that
has never been seen in
the game of cricket and
perhaps will never be
equaled. His arrival to
the wicket heralded both
hush and expectancy.
Bars closed as all looked
to the drama that was
about to unfold before a
Kanhai innings.
His creative genius
surpassed any other batsman
in the game, and
his flamboyance was
spellbinding. There were
times in his batting artistry
where he touched
heights of batsmanship
beyond the reach of any
batsman, such as in the
execution of his unique
“triumphant fall, roti
shot,” or falling hook
shot, most times played
off the eyebrows, the
half-pull, half-sweep style
stroke, the flick off the
toes which dissected the
on-side field, the reverse
sweep off the leg stump,
the magical late-cut or
his majestic cover driving.
Cricketers like him
invented and pioneered
many innovations to the
game which have made it
richer and dearer to spectators.
As cricket scribes
would say, “Many batsmen
may enter the same
cathedral of batsmanship
with Kanhai, but will not
be allowed to sit in the
same pew.” In Michael
Manley’s book, “A History
of West Indian cricket,”
Kanhai is photographed
sitting with George Headley
and Everton Weekes,
and that is how they may
all sit in the front pew of
that proverbial cathedral,
with Viv Richards, Brian
Lara, Gary Sobers and
Frank Worrell.
In his book “Idols,”
Sunil Gavaskar, whose
gigantic batting feats have
not only eulogized him in
calypso but also immortalized
him in a manner
second to none, said this
of Kanhai: “Rohan Kanhai
is quite simply the
greatest batsman I have
ever seen. What does one
write about one’s hero,
one’s idol, one for whom
there is so much admiration?
To say that he is the
greatest batsman I have
ever seen so far is to put
it mildly. A controversial
statement perhaps, considering
that there have
been so many outstanding
batsmen, and some
great batsmen that I have
played with and against.
But, having seen them
all, there is no doubt in
my mind that Rohan
Kanhai was quite simply
the best of them all.”
Gavaskar continues,
“Sir Gary Sobers came
quite close to being the
best batsman, but he
was the greatest cricketer
ever, and could do
just about anything.
But as a batsman, I
thought Rohan Kanhai
was just a little bit better.”
In his book “Living
For Cricket,” Clive Lloyd
definitively said that he
regarded Kanhai as “the
finest batsman Guyana
has produced.” In his
book, “Willow Patterns,”
Richie Benaud, one of
the most respected cricket
gurus, confirmed that
he “thought that Kanhai
was just a shade over
Sobers.”
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