Malinda Words: No shortcuts to direct hits

Kusal Janith Perera was right-handed. Is right-handed could also be correct. I have not read anything that indicates he is ambidextrous. And yet, he bats left-handed. Most cricket fans would know why.

Kusal was determined to emulate his cricketing hero, Sanath Jayasuriya, one of the most explosive left-hand batters of his time. So he decided he would bat left-handed. He hasn’t exactly matched the Master Blaster in terms of runs, fours, sixers, average and strike rate across all formats, but Kusal has had splendid days out there in the middle in all formats.

It takes a lot of effort. I can’t begin to fathom the amount of work he would have had to put in. I am right-handed and I find it tedious to use my left hand with a spanner, part of scissors or pen, or even to turn a key on a lock.

Kusal Janith Perera is one of a kind, I feel. It is quite possible that his numbers would have been pretty much the same or even better had he tried to be a right-handed Jayasuriya. We will never know now.

We do know that hard work pays. It is an exceptional work ethic that turns talented into consistent and brilliant into legendary. That’s what is common in stories of those whose names come into the frame when ‘the greatest’ of any sport is debated.

You don’t have to read all the biographies of the greats to figure this out. It is something we know intuitively. That’s ‘theory’. The proof or rather the delivery has to be in practice. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s explanation of developing fielding skills puts things in perspective. This is what he said during an interview aired on Sirasa TV:

‘Back in the day, I was determined to do well with the bat and if I failed then somehow save 10 to 20 runs in the field. I worked hard on my fielding, all by myself. I had a daily personal plan. I would not go home until I had ten direct hits [at the wickets]. Initially it took me an hour or two. After about six hours of this regimen, I could achieve the target in approximately five minutes.’

Dilshan is considered one of the best fielders who ever wore the Sri Lankan cap. Now we know how it happened. Not just talent, but relentless practice.

There are no shortcuts to greatness. Moreover, as Dilshan’s story shows, the task set is not ‘greatness’ but, let’s say, ‘betterness;’ consistently seeking improvement. What started as an exercise that required a couple of hours to complete would have gradually taken 100 minutes, 80 minutes, half an hour, 15 minutes and so on until just five minutes would suffice.

Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilleka once told me that at one point in his life he had decided he would write a novel and to this end he designed a strict regimen that included wake-up and go-to-bed times and a specific writing-time in his wakeful hours. It must have been difficult at first. Of course such discipline can be seen as a necessary but not sufficient condition to achieve greatness as a writer, but then again if you don’t write, you just won’t get your novel done, forget the Booker, a Pulitzer or a Nobel Prize.

We have all seen Dilshan’s amazing athleticism on the field. Sanka Vidanagama's photograph captures it really well. Dilshan has drawn oohs and aahs from crowds all over the world. That’s the end point. In most cases, that’s what is evident. We have seen direct hits but that’s not all that made people gasp. Spectacular catches and incredible stops are part of Dilshan’s fielding highlights reel. He saved runs and he helped make the bowling figures of his teammates pretty.

In 497 international Dilshan has figured in 57 run outs. His ‘run out rate’ is marginally better than Sanath Jayasuriya’s (63 in 587 internationals). Ricky Ponting (86/543) has been more lethal but not by much. The inimitable Jonty Rhodes (68/297) stands apart, of course.

Jack Clayton, writing for www.stumps.com, says that Jonty had a ‘don’t stop me now’ approach to practicing: ‘Stories of him delaying the team bus to get in one more round of reflex catching on the training pitch sum up the man's mythology.’ Dilshan was no different.

The lesson is clearly applicable to all sports. I am thinking of Dennis Rodman, arguably the best rebounder in basketball history. He found ways of being at the right place and jumping or moving at the right time and pace respectively to put up amazing rebounding numbers. Practice, that’s how he did it. He would get balls thrown at the basket from all angles in quick succession and then try to grab them all off the rim or the glass. This is how the relevant physics becomes second nature.

That’s how archers hit bullseyes consistently. That’s how Dilshan ran people out. No shortcuts. Just. Hard. Work.

['The Morning Inspection' is the title of a column I wrote for the Daily News from 2009 to 2011, one article a day, Monday through Saturday. This is the 287th article in the new series that began in December 2022. Links to previous articles are given below]

07 December 2023

No shortcuts to direct hits

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