We Are Witnessing Two of the Greatest Ever

By Zaheer Clarke

Published December 11, 2017

In Virat Kohli and Steven Smith, we are witnessing two of the greatest batsmen to ever play the game. 

Michael Clarke cracks emotionally during a tribute to Phillip Hughes before play in the first Test between Australia and India on the 1st day, December 9, 2014.
©Getty Images

For me, December 9, 2014, symbolises a remarkable turning point in cricket history. This day marked the beginning of the Border-Gavaskar Test series, which was hotly contested between Australia and India with the Aussies forever hospitable hosts. Two weeks prior, Phil Hughes, one of Australia’s promising batsman and their youngest ever twin centurion in a Test match, died tragically after a bouncer struck him in the neck during a Sheffield Shield match. On the morning of December 9, 2014, the entire country was still mourning. Tears flowed down the cheeks of every member of the worldwide cricket fraternity and it just kept on pouring.

At the beginning of the series, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith were considered batsmen with immense promise. However, they had not delivered on their potential in the most arduous format of the game, Test cricket. At the time, Kohli and Smith were averaging 39 and 40 respectively with the bat in Tests while Darren Bravo, dubbed the next Brian Lara by West Indian hopefuls, was averaging 43 in the same format. Since then, Kohli and Smith’s careers have soared in terms of runs and batting averages while that of Bravo’s has plummeted.

52 Days Between TRIUMPH & HEARTBREAK

By Zaheer E. Clarke

Published December 1, 2014

Phillip Hughes

In memory of Phillip Joel Hughes, a true gladiator

I haven’t had the guts to view the Phil Hughes blow from Sean Abbot’s bouncer a few days ago, simply because of the memories it would unearth and how lucky I’ve been in the past.

A DARK DAY

Phillip Hughes

Cricket, the gentleman’s game, has its dark side and dark days. The dark side in recent years has involved the much-hushed match-fixing or spot-fixing sagas. Last week, however, when Phil Hughes was hit in the head by a bouncer while attempting a hook shot, it saw the return of cricket’s dark days. The storm cloud was at the doorstep of every cricketer and fan: the possibility of death on the cricket pitch.