Some records are there for the breaking, not the taking

Rahul Dravid once shyly admitted to being an autograph hunter. His almost quiet boyish smile betrayed the irony of it all, of an almost emba...

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Rahul Dravid once shyly admitted to being an autograph hunter. His almost quiet boyish smile betrayed the irony of it all, of an almost embarrassing moment when, as a teenager, he keenly sought the prized Kapil Dev signature. It showed how even modern heroes are not averse to lifting the stoical cover to display that human trait which most try to hide.

Only Dravid is that kind of person. So as he lay in some discomfort on the not too friendly turf at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, his legs cramping, he’d have been aware that he’d joined a select band of batsmen by scoring four successive Test centuries would now make his own autograph a prized signature. It is the sort of remarkable achievement which neither Sir Donald Bradman nor his Mumbai makeover, Sachin Tendulkar, have managed. He still has one to go to match Sir Everton Weekes, who began his impressive run of five against England at Sabina Park, in Kingston in March 1948 with and innings of 141 and ended it at Eden Gardens in January 1949 with a brace.

Though no one can write off Tendulkar, and his chances of claiming for himself any records he hasn’t yet, Dravid is different. Even the Wankhede faithful, whose adulation of Tendulkar exceeds the sort of norms expected, wrote posters, chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation when he was helped off.

Four Test centuries: three against England and one against the West Indies. Just the sort of record which has meaning. The other two who have four are South African Alan Melville, whose efforts were all against England and on both sides of World War 2, and Jack Fingleton in 1936/37 with one against England and three against South Africa.

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Weekes, indeed, could have made it six, but why be too greedy? Five is a handsome figure for a batsman whose cover drive and brutal hook and pull shots usually threatened the limbs of anyone who happened to be loitering in the path of the ball. The four reeled off against India in the 1948/49 debut series between the two started in Delhi, continued at the Brabourne Stadium and then to Eden Gardens, whose shape and size was vastly different to the great venue it is now. In his sixth innings at the Chepauk in Madras, he was run out when ninety. Oh, dear! So near yet a bridge too far. The only criticism of Dravid is that he went down with cramps. Surely he should have realised the problem as he had barely returned from the tea break? Or were the Indian management not consulted, or bothered about their star batsman’s welfare to monitor his fitness in such heat?

While the Dravid drama was being played out, shadowy TV images showed how Herschelle Gibbs missed out on breaking a batting record. This one was the one-day international variety. The first century was against India in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo last month.

This was the innings where Gibbs’s fitness, or lack of it, ended in bad cramps, costing South Africa a place in the final. Again the management team responsible — a doctor, fitness specialist and physiotherapist — failed to observe the signs.

The next two centuries at ODI level from the South African opener were rattled off in South Africa against Bangladesh: the first in Potchefstroom, then Willowmoore Park Benoni, venue of the famous fastest first-class triple century by Denis Compton. Then it was on to Kimberley, the birthplace of the South African Cricket Association in November 1890.

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Gibbs too was looking for a record, only he didn’t get it: a fourth consecutive ODI century and two of them off Bangladesh. The bowler pushed the ball wide past the leg-stump to prevent Gibbs from placing his name at the top of a list of most successive centuries at ODI level. Would this have been a real record? One to compare with say, that of a Test century? In fact, is the game that hard up to acknowledge such a meaningless contest?

Sure, the Bangladesh guys are a friendly bunch and do not create a fuss. But, drawn from a population five times the size of South Africa, and despite fanatical following even for club games, they have yet to put a solid performance together and scoring anything in excess of 180 is something of a miracle.

So, yes…the question has to be asked. Do such records have any real meaning? As Bangladesh are pummelled into submission with regular ease the thought of further meaningless records being set creates the impression that a particular batsman, or bowler, is better than he really is. Gibbs is a quality batsman, one who is far too good to have his name linked to an embarrassing record. Yet that is the level to which the one-day game has slipped.