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“If you believe in yourself then only you can make impossible things happen”…
This is not some big name's quote, this is what I felt while watching Glen Maxwell play on the date 7 11 23, in the ICC Men’s World Cup vs Afghanistan! Just when I was going to start writing my sharing about team India’s attitude towards the game in league matches till now Glen’s game made me stop my sharing about team India & start writing about him instead, such was that innings & I am sure entire Australia must have stopped for last one hour of that innings to watch him play! Well, for all the non-cricket lovers (there are many such), at present ICC, (its International Body for cricket governance just the way IOC is for Olympics or FIFA is for Football) men’s cricket one world cup is going on in India & our team is at top of the table & team Australia is on third position & has nearly confirmed their semifinal seat. First of all, let me tell you all the readers (especially those who don’t like cricket & those who hate glorification of this game too) that I do like cricket but more than that I love every sport especially ground or say physical activity involved games (with due respect for chess) & this sharing about Maxwell’s innings is not just for cricket fans or lovers but for every sports lover & why one should play a game! So please read with an open mind to understand the importance of this innings from the lessons it has taught or it can teach us as by now the media is full of praising Maxwell & the records his innings has broken but what as an individual has given me , that is what I will like to share here!
I presume even cricket non-lovers also understand this game as it’s not that difficult & most of us )Indians) have been exposed to cricket at some juncture of life so I won’t waste words in explaining rules or game details but Afghanistan has set a decent target of runs on board to chase & nearly two third of Aussie team was out with just one third of the runs on the board i.e. 7 wickets were down at mere 90 runs making nearly 201 runs yet to score, such was the scene & even die-hard Aussie fans wouldn’t have given any chance to their team for victory & yet Aussie team end up winning the game by three wickets! At such a stage Maxwell made 201 runs ( a double hundred) in mere 128 balls & achieved the target. These words may be enough for statisticians to maintain their records but how this was achieved is a school for every sportsman rather for every human being! As when Maxwell came to play already his team was three or four wickets down with run-rate rising & huge total to reach. And later also two wickets fell, making only the bowlers accompanying him. The match was in Mumbai making weather extreme humid & pollution level of air definitely much worse than what Maxwell is used to back in his country, both things are against him while the opposite team is well versed with this weather rather Afghanistan has worse than this so they have upper hand on the weather front also. Now, as I have explained to you the situation, here are my takeaways from Maxwell’s innings…
1.Maxwell got two or three lives as the catches got dropped & survived an LBW appeal in the very early stage of his innings but that made him more focused as after the last catch drop, he didn’t give a single chance to Afghan team. We all blame luck when things won’t happen the way we wanted them to be so, there is no such thing as luck as it favors both sides but only the one who is capable & ready to grab that chance ends up as a winner which Maxwell did. As luck gave chance to Afghan Team also by making Maxwell mistook the shots but Afghans dropped those chances while Maxwell grabbed them, this is what we also should learn! We all get chances sometimes we see them sometimes we don't but that’s not the fault of the chances, it’s our fault we are unable to see or notice them! Maxwell’s inning taught me the importance of chances & my readiness to grab them & en-cash on them!
2.Maxwell was injured due to cramps & dehydration & was exhausted, in any other time he would have opted to retire hurt & reserve his energy for next game but here he knew after him there is no batter in the team & he must take lead & go on, which he did. In life also if you want to become a winner then you must take lead & responsibility by your own-self rather than waiting for someone to do for you, that is what differentiates a champion & others!
3.Make your pain & exhaustion as your strength rather than crying for it! Maxwell was in pain & he didn’t hide displaying his discomfort while playing but that he used as his tool because that made him explore his strengths & he focused on the shots which he can play rather than worrying for the shots he couldn’t play because of injury or pain. At the same time, he realized he couldn’t run so he tried to conserve his energy by hitting the loose ball with conserving strength rather than wasting his energy for running singles or doubles! This is what we all should learn as we often curse for our weaknesses & try to cover them & in the process, we ignore our strong points & maximize them to get out of the trapped situation, may it be body or mind, always focus for our strengths is the lesson I learnt watching Maxwell playing in pain & exhaustion!
4.Make use of our weakness to divert the attention of our opponent. Maxwell’s display of his discomfort due to injury made the bowlers change their tactics which they haven’t thought & that made them change their line & length of bowling & in the process they end-up bowling as per what Maxwell wanted for his strengths! This is something I have observed in Jacky Chan’s movie Karate Kid, where Jacky’s young student was battling finals of Martial-Art championship & was already in extreme pain due to injured left leg in earlier rounds. But rather than making effort of hiding that pain Jacky asks his student to display the discomfort of the injured leg making the opponent focus all his moves aiming for the injured leg & in process exposing himself totally to the student’s fitter leg’s assault & in the end Jacky’s student won the match with using just one leg! Maxwell exactly did the same, he was in pain but the Afghan bowler rather than continuing their earlier wicket taking line tried to focus on bowling a line which they thought would be difficult to play for Maxwell with his injury & missing completely in the process!
5.Determination & never say die attitude, till the last ball is bowled in the match. The more pain the more focused Maxwell was becoming & more determined too, as that’s how one should be, instead of crying over the discomfort life has given you. This makes two things happen, your mind gets diverted from the pain & all you think about is, the final goal which is needed to reach.
6.Last, but not least, equally important was support from the other end which you do get when you display such dedication & determination as that's the biggest motivation for your teammates making them able to lift their respective game too! Maxwell’s battle made his captain, Pat Cummins who was at the other end to stick around & not to give away his wicket easily, this is what one determined member of team can make to others!
7. Finally when the target was achieved the celebration didn’t come as jumping all around & teasing opponents by body gestures but in a controlled calm smile as well opening of arms to the crowd; this is how a professional champion greets hard earned success! Worth a lesson for many youngsters who get carried away by little success & I am not referring to some win in some game but on many fronts of life!
The cricket god Sachin Tendulkar himself described Maxwell’s innings as the best ever he has witnessed in One Day games & coming from Sachin, we can imagine the way Maxwell has played! With all due respect, the Afghan team gave a brave fight & Maxwell needed to create a miracle to save his team which itself is a victory for Afghanis considering the difference on geographical, professional as well experience scale between the two teams! Yet, they too must have learnt their lesson of grabbing the chances in the game & sure this match will help them become a better team, that’s what such innings of a player (though he is an opponent) teaches you even when you lost!
Thanks Glen Maxwell, Pat Cummins & Afghan cricket team for a lifetime display of spirit of the game named cricket which made me retrospect my own stance towards my life & making me realize chances my life has given to me & to grab them rather than crying over what life has not given to me, adios with this gratitude note!
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Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
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Very well written Sanjay - great take Aways and correlation with life 🙌👌
ReplyDeletethanks a lot chetan dost.. it means a lot!
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