Shaun William Tait has announced his retirement from One Day Internationals following Australia's exit. Tait though not always a result delivering bowler, offered Ponting options. He may go for runs, but with his searing pace he had the ability to knock world class batsman over. Someone gifted with raw pace, Tait was an handful even for the best. He did spray the ball around and more often than not was Australia's most expensive bowler, but with the ability of picking up wickets, he remained as the 'risk' worth taking for a captain.
I first saw Tait play in his ODI debut against England in 2007 and was stunned by his pace. As soon as I saw him, I knew I had seen a match winner. In the match he picked up 2 wickets while getting hit for 68 runs -Typical Tait bowling. He sprayed the ball all over and gifted easy runs but every now and then he got one to zip past the bat leaving a bewildered batsman. A bowler who provided the x-factor and searing pace, he was a pleasure to watch on his day. His long run up, his unorthodox slinging action resembling a sledge hammer and bent knees at the time of releasing were all a sight to reckon. He undoubtedly is the fastest bowler in modern day cricket. He reminded me of the West Indian prospect, Tino Best. He also had terrifying pace but with out much consistency was soon out of International cricket. He came and disappeared and I remember hoping that Tait wouldn't belong to same group. However it is unfortunate that Tait has never become the bowler he could have due to his injuries. Bidding adieu to test and ODI's before the age of 29 shows the amount of trauma, bowling 150 Km/hr has taken on him. It is indeed a disappointment that Tait could never become the bowler he could have ad fulfilled all those adjectives used to describe his bowling.
Tait was never the force he was made out to be nor the force he could have been. He always was one step below on the rung of expectations and has suffered numerous setbacks. I remember when India was touring Australia in 2008. Tait was called for the Perth test after a surgery he had. The media was talking about how Tait would rattle the Indian batsmen with his pace and bounce on a searing Perth track. However the reality was far from it as Tait was clubbed to all parts of the ground in the first innings. It got to such a point that in the second innings, Ponting bowled part timers such as Micheal Clarke and Andrew Symonds over Shaun Tait. If any, that's the biggest insult and confidence burster for any bowler. Particularly a front line attacking bowler. Sadly the only test match I witnessed this sensation in whites happened to be his last. Suffering from attacks from the media and a discouraging public, Tait took himself from the action and spent time away from cricket pondering his future. Emotional trauma, exhaustion and the burden of a crippled and injured body finally took it's toll.
Since his return, Tait has been a faded figure. Injuries had taken a huge price, that he couldn't bowl a spell of more than 4 overs and his aura also seemed to have decreased. However his love for speed hadn't decreased and Tait strived for that extra ounce of speed that would make him breach the sound barrier. In and out of the Australian team, Tait gave it all in the 50 overs format. In 2010, he became a force to be reckoned with and featured in the yellow Australian colours consistently. In England he clocked 161.1 Km/hr making it the second fastest. Against Sri Lanka in the same year, he conjured up some match winning spells that were truly a sight to reckon. Since then he has constantly been in the selectors radar. In the 2010 Ashes at home, Ponting hinted that he would like Tait to be part of his depleted bowling unit. Tait however had no second thoughts as he brushed it aside.
In the 2011 World Cup, he had been selected ahead Siddle and Bolinger, underlining his worth and also just how desperate Australia were for Tait to fire on all cylinders that they were willing to take the risk. With Australia out of the tournament, one might say their gamble has back fired and Tait has failed. But that has been Tait's career thus far. A man shouldering immense expectations who despite all his speed kept falling short of those. In his last ODI against India, Tait's figures were 52 for 1 at an economy of 7.42 and the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. He went the same way he came.
Now with only T20 cricket left, one should think Tait and his body should fare better bowling 4 overs a match for South Australia, Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, some county team in England and every now and then for Australia. The speed demon whose short blistering spells are capable of creating havoc will now be in demand among all T20 teams around the world. With all the riches in T20 to rake in, I'm not sure Tait's going to be sad. However cricket enthusiasts who love watching a fast bowler bowl will surely miss this guy, however big a disappointment he may have been. I'll always remember him as the bowler who never fulfilled his true potential. Here's to the man who constantly pushed and strived for speed and gave us a glimpse of the punishments such pursuits have in store. Farewell Tait and may T20 cricket treat you kindly.
Tait was never the force he was made out to be nor the force he could have been. He always was one step below on the rung of expectations and has suffered numerous setbacks. I remember when India was touring Australia in 2008. Tait was called for the Perth test after a surgery he had. The media was talking about how Tait would rattle the Indian batsmen with his pace and bounce on a searing Perth track. However the reality was far from it as Tait was clubbed to all parts of the ground in the first innings. It got to such a point that in the second innings, Ponting bowled part timers such as Micheal Clarke and Andrew Symonds over Shaun Tait. If any, that's the biggest insult and confidence burster for any bowler. Particularly a front line attacking bowler. Sadly the only test match I witnessed this sensation in whites happened to be his last. Suffering from attacks from the media and a discouraging public, Tait took himself from the action and spent time away from cricket pondering his future. Emotional trauma, exhaustion and the burden of a crippled and injured body finally took it's toll.
Since his return, Tait has been a faded figure. Injuries had taken a huge price, that he couldn't bowl a spell of more than 4 overs and his aura also seemed to have decreased. However his love for speed hadn't decreased and Tait strived for that extra ounce of speed that would make him breach the sound barrier. In and out of the Australian team, Tait gave it all in the 50 overs format. In 2010, he became a force to be reckoned with and featured in the yellow Australian colours consistently. In England he clocked 161.1 Km/hr making it the second fastest. Against Sri Lanka in the same year, he conjured up some match winning spells that were truly a sight to reckon. Since then he has constantly been in the selectors radar. In the 2010 Ashes at home, Ponting hinted that he would like Tait to be part of his depleted bowling unit. Tait however had no second thoughts as he brushed it aside.
In the 2011 World Cup, he had been selected ahead Siddle and Bolinger, underlining his worth and also just how desperate Australia were for Tait to fire on all cylinders that they were willing to take the risk. With Australia out of the tournament, one might say their gamble has back fired and Tait has failed. But that has been Tait's career thus far. A man shouldering immense expectations who despite all his speed kept falling short of those. In his last ODI against India, Tait's figures were 52 for 1 at an economy of 7.42 and the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. He went the same way he came.
Now with only T20 cricket left, one should think Tait and his body should fare better bowling 4 overs a match for South Australia, Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, some county team in England and every now and then for Australia. The speed demon whose short blistering spells are capable of creating havoc will now be in demand among all T20 teams around the world. With all the riches in T20 to rake in, I'm not sure Tait's going to be sad. However cricket enthusiasts who love watching a fast bowler bowl will surely miss this guy, however big a disappointment he may have been. I'll always remember him as the bowler who never fulfilled his true potential. Here's to the man who constantly pushed and strived for speed and gave us a glimpse of the punishments such pursuits have in store. Farewell Tait and may T20 cricket treat you kindly.
1 Comments:
It's a shame, he could be a scary man but he had so many injury issues I think his career was always going to be relatively short.
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