The sad case of Stuart MacGill

``Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne are capable of developing into one of the most devastating partnerships Australian cricket has ever produced.'' - Stephen Rodger Waugh

WHEN THE Aussie captain made that unforgettable statement minutes before the commencement of the Test series in the West Indies in 1999, it was greeted with a feeling of joy and a sense of gratitude by the romantics of the game the world over.

For there are few better sights in cricket than to see a leg- spinner unfold his art. And Steve Waugh appeared to be serious when talking about the possibility of two Australian leggies forging a deadly duo. The very tone of his remark was such that many leading newspapers of the world carried it with banner headlines.

But Steve Waugh's statement has turned out to be as shallow as it was callow. Leave alone striking a formidable pair with the `golden boy' of Australian cricket, Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill has not found even a regular place in the national side.

So dazzled do the Aussie selectors appear by the awesome reputation and high-profile image of Shane Warne they do not seem to care a fig for MacGill, his proven match-winning ability and his fantastic record. This eternally unfortunate player has so far taken 75 wickets at 25.02 in only 16 Tests. Hot stuff, really.

In a way Steve Waugh himself is a bit responsible for the strange and sad case of MacGill. Being captain he has a say in the team selection but except singing praises of MacGill in public, he seems to have hardly or never pressed for his inclusion in the side even when Warne has been woefully out of form.

Considering Warne's unreliable fitness, his lack of form and his poor performance in 1997-98, the in-form MacGill should have been the first choice leg-spinner for the recent series in India. But the selectors preferred to take a gamble and picked Warne instead, ignoring his past record in this country.

Warne was unlikely to be successful - let alone tormenting them the way he had willow-wielders from other countries - against the wristy, quick-footed Indian batsmen. The menacing memories of the last tour started haunting him and he cut a sorry figure here again.

So much that Sachin Tendulkar, V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid had probably the measures of Warne almost throughout the tour. Maybe he did not bowl that badly; it was just that the home batsmen batted better. The point is it was MacGill and not Warne who deserved to be on the Indian tour.

One thought Warne's show in India would open the eyes of the selectors and doors of the Australian team for MacGill as the much-awaited moment of picking the national side for the all- important Ashes series in England neared. But when they announced the squad, the name of MacGill was conspicuous by its absence. Warne, who claimed just 10 wickets at 50.50 apiece in three Tests in India, was very much there. The English batsmen's traditional weakness against genuine leg-spin bowling and Warne's superb showing in England in 1993 and 1997 eventually paved the way for him to defeat MacGill - again.

But then MacGill, too, has always been successful against the Brits. He had taken 12 wickets on his last appearance against England on the spin-friendly Sydney pitch in the 1998-99 Ashes series down under (Warne also played in this match but could take only 2 wickets).

In the previous Test at Melbourne he had scalped 7 victims. MacGill had almost bowled Australia to victory in the rain-hit first Test in Brisbane, claiming 3 for 51 as the visitors were saved from defeat by a savage electrical storm.

MacGill had been playing only as a replacement for the injured Warne and although he did not play the full series, he claimed a team- leading 27 wickets. Representatives of the Fleet Street, accompanying the England team, wondered why Australia had been wasting such a ``precious'' talent. Of course, they also knew the answer. MacGill was also chiefly responsible for securing Australia's first series win in Pakistan in almost 40 years when he had a 9-wicket haul in the opening Test of their last tour.

Considering that it is going to be a very long tour, MacGill could have been accommodated in the England-bound party as a second leggie. While making that heartening but hollow statement, Steve Waugh had added: ``For too long people have said you can't play two leg-spinners. But that doesn't make any sense to me. If we had four great leg-spinners we'd play four leg-spinners.'' But he seems to have forgotten his words. It is time someone reminded the Aussie skipper what he had said about Warne and MacGill in the Caribbean two years ago.

Poor MacGill. They continue to regard him as a relatively raw leggie irrespective of having achieved so much while never being certain about his place in the Australian side. It is not easy to perform well, even for an Australian cricketer known for his mental toughness and fighting ability, under the fear of failure. More so, when the spectre of Warne perpetually haunts you. But MacGill has proved his ability beyond doubt. Even on those couple of occasions when they played together, MacGill had beaten Warne at his own game in terms of number of wickets.

MacGill was born into a cricketing family on February 25, 1971. He is a third generation Aussie first-class cricketer. His father, T.M.D. MacGill, and grandfather, C.W.T. MacGill, had played for Western Australia. Although no one in his family had ever tried his hands at leg-spin bowling, the ambitious MacGill began to practise this difficult art with good results.

What was noticeable, besides his skills, was his genuine love for the game and a longing to carve a niche for himself as one of the world's leading leg-spinners. The young man caught the eye with his ability to spin the ball hard and, of course, with his deceptive googly. Soon enough he was invited to attend the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide in 1991. But he was regarded as a ``prickly character'' and his progress card was ``marked''.

Uncomfortable in his native Perth in Western Australia, where tracks and tactics favoured pace, MacGill moved to Sydney six years ago to try to break into the New South Wales team which usually fielded three spinners. He made his first-class debut in the 1993-94 Australian season. He made his Test debut against South Africa at Adelaide in 1997-98. For curious reasons he has never been considered a bowler fit for the short game. He has so far played only 3 One-Day Internationals for Australia, taking 6 wickets at 17.50, including a career-best 4 for 19. MacGill has a tendency to keep changing teams and so far has represented Western Australia, New South Wales, Somerset, Devon and, of course, Australia.

Ian Chappell, an avid admirer of Warne, says: ``MacGill is a fast-improving bowler. He has a great attitude - he turns the ball prodigiously from the leg, probably even further than a young Warne. He has now added to his effectiveness by making the ball curve into the right- hander's pads. I doubt, however, if he will ever acquire the sophistication of Warne who is a rare jewel even when compared with precious diamonds. But as long as MacGill retains his ability to spin his leg-break sharply and pitch it reasonably consistently, he will bother the best batsmen. He would be better off improving areas like using the crease and better disguise of the skidding top-spinner.''

This gifted, world-class leg-spinner has actually a fast bowler's temperament. His tempestuous behaviour on and off the field has led him into numerous scrapes. At times he seems to be at war with himself and also with the world.

So much that even the Aussies think him fiery! Peter Roebuck once rightly remarked: ``It wasn't that MacGill's temper frayed at the edges; it frayed in the middle.'' In 1999 he was severely reprimanded and also fined $975 by the Australian team management for swearing at the Bally Club casino dealer in Colombo.

He had also to apologise, after being told by the match referee Alan Smith to do so, to the West Indies 12th man Ramnaresh Sarwan over an incident on the third day of the 3rd Test at Adelaide late last year. The players collided in the players' race, just off the field, as MacGill was returning to the dressing room after being controversially given out caught behind the wicket by the Aussie umpire Steve Davis. But MacGill has not learnt his lessons as he tends to coax controversy like a moth to a flame.

In a way there are several similarities between Warne and MacGill. Both are leg-spinners, both are characters, both are match-winners on their lucky days. But they are also temperamental. The duo remains in the news for the right as well as wrong reasons. And for good measure they bring a ``combative'' and ``self-assured'' approach to the game as well. It would seem as if they have sustained the tradition of the Australian leg- spinners being charismatic as well as controversial, a tradition set by the ferocious figures like Bill O'Reilly.

MacGill may never approach Warne in greatness. It is not that MacGill does not have the class, the character and the competitiveness which make a successful cricketer. Like Warne, he too has them in abundance. But want of opportunities has been proving a big hindrance to his progress. It may also allow the dangerous lack-of-motivation syndrome to raise its head in MacGill's case also. In the meantime Steve Waugh will also keep talking about fielding two leggies and will do nothing in reality.

One wonders if anyone concerned about Australian cricket will ever try to cut the Gordian knot and play Warne and MacGill together on a regular basis. The leg-spinner with the famous initials, SCG, will always remain an eternal outsider for no fault of his own. Like the Greek hero, MacGill seems to be fated to suffer in the end despite doing his utmost in his chosen discipline and bringing laurels to his country. Indeed, some people are born unlucky; others are born at a wrong time. MacGill qualifies for both these categories.

HARESH PANDYA

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