Published>Wed, Nov 10 10 05:07 PM
For a team that was rubbished away even before the first ball was bowled, it's almost poetic justice that two players who were written off at various stages of their career due to off-field problems should change the face of the side with their performances, while catalysing an unbelievable come-from-behind turnaround.
For New Zealand's Chris Martin and Jesse Ryder, the Test has been more than just another game of cricket. When the Kiwis landed on Indian soil about a fortnight ago, the knives were out after their ODI side had been shamelessly ridiculed 4-0 at the hands of the perennial minnows, Bangladesh.
With the debacle fresh in their minds, the side arrived amidst fears that the Test series against India will only further wound the bleeding scabs. With India piling on a mammoth 487 in the first innings and reducing the Kiwis to 137/4, New Zealand cricket silently prepared for its darkest days.
But suddenly, from nowhere, two bad boys ? past and present ? found their calling to bury the ghosts of their past and, in turn, New Zealand cricket. Ryder set the wheels in motion with a 103 on Saturday, before Martin destroyed the great Indian top order on Sunday, with his destructive five-wicket haul burst. By solving their own problems, they released the Kiwi phoenix free, soaring out of the depths of despair.
Ryder's long battle against the authorities ? and with the bottle ? has been well documented. Misconduct at a hotel room after going on an alcohol binge was only the latest in the conveyor belt of troubles the 26-year old had gotten himself into. From punching a glass door to showing up drunk at practice, the situation had gotten so fragile for the overweight cricketer that he was dropped from Test cricket all together for 15 months. But suddenly, the self-destruction stopped.
"Things have changed," he said before the Test. "I have been off alcohol for the last 100 days. My concentration levels and focus have increased," he added.
But what brought about the change when it didn't work a few times before? "I realised that this is where I want to be, out there playing cricket." The realisation soon took physical form on the Motera field. With his ton, Ryder gave his side a chance to stay in the game, before Martin turned it around.
If Ryder was the newest wild child, Martin was the original one. A great affinity for alcohol and cigarettes put a premature end to the first stage of his career, before he decided to clean up his act and return to the game.
"As a 25-26 year old, the urge and need to party and socialise is high. I didn't recognise my talent and stopped being a student of the game. The focus was more on other things, like drinking and smoking and having a good time with my friends. I wanted to be like them in the social circles. My game started waning and I started looking for jobs outside the sport," Martin said.
But a chance meeting with Garfield Charles, a former Guyanese player, changed everything. "He helped me choose cricket," he added. While Martin has been on his second wind, the average performances didn't really see a peak. But just when the focus was shifting to retirement plans with a abysmal 2009 and statements such as "I have three papers to go for my BA in politics. This is what I want to do after cricket."
Martin found his calling for the second time. He dismissed Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina in the space of a few overs to have India reeling at 15/5. Ryder and Martin's individual sparks of brilliance on the field has not only methodically silenced their verbal critics, but more importantly, it has completed their long struggle for mental salvation.
Source: Web Search
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