Is it about time the International Cricket Council to step in and call for the term ‘Chinaman’ to be dropped from the cricketing lexicon? The movement has found plenty of voices in recent times, ever since Kuldeep Yadav burst onto the scene, taking the art to the Indian masses.
It is not flattering when one gets to know how Chinaman found its way into game: The story goes that in Old Trafford, 1933, England’s Walter Robins, well-set at the crease, was stumped off West Indies’ left-arm spinner Ellis Achong. A distraught Robins reportedly told the umpire as his way to the pavilion, “Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman.” West Indies player Learie Constantine, who overheard it, replied: “Is that the man, or the ball?”
Achong, who only played six Tests for the Windies, is famously known as one of the first cricketer to have Chinese ancestry.
There have been of others have been exponents of left-arm unorthodox too. Sir Garry Sobers, widely regarded as one of the greatest player to step on a cricket field, experimented with wrist-spin. However, the West Indian also bowled medium-pace, depending on the conditions.
In the recent past, South Africa’s Paul Adams, whose unconventional bowling action was a rage during his playing days, Australia’s Brad Hogg and Michael Bevan some of the other names who are a part of an elite brand. Every time Kuldeep flummoxes batsmen, some young hopeful, somewhere in India, is also trying to master the art. The technique? It’s just leg-spin after all, bowled with the left hand.
Read: Zenia d’Cunha tries to decode the art of left-arm wrist-spin and its famous proponents.
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