Andre Russell: The West Indies cartoon character

By far, in all the cricket played ever, the West Indies have been the most entertaining side by a country mile. The term ‘Calypso Cricket’ is firmly associated with the way the West Indies players played. A distinct swagger about the way they went about their game. Michael Holding aka ‘Whispering Death’, Sir Viv ‘The mater balster’ Richards and Clive Lloyd are simple examples one can think of to illustrate the ethos of cricket in the West Indies.

The advent of T20 cricket, as many put it, effectively destroyed West Indian cricket. To be exact, the WICB had become an ineffective organization, just present in the name. The frugal remunerations received by the West Indies players saw them defect away from the organization to ply their cricketing trade elsewhere. Of these defectors was youngster Andre Russell.

If someone gave Andre Russell a textbook on batting, he would tear it up into a million bits. The so-called ‘art of batting’ certainly does not apply to Russell. The 2011 World Cup introduced the World to Andre Russell. Playing under the immense heat of Chennai, Russell brought back something people hadn’t seen from a Caribbean player in a long time. A sleazy bowling action which proved to be effective brought a twinkle in the eyes of many a West Indian watching at home. “Calypso cricket” was back. Although the Windies were overwhelmed by Yuvraj Singh’s heroics, Andre Russell would become one of those players who were born.

• Andre Russell has 200 boundaries and 180 sixes in domestic T20 cricket.
• He has impeccable T20I figures with a massive strike rate of 122 and 13 wickets to his name in 36 T20Is.
• His only Test match came against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2010
• He plays domestic cricket in six countries including the West Indies.

In the context of the 2016 edition of the World T20, Andre Russell is the most feared player in T20 cricket. This time around, Russell has brought a distinct swagger with him as well. After becoming the most sought after T20 player, a golden Mohawk sits pretty atop the shining ear-rings that are generally associated with someone from the Caribbean. Despite a controversy regarding the usage of banned substances, Russell took the field with the rest of his teammates. Apart from sporting the funny Mohawk and even bowling with precision, it was his batting that caught the eye of one and all.

While his inch-perfect death bowling has focused all the eyeballs of cricket on him, his batting has been something everyone has been looking forward to. There is absolutely no logic to the way he bats. Freddie Truman and his textbook of batting certainly does not apply to Andre Russell. He just swings the bat at everything. Whether it is the cricket ball, a firefly loose on the wicket or even a speck of grass springing up, Andre Russell’s bat will spank it across. Hoicking, slapping and spanking the ball seem to be some of the most profitable shots Andre Russell plays.

The Jamaica Tallawahs didn’t think twice before bringing Russell on board. As did the Sydney Thunder and the Kolkata Knight Riders. He is a strike-bowler who picks up wickets. He is also useful with the bat, but that doesn’t make him an all-rounder. His batting skills classify him somewhat of a real life cartoon character. He doesn’t play cricketing shots that the other play. His batting can be classified as a cross-breed between tennis strokes and a double handed bat-wing. In a nutshell, it can be classified as ‘mixed-martial-arts’ batting technique. Yet, the technique seems to be highly effective, especially when one must score 10 of 2 deliveries to win. Andre Russell, playing for the Tallawahs, Russell swung the bat the first ball with the ball falling in the middle of three fielders. The next ball was yet another swing of the bat that landed in the Jamaican crowd. Horrible shots, but effective, and more importantly, match-winning shots.

This technique was showcased for the Wankhede cricket faithful who had turned out in their numbers to watch the Windies bat. The crowd turnout made the West Indies the second most popular side in the subcontinent. That should be evidence enough to suggest that ‘Calypso cricket’ is indeed famous in India. One line is all that is enough to separate Russell from the rest. “I don’t see anyone with a hairstyle that is similar to mine.”