John Wright the ambidextrous master tactician turns 61 today

John Wright the ambidextrous master tactician turns 61 today: Most cricket lovers of this generation know John Wright as an exceptional coach capable of breaking the surreptitious code of the opposition. He was a master of all trades and his cricketing abilities were not confined to just being a good coach, but was a wonderful batsman as well in his playing days.

The first New Zealand batsman ever to cross 4000 test runs, John Wright was a prolific run scorer which connotes to his illustrious career in what was a tough era for batsmen which saw the presence of many top class bowlers. He was a talented left handed opening batsman with an enviably impenetrable defensive technique with a wide range of shots in his armory. His team nickname was “shake”; reputedly a reflection on his packing technique.

The hardworking Kiwi was at his peak in the 1980’s when world cricket was dominated by the Caribbeans. He was an integral member of the New Zealand set up in those days and his strong defensive technique proved to be a pain in the back for the opposition bowlers and galvanized them into hopelessness. Toward the end of his career he adopted an unconventional batting stance; wherein most batsmen face the bowler with the bat in line with their legs, and perpendicular to the ground, Wright stood with his bat raised in parallel to it.

His century against Sri Lanka in 1990-91 meant that he scored a hundred against all six of his Test opponents. Such was his flair with a bat in hand and his career speaks volumes of his contribution to New Zealand cricket establishing himself as one of the greatest cricketers ever to emerge from the nation.

But according to most people he faced his biggest challenge not during his playing days, but only after his retirement when he donned the role of coaching the Indian cricket team. It was arguably the toughest coaching job in the planet across all sports. The fervid Indian cricket team’s fans are sometimes perceived as too exacting and John Wright had to potentially feed the expectations of a billion plus passionate fans.

Wright’s tenure as the Indian coach was highly productive and successful. From not winning a single Test outside the subcontinent for 15 years, it went on to nearly beat the world champions, Australia, on their turf during his stint, India racked up away test wins in Australia and England. But his most notable achievement was propelling the Indian team to the finals in the 2003 ICC cricket world cup. India hadn’t reached a world cup final in two decades and Wright shouldered the huge responsibility valiantly and under his coaching India reached the final of the world cup, but faltered in the final against Australia. Wright was a master tactician and despite players like Sachin Tendulkar showering praise on him, he humbly stated, ” I never coached Sachin. I gave him gentle advice when he asked for it”.

Virender Sehwag the flamboyant opener once said of John Wright, “I will miss looking at John’s face when somebody plays a bad shot during a tight match. It was something”. Such was his far reaching influence on the Indian team members with whom he jelled in as a family member. The exceptional prowess of Wright both as a batsman and coach speaks of his ambidextrous nature and bears witness to his love and passion for the sport. Happy Birthday John Wright! Wishes from CricTracker!