Neil Harvey - a close second to Bradman

By A. C. de Silva

CRICKET: Just mention the name Neil Harvey and any ardent lover of cricket of the past will come up with the answer that he was one of the finest left-hand batsmen produced by Australia many years ago. He has left enduring imprints and will be remembered for many years.

Harvey played for the last time in a Test match when he was bowled by Allen of England for 28 in Australia’s second innings against England in the fifth and last Test at Sydney in the series of 1963. In the fourth Test at Adelaide, he hit up a glorious 154, a typical Harvey-knock. He could not have wished for a better end to his career which began in 1947, than the way it did.

Fate, it seemed had ordained that the mantle of Bradman, the batting genius, should fall on the young but strong shoulders of Harvey, for as Bradman’s sun was setting Harvey’s star appeared on the cricket horizon.

Harvey was ushered in by Bradman himself on the same Adelaide ground many years ago, the occasion being the fourth Test match against India, led by Amarnath. It was by no means a good start for the young batsman, he was leg before wicket to Rangachari, the fast medium bowler from Madras, with only 13 runs against his name.

To many the figure 13 has been a bugbear but to Harvey it turned out to be his luckiest number, for from the next match in which he made 153 at Melbourne in the fifth Test, he has been Australia’s greatest run-getter of, after Bradman.

He had scored 6,149 runs in 79 Test matches (137 innings, 10 times not out) with an average of 48.41. He has played in all 21 three-figure innings, in Test matches: six versus England, eight versus South Africa, three versus West Indies, four versus India. His highest Test score was 205 versus South Africa at Melbourne in 1952-53.

There is no doubt that Harvey fully lived up to his reputation as one of the great left-hand batsmen of his age as well as one of the best fieldesmen at cover and in the slips, during his two visits to India, first with the Australian team led by Ian Johnson in 1956, and the next with Benaud’s team as its vice-captain, in 1959-60.

After the knock of 37 in the first Test at Madras, Harvey ran into great form in the second Test at Bombay when he scored 140 runs and put on 204 runs for the second wicket with Burke (161).

In the third Test he made 7 in the first innings but in a fishting second innings knock scored 69 out of Australia’s total of 189 for nine declared and helped his team win the match by 94 runs.

On the second tour, he began the series with a brilliant knock of 114 runs in the very first Test at New Delhi and followed up with scored of 51 and 25, 102, 11, 17 and 36.

Most outstanding

Of all his big knocks in India, his century in the second Test at Bombay in 1956 was easily his most outstanding. For one thing, it was played after he had a poor season in England in the summer months earlier. Secondly the Indian bowling was in the hands of Phadkar, Ramchand, Patel, Gupte and Mankad.

There was thus character and admirable skill in that knock, but what was striking about it was the way he got the ascendancy over the bowling of Mankad and Gupte principally.

At Madras Mankad has bowled him after he had teased him somewhat with his artful flighting, Gupte too had confused him eith his leg-spin and googly. So, it was hoped that Harvey would not after all be a thorn on India’s side in the next two games.

After India made 251, Australia lost Rutherford at 57. Entered Harvey, Burke awaited him even as Gupte who had dismissed Rutherford. Unlike the Prince of Denmark, Harvey at once preferred to ‘take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.’

He came down on dancing feet to the very first ball he received from Gupte and smote it to the off. From that moment he continued to come down the wicket and meet Gupte either full or take him at the pitch of the ball.

Gupte, on the other hand, thought his best bet lay in drawing out Harvey and so began varying the flight but unfortunately the Brabourne wicket mocked at his spin. Harvey could confidently drive the all. The battle of wits went on all day and the next Gupte was mastered. And so was Mankad.

The driving of Harvey on either side of the wicket was maginificent. It had timing; it had power and it had poise.

The innings was a masterpiece. It epitemized his gay approach. He was at the wicket for 244 minutes and reached the boundary eighteen times in his score of 140 before being caught by Nadkarni (the substitute) off Patel.