Tyson's dilemma - England or Australia?

By A.C. de Silva

CRICKET: Former England paceman Frank Tyson at the age of 79 years is somewhat in a dilemma. Now settled in Australia, he is not sure who to support for the Ashes cricket series.

Asked about his allegiance, Tyson thought for a moment and said that his sympathies were with Australia, but his affections were still with England, whose cap he has worn. "Oh, yes, it is a touch task. "The English players on home ground will be a strong force, but the Aussies will also be difficult to face,." he said from his Brisbane home.

After his cricketing days were over, he has been a French teacher, a cricket coach, a writer, a painter - having specialised on cricketers Trevor Bailey, Statham and Godfrey Evans and landscapes of favourite grounds. It is said that when one gets to the top of the mountain, keep on climbing. This can be applied to the life of Tyson as well.

He underwent surgery to his heart a month age and now he is under treatment for his right ankle. He has told his Indian friends that he can come to India on any coaching assignment if they so require him.

Favourite place of coaching

Tyson has said that India has been his favourite place for coaching assignments. He keeps himself fit by swimming and goes to the gym three times a week. He made his first-class debut against the touring Indian team in 1953, after the first ball, the slips moved back an extra five yards and he dismissed Pankaj Roy for a duck for his first wicket.

Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson, he was one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket. He played in 17 Tests for England at an outstanding bowling average of 18.56, having taken 76 wickets. However, he rarely appears on list of best Test bowling averages as they usually require a minimum of 100 Test wickets. He was at the ferocious height of his career and virtually won for England the 1954-55 Ashes series.

Willpower important

What is the immediate requirement to be a pace bowler? Tyson said that the main component of fast bowlers is the desire to bowl fast. If the person hasn't got the willpower to bowl fast and bowl aggressively, then that person will not be a fast bowler.

The mental approach is necessary. The ability to apply oneself and the attitude that one adopts is also necessary.

He said that the second important thing for a fast bowler is a reasonably good technique.

Frank Tyson has been to Sri Lanka twice and exchanged views on cricket. He said a pace bowler must have the mental attitude to guide them through. He said that the height and build are also necessary and important factors. The great fast bowlers have been 5 feet 11 inches or thereabout. But in the West Indies there have fast bowlers like Courtney Walsh and Joel Garner who were around 5 feet 7 inches.

Tyson said that he had met some Sri Lankan cricketers in 1952 or so. One of them was Derek Roberts - the number five batsman in the Durham University XI which he captained to the English Universities' Athletic Union Championship long, long ago. Roberts was an accomplished player.

In the 1950s he said that he bowled frequently against Laddie Outschoorn of Worcestershire a quite a capable batsman. There were other players like Stabley Jayasinghe an Clive Inman who were attractive batsmen.

Then in the Lancashire leagues, he came across Bob Bartels, and on the tour with Jim Swanton's eleven to the Indies in 1956, he met the all-round skills of leg-spinner Gamini Goonesena who died recently. '

Gammy', while at Cambridge and Nottingham, held his own in august company of such doyens of wrist-spin as the Australians George Tribe and Bruce Dooland.

Played against Ceylon

Tyson played against Ceylon as we were then known in 1954 and 1958 which were the preludes to the MCC tours of Australasia. They proved aborted clashes - the weather in Colombo having the final say on each occasion. In 1958, there was the calibre of Sri Lankan players Roy Dias, Duleep Mendis, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, then there were skilled bowlers as Rumesh Ratnayake, Ramanayake and Kapila Wijegunewardena.

In the early days first-class was limited, but now Sri Lanka has gained entry to Test cricket and doing reasonably well.

Speaking about cricket in Sri Lanka, when asked whether it was good for the batsmen to play one-day cricket and Test cricket at the same time, Tyson said that a good batsman is a good batsman in any contest.

"I sympathise with batsmen who have to change their approach in a short period of time. But a good batsman, because of the advanced technique he develops should be able to change his attitude.