Arnold lends solidity to Lankan flair

By S. Dinakar

COLOMBO, AUG. 6. He is cool when the going gets hot. Someone who can turn a game around without too many realising it. Deceptive and dangerous, lean and hungry, Russel Arnold certainly is.

Ask the Indians, who were swept away by Arnold's canny strokeplay on Sunday's final at the Premadasa Stadium. They didn't quite realise what hit them as Arnold put his foot on the accelerator during the end overs.

It was a stunning onslaught from a man not known for big strokes. But then, batting in the one-dayers, even during the climactic stages of the innings, is not just about the booming blows.

It also about playing to one's strengths, picking the ones and the twos and dismissing the deliveries on the `slot' ruthlessly. The Lankan left-hander knows this only too well, possessing the ability to adapt to varying situations.

One doesn't have to look beyond his 45-ball 52 in the summit clash to see the point. It was an effort where his cricketing acumen surfaced once again at the crunch and Man of the Moment he surely was. In a side bristling with flair, he brings in a bit of steel.

There was nothing spectacular in the knock, and that's exactly why his essay becomes even more special. Arnold took his time to settle and when the Indian pacemen provided him with the width, his strong strokeplay square of the wicket on either side came to the fore, with the southpaw invariably finding the gaps through telling cuts and flicks.

No wonder he averages a stunning 40 in ODIs - 62 matches, 55 innings, 1,640 runs, strike-rate of 75.5. Statistics that are truly revealing.

Earlier in the Coca Cola Cup tournament, Arnold's unbeaten 90-odd in the league encounter against New Zealand, after the Kiwi pacemen had made early inroads into the Lankan line-up, once again underlined his character.

The left-hander was associated in two valuable stands, first with the classy Marvan Atapattu and then with the exciting Suresh Perera, the first opening a small door for the home side from a situation of despair, and the second powering Lanka through that opening. A contest was won and Arnold had played his part.

Valuable performer

Add his useful off-spin bowling that fills in a breach when one of the front-line bowlers goes for runs and his often brilliant fielding at point - he is swift on the ball, and can hit the stumps with unerring accuracy - and you have a real valuable performer.

Lanka's wily Dav Whatmore had words of praise for him the other day when he said, ``you can see what he brings to the side.'' Arnold surely adds a lot to the outfit. A Tamil Christian, his mother hails from Jaffna, the 27-year-old Arnold, a product of St. Peter's College, Colombo, might have taken off slowly, yet is rapidly making up for lost ground and years.

Arnold's Test debut came against Pakistan in 1996-97, yet it was not until the World Cup '99, that he became a permanent feature in the National side. He has not looked back really since then.

Interestingly, he began his Test career as an opener, but the Lankan think-tank realised quickly the importance of having a solid batsman lower down the order.

Arnold has a vital role to play as the link between the specialists and the lower order. And he can, both, present a broad blade, or gather runs at a hectic pace.

Walking in at the middle-order the man has only one hundred against his name in ODIs (103 against Zimbabwe) yet that innings provides us with a glimpse of his character. Adversity only stokes Arnold's combative instincts.

The Lankans were tottering at 103 for seven in the Bulawayo one- dayer when Arnold, with only tail-enders Pramodaya Wickremasinghe and Muttiah Muralitharan for company, accumulated his runs with a blend of caution and aggression, reaching his century with a rousing six.

Has grown in stature

And since then, Arnold has only grown in stature, making runs and getting them at the crunch. He appears to have developed a special liking for the Indians too.

Remember the Champions Trophy in Sharjah, October 2000, when Arnold made two half-centuries, his 62-ball 52 in the final once again taking the game away from India. That was a day when he swept the Indian spinners with ridiculous ease.

Surprisingly, his Test record (1,216 runs at 29.65) is inferior to his one-day average, and is certainly paradoxical considering that Arnold is basically a stayer. An intense cricketer, perhaps, he relaxes just that little bit mentally in the ODIs, enabling him to strike the ball more freely.

He is also known to be a bit of a talker on the cricket field, and is not the kind to be rattled by sledging. Turning out for the famous Nondescript Cricket Club in Colombo, he has over the years, developed a combative attitude, especially in the heat of the battle.

His sharp cricketing mind suggests he is a strong candidate for captaincy as and when the time comes. Yes, the future beckons for Russel Arnold. Right now, he can afford to relax and smile, with a bat in hand.

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