CHENNAI: In many ways, it was quite fitting that left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey accounted for the last wicket to fall in the TNCA First Division 2021-22 season. The wicket meant Mylapore Recreation Club A won the title for the first time, just four years after promotion.
As has always been the case in recent times, it was the spinners who topped the wicket-taking charts, as another season highlighted where Tamil Nadu stands in terms of fast bowling stocks. In the top-10 wicket-takers list, there are only two seamers MCC’s R Ganesh at sixth spot with 32 wickets and W Anthony Dhas of Nelson occupying the 10th spot with 29 wickets.
Among the top five, three of them Bhargav Bhatt (Vijay), Rahil Shah (Vijay) and Mohan Prasath (Young Stars) are left-arm spinners with UFCC off-spinner Arun B leading the charts with 42 scalps. Left-arm wrist-spinner M Silambarasan was at fifth with 29 wickets.
While it re-emphasizes the depth of spinners in the state, it is hardly the need of Tamil Nadu. The team’s struggles at the Ranji Trophy level are not new and much of it has had to do with the lack of a quality seam bowling unit. With teams and captains preferring to operate with spinners on unresponsive pitches and keeping the over-rate in mind, batters hardly get to face quality seamers on a consistent basis. These are far from ideal conditions for a league that serves as the ladder for Ranji Trophy.
“The reward for fast bowling is not great in this heat,” R Ashwin, who warmed up to the upcoming Test against England by leading MRC A in the semifinals and final said. “Somebody like Rishi Dhawan, who is a first-class legend, has come in and bowled 20 overs in 40 degrees today (Friday). He did not keep the ball down when the game was on the line. I think it is a question of attitude.
They need to shift their attitude. I believe that we must be able to provide better wickets. There is a window and opportunity to play First Division games in Dindigul, Tirunelveli and Coimbatore. The corporate will be more than happy to go and play. Also, spread the game in the districts. I believe in belts like Cuddalore, Kanniyakumari and Vellore, you are going to get these fast bowlers. It is just that they need to see you,” said Ashwin.
Ever since the TNCA converted the league into a two-day affair with teams getting only 90 overs per innings, it has become far from ideal for batters to prepare for the long format. The presence of TNPL and the need to keep an eye on the run-rate has undoubtedly improved the performances of the white-ball team but it compromises on batters’ skills to bat for long periods in Ranji Trophy. In successive Ranji seasons, TN as a whole has only had 10 centuries with B Indrajith alone scoring three.
“I would like to see First Division go back to the days when I started playing. There was seriously good quality. I wish the TNCA pushes the game to three or four days next year. Only if these quality players play back to back against each other, there will be more competition for places. If we have to revive the red-ball culture, First Division is the place where we start. If you are serious about playing good red-ball cricket, both our fast bowling and our batting against fast bowling definitely need to go up. There are no two ways about it,” Ashwin added.