The title of this post is actually a little misleading as I won't just be posting about individual player comebacks within the game of cricket. Instead, I will be looking at player comebacks that have simultaneously lead to their team also being involved in a comeback - i just couldn't really think of a way to put that in a concise title! In choosing to do it in such a way, I have undoubtedly made things a little more difficult for myself but I like a challenge and I'd be surprised if you can find a list like this anywhere else on the internet. In fact, let's make that a challenge, the first person to find an article posted before this one that specifically merges both individual and team comebacks can drop me a link in the comments section and I will send them 10SCR
The 3 players that I have chosen below have all had to overcome self-doubt, criticism from the media and ridicule from the fans to bounce back in the most spectacular of ways. In doing so, they have not only dragged themselves up off the canvas but they have taken their respective teams from the brink of defeat to incredible and memorable victories.
Botham's Ashes
The 1981 Ashes series and in particular the 3rd match played at Headingley, will be talked about in cricketing folklore for generations to come as one of the greatest comebacks in the sport's history.
Ian Botham, England's legendary all-rounder and a proven match winner on many occasions, was the catalyst for this comeback. However, when considering the full extent of Botham's influence, it's worth rewinding to before that 3rd match to see a very subdued Botham as Captain of an England side that was misfiring in all departments.
Botham resigns as England captain
Captaining your national team in your chosen sport must be the greatest honour that any athlete can have. It therefore stands to reason that giving up that role or worse yet being asked to leave it must be one of the hardest things to overcome in a career.
Ian Botham took over the captaincy of England in 1980 at the age of just 25. In his first 10 matches in the job which preceded the 1981 Ashes series, he had failed to deliver a single win (7 draws and 3 defeats). Beyond just his team's inability to win was his complete lack of form while captaining his country which is shown in the comparison below.
Defeat in the first test of the series against the old enemy of Australia put Botham's position as England captain under immense pressure. He and his side would need a turn around in performance in the 2nd Test to get themselves back into the series and potentially salvage some of their careers. However, for Botham the match turned into a nightmare as he made a pair in front of the watching MCC members at Lords, the home of cricket. The silence that greeted him as he walked off the pitch for his second score of 0 in the game emphasized just how far Botham's stock had fallen over the last 18 months. His position as the captain had become untenable and he quickly resigned from the job before he was sacked.
To me, the initial appointment of Botham as captain signifies a problem not just in English cricket but in British sport in general in that we often pick the best player to captain the side as opposed to the best leader. Other recent cricketing examples would include appointing Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen to the position of England captain. These 2 along with Botham were what I would consider talisman of the team, match winners who could inspire others with their performances but who ultimately lacked the man management skills and tactical nous to become great leaders. These players were also free spirits who needed to be looked after and nurtured rather than burdened with the responsibility of captaincy. Removing the shackles of the top job from Botham was the start of his incredible rehabilitation in the summer of 1981.
Brearley's brilliance
If you were picking an England team based purely on their cricketing ability, then Mike Brearley would not have gotten anywhere near it. In 39 Test Matches, he never scored a century and finished his career with a paltry average of just 22. However, despite his lack of runs, Brearley is still regarded as one of England's greatest ever captains and sporting minds in general. His influence on the England team after he was reappointed as captain following Botham's resignation was immense. Botham himself states
One story that I have heard is that on the morning of the 3rd Test Match, Brearley actually walked up to Botham and told him that he would not be playing. Botham allegedly went berserk at this news, a state that Brearley left him in for a little while before asking him if he wanted to play. Botham stated in quite strong terms (I'll let you guess the language) that he was more than willing to play, at which point Brearley told him that if that was the case then he had better go and get ready.
Sometimes a captain needs to put an arm around the shoulder of his players and other times he needs to prod them into action. Botham was a man whose natural instinct was to be positive and always attack. Brearley had wound him up and let him go, what happened next is the stuff of legend ........
England 500-1 to win the game
Australia batted first in the 3rd game and put on a huge total of 401 on a pitch that was offering help to the bowlers. England in reply could only manage a meager 174 as Australia's pace bowlers easily cut through their batting line-up. With a lead of over 200, Australian captain Kim Hughes took the easy decision of asking England to follow-on and when they ended the 3rd day 6 for 1 still trailing by a massive 221 runs with just 9 wickets in hand it seemed likely that the match was all but over as a contest.
In fact, so sure were the England players that it was just a matter of time before they lost the game later that day that they had all checked out of their hotel rooms! By contrast, so confident were the Australians that they would win the match that they had already filled the changing room baths with ice and champagne by the time play started on Monday.
<grammarly-btn>However, 2 Australian players in Dennis Lillie and Rod Marsh decided that the 500-1 odds on a home victory were just too good to turn down for a cricket match that was still only a little over the halfway point and so between them, they placed a £15 bet on England to win. When England slipped to 135-7, still needing 92 more runs to even make the Australians bat again, it seemed like that £15 bet was money down the drain. I wonder at that point what odds the same bookie would have offered them on an England win, 1000-1?
The joy of the game returns for Botham
They say a wounded tiger is a dangerous beast. The innings that Botham played was not only a spectacular return to form, but it was also a joyous celebration of sport by one of its greatest entertainers. Botham began this epic knock in front of a fairly small crowd as the public largely decided that they had better things to do on a Monday afternoon than watch England lose to Australia again. However, as his score built so did the belief both from Botham himself and the onlookers who slowly began to return to their seats. His attack on the Australian bowlers was brutal. Every shot was hit with power and purpose. For a man who had had his attacking instincts crushed under the weight of the captaincy, this innings must have felt like a massive outpouring of relief. No matter where the Australians bowled to him he went after them. This was a bowling attack that had been on top of England for 2 and a half games and who now found themselves helpless in the face of Botham's whirlwind attack.
Supported first by Graham Dilley and then Chris Old, Botham helped take England to 356 and a small lead of just 129 runs. While Australia were still firm favourites, England had given their fans something to shout about and had just the smallest chance of victory.
England become only the 2nd team in Test history to win after following on
This game took place before I was born but my dad had the VHS highlights of the series. In fact, I believe it was the first VHS that we as a family owned! Not only do I know every last bit of action that takes place in this incredible win but I can also recite almost every piece of commentary provided by the great Australian Richie Benaud and it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Chasing their relatively small total, the Australians appeared to be cruising to victory at 56-1 until an inspired spell of bowling from Bob Willis ripped through the middle order to hand England a victory that 2 days earlier had seemed impossible!
This was a wonderful victory not only for England's cricket team but also for the public in general. The country was in the middle of the Thatcher years, not long after the winter of discontent and with many areas around the UK still struggling to come to terms with the reforms of the Conservative government, this win provided a welcome distraction.
As for Botham, his place in cricketing history was secured by him instigating arguably the greatest comeback the game has ever seen and his heroics would continue later in the series as England went on to win 3-1. When considering Botham's personal comeback, I think that Fred Truman sums it up best in his post-match presentation of the man of the match award by describing Botham's efforts as a "captain's performance that came one match too late".
Johnson's Redemption Song
There was never any doubting the immense talent that Mitchell Johnson possessed. A left armer of genuine, some would say frightening pace, it only seemed a matter of time before he took the game by storm. However, his formative years as a Test match cricketer were generally disappointing with moments of brilliance hidden amongst a larger array of inconsistent and inaccurate bowling.
<grammarly-btn>It's worth mentioning that Johnson's early period in international cricket was not an easy one for Australia in general. England had beaten them in 2005 to end a 16 year barren spell and whilst that great Australian side of Warne, McGrath, Glichrist, Hayden and Langer returned for one last hoorah to claim back the Ashes in 2007, the next few months saw most of those legends call time on their glittering careers and lead to a rebuilding period for the team.
Johnson's first taste of defeat against England came in the 2009 Ashes where despite a reasonable haul of 20 wickets across the 5 matches at an average of 32.55, Australia lost the series 2-1.
The Barmy Army get stuck into Johnson
The Barmy Army is the name given to a group of hardcore English cricket fans who travel the world with the team lending their undying support to the players through good times and bad. One of the biggest trips or perhaps even pilgrimages that an English cricket fan can make is to fly over to Australia to watch England play 1 if not several of the 5 matches that make up an Ashes series - one of the oldest international sporting rivalries in the world.
The trips undertaken by the 1000s of fans for the 2011 series will have provided some pretty unforgettable sporting memories as England comfortably beat Australia to win away there for the first time in over 2 decades. So one-sided were the last couple of games that England's fans could afford to get a bit cocky. The Barmy Army have many chants and songs about England players as well as the opposition that are delivered on a near-continuous loop throughout the long hot days that incorporate a Test Match but the one they created to ridicule Mitchell Johnson's inaccurate bowling is perhaps the best known of recent years.
Taking the WACA pitch in Perth out of the equation where Australia and Johnson took advantage of the bouncy conditions to beat England, the left armer took just 6 wickets in 3 Tests at an average of 78.66 in 2011.
3 out of 3 defeats for Australia
Things didn't get much better for the Aussies on their next tour of England as the home team made it 3 straight victories in their own backyard and 4 out of the last 5 Ashes with a 3-0 series triumph.
For Johnson, the damage done by the English top-order and the incessant chanting of their fans cost him his place in the Test team for this tour. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to have to field on the boundary for hours and days on end listening to fans just lay into you non-stop. With the Mitchell Johnson song also being deployed by 1000s of English supporters every time he ran into bowl, it's no surprise that the man struggled with his confidence and form. In a later interview, Johnson himself admitted
Australia's poor start to 2013/14 Ashes
It felt like a case of deja vu as Australia started the 1st Test of the 2013/14 Ashes by being reduced to 132-6. Broad and Anderson were rampant and the Barmby army were already finding their voice as their favourite target Mitchell Johnson strolled to the crease with his side needing something special to keep them in the game.
Johnson and Aussie wicketkeeper Brad Haddin whose heroics for Australia in this series often get forgotten in the wake of Johnson's achievements went about adding 114 for the 7th wicket to completely change the complexion of the game.
As is so often the case with bowlers who can bat (I wouldn't call Johnson an all-rounder but he could certainly strike a good ball) success with the willow feeds their primary skill. This innings undoubtedly helped to give Johnson renewed confidence in his ability, particularly against an England side that had provided him with so many bad memories prior to this match.
You're not singing anymore!
If Johnson's performance with the bat was good then his efforts with the ball were nothing short of spectacular. In the 1st Test alone he took 9 wickets to lead Australia to a comfortable 381 run win. However, more than just the margin of victory, the significance of the performance, helped reestablish Johnson and the Australian team as an aggressive and dominant force in the game.
For an Englishman growing up in the 1990's (I actually spent 5 years living in Australia as a child), I had to witness countless England cricket teams just melt away in the face of hostility from the Australians, with matches seemingly won before a ball had even been bowled. By winning in 2005, England had very much shattered that illusion and most of their players didn't fear playing the Aussies in the way that previous sides did. This all changed again in 2013/14 as Johnson and his fellow Aussies got stuck into the English with aggressive bowling and "feral" (that is how Aussie Captain Michael Clarke described it) behaviour on the pitch.
Johnson would go on to take 37 wickets in the series at an average of just 13.97 and a strike rate of a wicket every 5 overs! It completed a remarkable turn around for him personally and helped Australia regain the fabled Ashes for the first time in 7 years.
The Prince of Kolkata returns a King
In 1996 I watched a young, fresh-faced left-hander make his debut for India at perhaps the most memorable of Test grounds, Lord's. Rather than be intimidated by the occasion, the experience of the opposition and the venue itself, Sourav Ganguly went on to announce himself to the cricketing world with a century in his very first Test innings.
From there Ganguly's career accelerated at a great pace as he became an established member of one of the best batting units of 1990s and early 2000s.
By the year 2000, Ganguly had been named captain of the India team and was widely credited with taking them to a new level of play. Amongst his greatest achievements were the 2-1 win against the all-conquering Australian side in 2001 that included the famous comeback win after following-on that I mentioned in my previous installment of this series. Ganguly also led the team to the 2003 World Cup final where they were this time defeated by the same opposition. With an ever-increasing pool of talent to choose from, India and their captain Sourav Ganguly seemed set to remain at the top of world cricket for the foreseeable future.
The fall from grace
There had always been criticism of Ganguly's behavior over the years. During a brief spell in English county cricket with Lancashire, his own teammate Andrew Flintoff gave Ganguly the nickname of "Lord Snooty" and criticised the India captain for his aloof character within the dressing room. Steve Waugh was also famously enraged by Ganguly's continual lateness for the coin toss in the 2001 series against Australia with Ganguly even turning up to one such event not dressed in his cricket whites, actions that Waugh found disrespectful.
However, that criticism reached a new level and came from a particularly embarrassing source when in 2005 then India coach Greg Chappell's email to BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra in regards his concerns over Ganguly's ability to lead the national side was leaked to the media.
The relationship between Chappell and Ganguly quickly went from bad to worse with a very public spat being carried out through the Indian media. With Ganguly also struggling to make runs, it seemed inevitable that he would lose the captaincy and that ultimately proved the case at the end of the 2005 Zimbabwe series. Ganguly remained in the team for a few more matches but with his and India's performances flattering to deceive, he was eventually dropped altogether for the visit of England and a later tour of the West Indies.
Ganguly digs deep on his return
Towards the end of 2006, India embarked on a tour of South Africa, a country in which they had never won before and a series in which most commentators didn't think they had much chance of breaking that poor run.
As if the prospect of facing a South African attack that included Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, and Makhaya Ntini was daunting enough, the 1st Test Match due to be held at the Wanders ground in Jo'berg was delayed by over an hour due to the poor state of the pitch.
Ganguly entered the fray with the score 110-4 and while the scorecard alone won't tell you the full value of his innings, the unbeaten 51 that he made in very tough conditions against one of the best seam attacks in the world was priceless for India. Momentum is a big factor in all sports and by digging in and fighting for his team Ganguly managed to gain that momentum for India who eventually closed their innings on 249. India's bowlers then took up the call and rolled the hosts for just 84 in the 1st innings before going on to claim an historic first win in South Africa by 123 runs.
As an armchair critic, it's difficult to fully appreciate the kind of pressures that a captain must be under and particularly when that player is leading a nation of over a billion people most of whom love the sport of cricket. Having the best part of a year away from game undoubtedly helped Ganguly untangle himself from the web of lies and deceit that he had gotten himself into in the first place. The innings that he played in the 1st Test is just the kind of effort that captains, coaches, and teammates appreciate most and it would have gone a long way in helping to reintegrate Ganguly with the rest of the India dressing room.
From strength to strength
While India would ultimately lose the South Africa series 2-1, a reinvigorated Ganguly would go on to lead his sides scoring charts on the tour with 214 runs at an average of over 40.
Better was to come for Ganguly who found success against Bangladesh, England and Australia in 2007 as well as hitting a career-best double hundred against arch-rivals Pakistan in the same year. In fact, his haul of 1106 runs in that calendar year was 2nd only to Jacques Kallis and exceeded any other Indian batsman by almost 300 runs.
The South Africa series and 2007, in general, helped to guarantee Ganguly's legacy as one of India's finest batsmen and leaders in their history - quite a comeback from the lows that had befallen the so-called "Prince of Kolkatta" just 2 years before.
Tri-Sports Super Comeback Series
Previous blogs in this series by myself and my fellow writers @hassan and @jodcarey include
Presenting the Tri-Sports Super Series
The Greatest Tennis Grand Slam Comebacks from Injuries/Crisis
The greatest Test Match comebacks after extended losing streaks
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