Sea gull story !!

 

Good Morning – welcome to my Photo story – today that of Sea-gulls  !!!

 

By 1979, the Packer crisis was over and World Series Cricket had been disbanded. All the leading players returned to play for their respective countries and Australia, re-inforced by the likes of McCosker, Greg Chappell, Hookes, Marsh, Lillee, Wood, Walters and Pascoe were by 1980 the second best team in the world, close behind the West Indies.  So Australia on the eve of the 1980-81 tour by India were a pretty formidable lot and a tough tour for India.  

India had lost all three previous rubbers in Australia and by the manner in which the side had gone down by an innings inside three days it did seem that Australia were heading for a fourth successive triumph against India at home.   In that famous third test at Mebourne – Feb 1981 – one might tend to recall that nasty incident of Sunil Gavaskar walking out and almost conceding the Test  

India scored 237 and Australia replied with 419. India's innings was highlighted by a fighting 114 by Viswanath when no one else made more than 25. For Australia, Border got 124, Walters 79 and Chappell 76. Styligh Greg Chappell and Border put on 108 runs for the fourth wicket and Border and Walters 131 runs for the fifth wicket. India were in arrears by 182 runs but by scoring 108 without loss by stumps on the third day, Gavaskar and Chauhan had given the team some hope but a deficit of 182 on Australian wicket against quality bowlers was extremely tough.  

There was to be further trouble – Shivlal Yadav was injured, unable to bat and more badly will not bowl.    Dennis  Lillee, in his 48th Test, overtook Richie Benaud's Australian record of 248 wickets.  India ended up at 324 leaving  Australia to get only 143 runs for victory.  Indians  were badly handicapped in the bowling department. Yadav would not bowl while Doshi had a fractured toe and Kapil Dev a pulled thigh muscle. The only fit bowler, Ghavri (who had opened the bowling with Patil) however gave the Indians a big bonus by dismissing Dyson and Chappell with successive balls. Doshi then removed Wood and at close of play, Australia were 24 for three. Now the match very much hung in the balance and Kapil Dev, alive to the situation, took the field on the final morning, having taken pain killing injections.  Kapil Dev bowled beautifully and India won the test   with  one fit bowler and two half fit bowlers.   

Kapil Dev has one remorse moment at Australia.  On the Republic Day of 1986, he pulled a Kookaburra very hard. Maybe Bruce Reid or Simon Davies was the bowler at Adelaide, and chasing 260 odd, Indians were struggling  six down, requiring probably sixty more in fifty balls.  A lot of seagulls were sunnying themselves in the park. One of the unsuspecting birds  was slammed on its head by hard leather, a fierce pull by Kapil – it staggered as the camera zoomed, not sure what happened, perhaps it did not have a chance.  

Sea gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings.  Those of you in the habit of reading English stories would remember the following lines …..  

It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea. A mile from shore a fishing boat chummed the  water.  and  the word for Breakfast Flock flashed through  the  air,  till  a  crowd  of  a  thousand seagulls came to dodge and fight for bits of food. It was another busy day beginning.  Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonour. .............  Most gulls don't bother to learn more  than  the  simplest  facts  of  flight - how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls,  it  is not flying that matters, but eating.  

Words - the starting lines of the famous “Jonathan Livingstone Seagull”   an allegorical fable in novella form written by American author Richard Bach and illustrated with black-and-white photographs shot by Russell Munson. It is about a seagull who is trying to learn about flying, personal reflection, freedom, and self-realization. This book is one of the best sellers.

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
9^th Aug 2024