“Necessity is the mother of invention” is one of the oldest proverbs known to mankind. Over the centuries it has been proven to be absolutely right. Humans have invented newer and better methods of doing a task whenever the conventional methods failed to bring success. Sports are no different from other human activities. When sportsmen are faced with an insurmountable hurdle, they come up with a new method of achieving their objective.
One such inventor was Dick Fosbury of the USA. Fifty-five years ago, at the Mexico Olympic Games of 1968, the spectators saw a sight that they had never seen before. The men’s high jump competition was in progress and one of the competitors, Dick Fosbury was clearing the bar at much higher levels than the others by using a very strange technique. Instead of doing the customary jumping style called “straddle”, Fosbury was twisting his body in the air and crossing the bar in a face-up lying down posture.
People laughed at this unusual style. After every jump he landed on his back with his feet in the air. The media called this new style the Fosbury Flop. But when Dick Fosbury finally won the gold medal, the spectators, athletics experts and the media realised that they had seen the birth of a new revolution.
Fosbury had thought up this method through a scientific study of the physical principles of high jumping. He studied where the centre of gravity lay as the jumper crossed the bar. Then he devised his new method and practised it for many years till he perfected it.
Similarly, there have been inventors and innovators in other sports too who have made a huge difference in their sports by introducing new concepts and techniques.
In cricket Ranjitsinhji (better known as Ranji) invented the leg glance. A fast bowler’s delivery, pitched in line with the pads, would be flicked away by Ranji with a deft turn of the wrist. In England where Ranji demonstrated his batting techniques, the spectators had never seen such a shot before. They were accustomed to seeing batsmen driving hard in front of the wicket. But using a turn of the wrist to send the ball to the boundary was a novel idea. Ranji compiled a phenomenal total of 72 centuries in first-class cricket.
But what made Ranji practice and perfect this unusual shot? Perhaps G.R. Vishwanath can provide the answer. Vishy has written in his autobiography that when he was a boy he was short and thin. He did not have the strength to drive powerfully. He had to rely on skill alone. So he perfected his square cuts and flicks. Ranjitsinhji too was of a short and slender physique. He did not have the strength of the English players. So he had to depend upon quick turns of his wrist to flick and glance the ball instead of using powerful drives.
Two other sportsmen need to be mentioned in this context. One is Bernard Bosanquet, the English cricketer who invented the googly and the other is Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan who invented the off-spinner’s googly which he called the Doosra ball.
Bosanquet started his career as a medium-pace bowler but got little success. So he turned to spin. Gradually he began to have ideas in his mind about how to turn the ball at unusual angles. After several experiments, he finally came up with his googly which foxed all batsmen.
But if a leg spinner could bowl a googly, why not an off-spinner? This was the thought that provoked Saqlain Mushtaq to develop his Doosra. And he met with monumental success. He ended up with nearly 500 wickets in Tests and ODI matches. Others followed in his footsteps and picked up the art too. But the honour of being the pioneer of the Doosra ball went to Saqlain.
The age of inventions is not over. What might we see next? A spinner bowling a bouncer? A batsman hitting a six over the wicketkeeper? As sportsmen push the boundaries of excellence ever higher, it is very likely that we will see amazing developments. Feats that we now think are impossible, may become commonplace in the near future. Gifted humans have the ability to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. That is what makes sport and human endeavour so exciting to follow.
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