Adam Bacher and Shaun Pollock have famous names to live up to but they are playing their own way in Sri Lanka
CRICKET: Ahitisham Manerjee
THERE is a popular myth amongst Westerners that Sri Lankans, and Asians in general for that matter, are all fanatical about cricket. For their part, Sri Lankans have a similar misconception about Yorkshiremen and anyone called Geoffrey.
There is some truth in both generalisations but the South African Under-24 cricket team in Sri Lanka has been surprised to find the back pages of local newspapers dominated as much by rugby as by cricket. They arrived with only two weeks of the domestic season remaining and enthusiasm for the imminent cup final is
But if there is one thing that excites a Sri Lankan cricket fan more than anything else, it is a famous name. The country is less than halfway through its second decade as a Test -playing nation and there are a mere 60 Tests for the statisticians and romantics to reminisce over. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, the depth of knowledge and interest in the history of the game is extraordinary.
And nothing tickles the cricketing palate quite like a famous name. Coach Bob Woolmer was subjected to the non-stop patter of a middle-aged “tuk-tuk” driver who remembered his only previous visit to the island with the MCC touring side of 1976.
“Omigod!” he shrieked, narrowly avoiding a lorry full of sheep. “You are Bob Woolmer! I know you! Yes! You play for England … why you now coach South Africa!?”
“Well …” said Woolmer. It was the first and last word Bob was able to fit in. The tuk-tuk driver recounted the team of 1976 which was captained by Tony Greig and included three future England captains in Keith Fletcher, Mike Brearley and Bob Willis.
“I see you score 65 in SSC stadium …” continued the grinning driver. Woolmer shrugged his shoulders. “Did I?” he muttered.
Ordinarily there would have been a few other famous names in a squad of young hopefuls still hoping to build an international career. But this South African squad is far from ordinary. Several other individuals were delighted to see Woolmer again but, as good a player as he was, there are two young men that Sri Lankans were even keener to meet: Shaun Pollock and Adam Bacher.
“It puts into perspective the performances of my father and uncle,” says Shaun. “The fact that they are so well known, even revered, all over the world. It makes me proud … of course it does.” But isn’t it a burden as well, with so much to live up to?
“Err, not really (yes). I don’t really think about it (much),” says Pollock junior. And has father Peter been a great help in his burgeoning fast bowling career? “I’ve pretty much got to where I am now by myself,” he says, “but I don’t mean to say he hasn’t helped me. He stayed away from school matches and that sort of thing. I suppose that might have been a bit of a sacrifice on his part. All I know is that I haven’t been put into teams because of my name. I went through all the ranks on merit … Natal junior schools, senior schools, SA schools, Natal and now the Under-24’s.
“One day someone in the Kingsmead crowd shouted to me: ‘Hey Pollock, why the hell are you in the team … because of your old man?’ I looked back at this guy and just said, Yeah, of course it is. That’s dead right'”.
Graeme Pollock, perhaps, was even greater than Peter. Certainly his legend is greater in Sri Lanka. But he, too, has had little influence on Shaun’s career. If anyone was to benefit from the mighty left-hander’s experience it would be his own two sons, Anthony and
“They were both amazing players, obviously,” says Shaun. “If I turn out like either of them it’ll be a great bonus. All I know is that when I get picked for the senior South African team it won’t be because my dad is convenor of selectors! It’ll be because I have done enough to deserve my place, like it always has
Adam Bacher is altogether a different case. His progress has been too rapid to even notice the effect of being a Bacher. Whatever the rest of the world might have to say, Sri Lankans regard Adam’s uncle Ali as the greatest cricket administrator of modern times. With his record as a player and Springbok captain thrown in, Adam, too, has quite a reputation to live up to.
“Have I?” he asks. “I actually played tennis and squash more than cricket when I was younger. In squash I reached number three in South Africa at Under-12 level. But … maybe it’s true when they say that cricket is in your blood. My father Issy was always a squash player but I chose cricket. Ali always helped me, but not technically, mentally.”
Adam is an intense character, and always will be. With his high forehead and furrowed brow he more closely resembles an accountant with 24 hours to prepare ICI’s year-end financial report, but at least he is quick to admit the potential pitfalls of such a temperament.
‘This time last year I was approaching despair. I had retreated into my shell and couldn’t communicate with anyone. I was desperate to succeed, and although I never doubted that I would make it, I hadn’t envisaged what the road to success would be like. I began to wonder whether I should set my sights a bit lower. But I learned to relax. Ali helped me, just telling me to enjoy cricket.”
The Bacher family really is close and, unlike the Pollocks, one could imagine them spending a communal Christmas — except it would be Rosh Hashana. And the relationship between uncle and nephew is correspondingly trickier — in the nicest possible way.
“Adam handles it much better than I do,” laughs Bacher senior. “He always tells me to relax and forget about it.” But Adam provides a closer insight into the
“Ali came to our pre-tour camp in Durban to wish us well. He is very conscious of keeping everything as impartial as possible, so we kept a conscious distance between ourselves. It was pretty amusing, actually, but he called me the next day to say ‘Have a good trip’ and to remind me to relax and enjoy.”
Adam did not disappoint the curious locals when he opened the innings with a fierce knock of 86 from 109 balls in the Under-24’s tour-opener against the President’s XI in Colombo. And Woolmer has little doubt that Pollock is the fastest bowler in the squad and agrees that, with continued development, he could follow in his father’s footsteps as a South African opening bowler.
The difficulties of following in famous family footsteps have been well documented. There are as many failures as successes. But Shaun and Adam make light of it. Whether comments come from the man in the crowd, the tuk-tuk driver or from the opposition, they seem more than able to cope. Already they are their own men. Success or failure.