by Abhishek Mukherjee
Athol Rowan was a medium-pacer when World War II commenced. He was captured at Tobruk. He somehow escaped.
Then he signed up for the Air Force. But his ordeal was still not over, for he damaged his left knee after a bomb exploded.
Under the circumstances, most would have preferred a life with minimal risk of injuries. Not Rowan. He switched to off-breaks, and when the pain became unbearable, he bowled with his leg in an iron brace. He could never land his left foot properly again.
Barring Pataudi and Milburn, both of whom lost an eye, perhaps no other cricketer has overcome a physical blow this major to play cricket at the highest level.
Most would have been happy to play First-Class cricket after this, but Rowan was made of sterner material. He played 15 Tests between 1947 and 1951.
He quit at 30, his knee could not absorb the workload of those long spells anymore, supposedly with a dramatic "I shall never play again" announcement after his final Test.
His 54 wickets came at almost 39. Being a near-contemporary of Tayfield – probably the greatest spinner in South African history – make the numbers look even more ordinary, more so because both men bowled off-breaks.
There was also the matter of being overshadowed by his illustrious brother, the outspoken, extrovert Eric, the more successful cricketer of the two.
However, Rowan's 273 First-Class wickets came at 23.47, of which 155 (at 25.52) came on English soil, demonstrate his ability to perform outside his comfort zone.
Despite the injury, Rowan could bowl long, very long spells – almost 58 six-ball overs per Test. This included a 65-over and a 68-over outing (both six-ball overs), though none of them matched the 60-over spell (eight-ball overs, so 80 six-ball overs) at Port Elizabeth in 1948-49.
Let this sink in. A man who could not land his foot properly bowled the equivalent of 80 overs in an innings. He took 5/167, then 3/65 in the second innings as England won by 3 wickets.
In his last home season, when his knee was on its way out, Rowan was playing for Transvaal against a full-strength Australian side. He took 9/19 and 6/49 (and scored 31 and 15*).
But Rowan's greatest legacy lies elsewhere, something that made him stand out among his contemporaries. In the 15 Tests they played together, he dismissed Len Hutton – the premier batsman of the era – 11 times, including five times in a row.
The count could have been 12. Rowan was bowling when Hutton prevented Endean from taking a catch and became the first to be given out obstructing the field in Test cricket.
Some, like McGlew, Hassett, Compton, and Arlott rated him ahead of even Tayfield.
Not bad for a man with one good knee
Athol Rowan was born Feb 7, 1921.