by Arunabha Sengupta
“The first ball from Alderman flew down the leg side on a fullish length. For a medium-pace bowler Alderman had a long run-up, which gave the batsman too much time to think. At delivery he had a disconcerting grin and this combination added to my inevitable nerves, (which) meant I moved too soon at my second ball. It was straight and full, and as I had to play around my front pad, I missed it — I looked up to see the tall, sombre figure of Nigel Plews raise his finger and that was that. I was on my way back to the pavilion, joining the likes of Hutton and Gooch, who had also recorded ducks on their debuts.”
This was how Michael Atherton described the first innings of his Test career in his excellent autobiography Opening Up.
However, Alderman’s success was due to much more than the long run up and perplexing grin. The smile was eternally etched on his face as long as he played the game — and his run up and speed remained honest, toiling and medium paced all through. It was only when the focus shifted to the seaming tracks of England that venom was added to his deliveries in incredibly generous proportions.
Neither was the confusion limited to the debutant Atherton. The Lancashire man was in the side in place of the formidable and enormously experienced Graham Gooch. The seasoned opener had asked the selectors to leave him out of the Test team after he had spent most of the summer trying to figure outthe mysteries of Alderman’s seamers, swingers and cutters.In all Alderman got Gooch 7 times. Whenever he bowled in England, this medium pacer from Perth became virtually unplayable.
Of Alderman’s 170 wickets in 41 Tests, 100 were in Ashes Tests at 21.17. 83 of these were captured in England at 19.33 apiece. Only Jim Laker and Malcolm Marshall have taken more at a better average in the Old Country.
In 1981, a series otherwise remembered as Ian Botham’s Ashes, the young medium-pacer made his debut and went on to scalp 42 wickets in the 6 Tests. Returning to England eight years later, he captured 41 more in another 6 matches as Australia routed England 4-0. As if nothing had changed. Although in the interim he had spent a few years in wilderness because of playing in South Africa with the rebel team of Kim Hughes, and once almost ended his career trying to rugby tackle an intruding spectator during a Test match.
The recorded message on Gooch’s answering machine is perhaps a myth. The one that began “You have reached Graham Gooch. I am out, probably lbw Alderman…” But there are enough reasons for it to have been true.
Terry Alderman was born on 12 June 1956.