IN a right-handed world the left-handers are a unique lot. Give them an inch and they will grab a mile. This of course is very true when it comes to playing sports. Be it badminton, tennis, boxing or athletics or for that matter cricket their contribution is always valued because of being different from those who are around them or competing against them.

Cricket like tennis too had their full share of left-handers with their names well engraved in the annals of the game. Unarguably the best all-rounder that I have watched playing this glorious game was Sir Garfield Sobers who as a batsman was as elegant and stylish as he was when bowling at pace or as a spinner added to that he was the safest hand round the bat as a fielder.

Before him and after there have been many but none was as charismatic as Gary Sobers was. Brian Lara was enchanting and prolific and Clive Lloyd was more than a handful but no where near as much a delight to watch as one did looking at Sobers or Lara. Graeme Pollock of South Africa was no less a mortal as a left-handed batsman. Unfortunately he was lost to apartheid. I watched him bat in the 1965 Trent-Bridge Test when he hit a glorious hundred against England. Only he I would say had the credentials to be mentioned alongside the great West Indian.

Over the years I must say that I have had a full share of watching the left-handed greats of Australia. Arthur Morris of the Don Bradman era was much before me but I did see Neil Harvey, Bill Lawry, Allan Border, Mathew Hayden and Adam Glichrist. The most elegant amongst them was no doubt Harvey who always walked to the middle oozing with such confidence as if he had already scored a ton before stepping in to take charge of the crease.

David Warner’s century against Pakistan was no less an event for Australia or for those who watched him bat. He may not be in the same class as the above mentioned nor as expressive in poise or in execution of a stroke like David Gower was or as domineering as Gilchrist was but he certainly seems to have the ability to explode with a flurry of strokes to match his unpredictable and at times weird temperament outside the game.

Only a year ago on an Ashes tour to England he lashed a couple of punches at Joe Root, the English batsman during a visit to a night club for which he was banned for two Tests and later in a twitter spat with Aussie journalists admonished once again.

By scoring a century against Pakistan, his ninth in all he became the second batsman in post Bradman era to score three hundreds in successive Test innings joining his countryman Gilchrist who did that in 2005.

In the last 12 months he has scored 1,199 runs at an average of 74.93 and continues to talk with his bat scoring 115, 70, 66, 135, 145 and 133 in his last six innings.

If not for his ton in this match Australia may have had even a more torrid time against a pedestrian Pakistan attack which no doubt restricted the visitors taking a sizeable lead. Experienced Zulfiqar Babar bowled well within his limits and Yasir Shah did show some promise in his first game for Pakistan as did pacer Imran Khan.

Now it will be up to Pakistan batsmen to cash on the sizeable first innings lead which could be handy in the end.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2014