Words from an article on a dream artist known as Shane warne

Words Chased :

CREED; CONTAGIOUS; CONJURED; VIBRANCY; REKINDLED; RAVING; MYSTICAL; PEDESTRIAN; CONSERVATIVE; LARRIKINS.

The Magic of Shane Warne

(Written by Ian Chappell)

Richie Benaud said Keith Miller was the best captain Australia never had. The same can be said about Warne.

I first met Everton Valentine on the 1973 tour of the Caribbean and he now lives in Notting Hill Gate, London. We continue to communicate on cricket matters in general and the West Indies in particular.

Dear Everton

Well, mate, you never cease to amaze. After telling me Twenty20 was “like drinking punch without the rum”, I get an email from Hyderabad saying you’ve flown there to watch an IPL game.

Still, I can’t fault your reasoning; a desire to see if all this talk about Shane Warne’s captaincy was true. I guess I no longer have to try and convince you he would’ve been a great Australian captain. He makes the game exciting for his team-mates, which is part of the secret to successful captaincy. Keep them involved in an absorbing contest and the really competitive players will regularly produce their best.

Also, his captaincy creed, “We can win from any position,” is like the common cold – it’s contagious. If a team under Warne pulls off a stunning victory or two, the players start to believe that it wasn’t a miracle, just an everyday occurrence.

Everton, what you witnessed in Hyderabad, where Warne captained like a chess master and conjured up a remarkable last-gasp victory against the Deccan Chargers, is exactly what I saw in 1996 when I phoned Richie Benaud in England. I’d just seen Warne Captain Victoria in a Super Eights tournament played in northern Australia during the winter. His captaincy was aggressive and there was vibrancy to his leadership that inspired the players around him to perform at their best. I told Benaud, “I’ve just seen a brilliant natural leader. We could have another aggressive legspinning captain of Australia.”

Even from 16,000 kilometres away you could hear the excitement in Benaud’s voice. My prediction had rekindled memories of his own exploits as an aggressive Australian captain who was prepared to take risks.

What you said about Warne, “that he takes his gambling instincts on to the field” was one of the things that impressed me about his captaincy in 1996. Everton, what you and the Indian public are now seeing is what the people of Hampshire have been raving about for a few seasons: how as captain, Warne makes the game interesting for everybody to watch. What a pity we didn’t see more of it in Australia.

Just 11 one-day internationals as captain in the late 1990s and Australia won ten of those matches. No wonder Steve Waugh was in a hurry to return from injury to reclaim the job; the team responded brilliantly to Warne’s leadership and there was a mystical quality about what might unfold that had the public constantly on the edge of their seats.

He also captained Victoria a few times but that would have been wasted on their fans; they’ve been subjected to so much pedestrian leadership over the years, they’ve probably forgotten what good captaincy looks like. Yes, Everton, I know, there’s an exception to every rule. My grandfather, and former Australia captain Vic Richardson advised me, “If you ever captain Australia, don’t do it like a Victorian.”

Anyway, what’s happened to the old devil-may-care Everton now you’ve retired? You’re becoming conservative in your old age, agreeing with the “do gooders” (as you once described them), that it was probably just as well Warne didn’t captain Australia because he would’ve embarrassed the country with his off-field antics.

Remember what you said, Everton, “Larrikins make good captains because they are risk-takers.” And anyway, I told you if he’d been appointed captain following Mark Taylor’s retirement, I doubt he would have got into so much hot water that it ensured he would never captain Australia again. He’s made some stupid mistakes but he’s not naive.

I think it was Eric Idle, the comic from Monty Python, who said of the male of the species: “Man has two major organs, brain and penis, but only blood enough to run one at a time.” That probably best summed up Warnie.

Anyway, we agree on one thing, Everton. Warne has one of the most vibrant cricket brains in the business and there can be no disputing he’s a very good captain. Benaud often says the great allrounder Keith Miller was the best skipper he’s seen never to captain Australia. I’d say the same about Warne in regard to Test cricket.

Hey, mate, you’ve really succumbed to the Warne magic. You followed him to Jaipur to watch him out-manoeuvre his old foe Sourav Ganguly and make it four wins in a row against the Knight Riders, and now you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas to watch him play in a poker tournament.

If you want some spending money for Vegas, have a little wager on the Royals winning the IPL. There’s one thing for sure about taking a punt on Warnie. He always gives you a good run for your money.

Highlighted Words and their usages worth knowing:

Creed: (Noun) (Dictionary meaning): A system of belief, principles, or opinions; A formal statement of religious belief.

Synonyms: School of thought, Philosophical system or Doctrine.

The word has been used to explain that whenever Shane Warne captained any side, he believed in winning and winning from any position.

You will come across the word creed mainly in sentences like “No citizen will be discriminated based on caste or creed.

2. Contagious: (Adjective) (Dictionary meaning): Spreading or tending to spread from one to another; infectious; communicable; causing or likely to cause the same reaction or emotion in several people.

This word is mainly used in contexts like, lets say the mood in the class was serious and sombre and if a teacher with infectious or contagious smile comes in, that smile will have effect on everyone.

It is also used when someone is suffering from a contagious disease.

In the same way, this word contagious in the context has been used to emphasize the leadership qualities of Shane Warne. If a team is in hopeless position and is going to lose, Shane Warne will keep on egging on, encouraging his players that we can pull it off. Seeing that their captain still believes in them winning the match, that belief spreads to all the remaining players

3. Conjured: (Verb): Dictionary Meaning: To influence or effect by or as if by magic; To summon (a devil or spirit) by magical or supernatural power; To perform magic tricks, especially by sleight of hand.

This word is basically used in the context when any magician or a conjuror performs any magical trick. So, the writer has used this word to further highlight the captaincy skills of Shane Warne. Even in a difficult position, he conjured something like making a bowling change or placing a fielder at a particular position or bringing himself to bowl and brought his team into winning position. All these words have been used to showcase the inspirational qualities of Shane Warne.

4. Vibrancy: (Noun): Dictionary meaning: Vibrancy is adjective form is Vibrant which means full of energy, life or activity. For e.g., if i say that “Even at 2’0 clock night, the streets are vibrant”, i am trying to suggest that there are lot of people at that time. We can also use the word vibrant as “A vibrant group”.

In this context also the word vibrancy means that Shane Warne’ captaincy is full of energy, new ideas and life. He does many things in a novel way which other captain will do it in an orthodox way. Whenever he is captaining, he will not let the game drift unlike other captains.

5. Rekindled: (Noun)(Dictionary meaning): To relight (a fire); to renew or revive something; to arouse or cause to be aroused again.

The word rekindle is used to light or revive something which is in dying stage. For e.g., we can use it in a sentence like “All school-friends decided to meet after a gap of 5 years. That meeting provided them with an opportunity to rekindle their friendship.”

This word in the context means to revive the memories of Richie Benaud when he was the captain Of Australia. He was also a leg-spinner like Shane Warne and aggressive captain. So that conversation made him feel nostalgic and revived or rekindled memories.

6. Raving: (Adjective)(Dictionary meaning): Exciting admiration: mad, wild, crazy, hysterical.

Raving is again an adjective used to enhance the quality of noun. For e.g,” Raving beauty of actress” or “The new movie earned raving reviews from the critics.”

Again, in the context, the word raving is used to showcase the captaincy skills of Shane Warne, When he was the captain of Hampshire county in England. He captained Hampshire for more than 2 years and the natives were in awe of his captaincy and leadership skills. His captaincy earned respect from rival teams also. He brought the team from lower rungs to top of the championship table. And same thing he did for Rajasthan Royals in IPL which Indian public watched.

7. Mystical: (Adjective)(Dictionary meaning): Of or having a spiritual reality or import not apparent to the intelligence or senses; Enigmatic; obscure;

This word basically relates to some idea or practice or theories or tradition which cannot be understood by a common person. For e.g. “mystical theories of stock market”. It means that in general, theories of of stock market are so difficult or obscure that it cannot be comprehended by common person. We can also use it as “mystical practices of Kabaalah religion”. Kaballah is a religion which is known to very few and its practices are mystical which are very difficult to be understood by layman public.

Similarly, this word has been used to describe the captaincy qualities of Shane Warne. There is something about Warne’s captaincy which cannot be explained but it got the desired result for the team. The common public could not understand, but they could sense that something magical was there about his captaincy.

8. Pedestrian: (Adjective)(Dictionary meaning): ordinary; Of, relating to, or made for pedestrians; Going or performed on foot; dull.

This word can be also used as a noun. In that case it means” A person travelling on foot; a walker.”

Pedestrian is mainly used to describe which is very boring or ordinary or something lacking in originality. We can use it in a sentence like “ It was a pedestrian performance by Indian team” or “a pedestrian way of writing”.

This word has been used to compare the captaincy of Warne with those of other rival captains. Many captains are not willing to take risks or try out new ideas; they just follow the standard orthodox way. We can say that Pedestrian is an antonym to Vibrant.

9. Conservative: (Adjective)(Dictionary meaning): Traditional or restrained in style; Favouring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change; cautious.

This word can also be used as Noun. It means “One favouring traditional views and values.”

For e.g, if i say that “Conservative Parents don’t allow their wards to go out in night” . If some of you have watched cricket, we can use this word as “Steve Waugh was a conservative captain while Sourav Ganguly was an aggressive captain”. Look, how the words which are adjectives are used to describe the qualities. Out of box can be used as a synonym to Conservative.

For e.g, “if you want to succeed in this highly competitive environment, you need to think out of box.”

10. Larrikins make good captains: The word Larrikin means a mischievous person or a risk-taking person. This sentence is used to convey that those who are mischievous are more likely to take risks in their life.

Similarly, Shane Warne has been in controversy for some of his off-field antics, but he has not let it affect his performance on field. He used to take risks, used to resort to aggressive tactics while bowling. That’s why he has been referred as a Larrikin. For becoming a good captain, you need to be aggressive, willing to go by his gut-instincts.

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