The friendly ghost

The name Michael Kasprowicz (Kasprovitz) is just slightly less difficult for Australians to pronounce correctly than it is for Indians.

So, 'Kaspa' or 'Kasper' it is – from the cartoon character and friendly ghost! (He spells it Kasper).

The great Australian fondness for abbreviations and nicknames is spot-on.

Not many cricketers in international cricket are liked and respected by teammates and opponents alike. Kasper is one of those rare ones.

He is a gentle giant (he's almost six-and-a-half feet tall!) –  till he has a red ball in his hand. He is one of the most amiable, down to earth and innately modest people one could ever hope to meet – except when he starts talking his batting prowess up!

A very adventurous tourist, he loves mingling with the locals and taking in the sights, sounds and smells, and seems to have a love affair with India. He will have been amongst the few who have made all the last three Australian tours of India.

In 2001, referring to Sachin Tendulkar, he advised his fellow bowlers, 'Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours,'.

In 1998, we had him over for Dinner at my [then] home in Bombay and he was one to truly do justice to the food along with Steve Waugh. They handled the spicy stuff with aplomb and [like Oliver!] asked for more.

Again, in 2001 he did not forget to thank the servants and cook apart from the hosts [my in-laws] when some of the team came over for what they [quaintly!] call 'a curry' or 'a feed'.

He comes across as extremely well read, a good listener and very computer savvy. He is proud of his Polish antecedents. But, make no mistake, underneath that genial exterior is a fierce competitor and a man who epitomizes the never-say-die Aussie attitude on a cricket field. He is never satisfied with less than his best, and is, perhaps, currently at the peak of his powers. He has the ability to reverse swing the old ball, has a great change of pace and, with the new ball, has an out-swinger which always bears watching -- not flirting!

He finished the Ashes series in 1997 at The Oval against England with a career-best 7-36, and is also proud of his 5/27 at Bangalore in 1998.

Team mates still talk in hushed and reverential tones about his efforts in India in the debilitating heat and humidity on the 1998 tour when he lost eight kgs. Under these trying conditions Kasprowicz not only did not wilt but was the inspirational leader of the bowling attack.

Dr. Cam Battersby, former Director of the Australian Cricket Board (who was also the Tour Director of the 1998 tour of India), tells the story about how Geoff Marsh the (then) Australian coach, tried to goad the team into calling him 'Crab' or 'Crabby'  - a considerably more evil  (and more appropriate!) nick-name for a Fast Bowler than 'Kasper' in an effort to stir him up and give him a fiercer outlook - but the nick-name did not stick!

Dr. Battersby also tells another story of Calcutta in 2001 when he congratulated Kasprowicz on getting picked in the 11 and went on to ask him how many Tests had he played? He was astounded to hear Kasper's honest answer –'Don't Know'.

He's one to give it his all and not bother about personal statistics, Cam explained.

Frustratingly for him, he has been in and out of the national team several times in his 13 years of first class cricket. He suffered a setback when he had to have shoulder surgery in 2000 and was out for 6 months that year, but to his credit came back strongly enough to make the Steve Waugh-led 2001 team to India where he had to contend with the likes of McGrath, Gillespie and Fleming in the quick bowling ranks. The surgeon who did his shoulder reconstruction described him as the "ideal patient", intelligent and hard working, so that his rehabilitation was perfect.

Steve Waugh said more than ability, he was looking to take players with character and mental strength to India and Kasprowicz considered it an honour to have been so highly regarded by Waugh as one of the gutsiest cricketers around.

The 31-year-old, who has played 17 One-Day Internationals for Australia, (the last one four-and-a-half years ago!) has spent the Australian winter playing for English county side Glamorgan. During this stint he claimed career-best figures of 9-36 on his way to 77 first-class wickets for the season.

He had in previous years played for Leicestershire (1999) and Essex (1994).

Kasprowicz was also a talented rugby player in his younger days, having played for Australia Under-19. In fact, he quipped that he was seriously toying with the idea of taking to rugby again after missing out on the Ashes squad in 2001 following the tour of India -- just a tongue in cheek remark that made headlines!

Kasper made his First Class debut as a schoolboy -- straightaway into the cauldron of a Sheffield Shield final at the SCG.

The need for an experienced fast bowler following the remarkable, nay, freakish run of injuries in the senior Australian bowling ranks ensured a call-up for this very likeable cricketer and Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, expects that he will play a big role in India.

By a strange quirk of fate he made the 2001 Australian touring team due to an injury to Brett Lee and it's ground hog day, again!

His selection is the result of some very consistent performances. He has been the lynchpin of Queensland's attack and has prominently figured in their winning the Pura Cup five times in the past eight years.

Kasprowicz was the winner of the 2002-03 Ian Healy Trophy as Queensland's most valuable player and has been one of the most outstanding bowlers in the Pura Cup competition for the past few years.