5 things every fan remembers from the 90s

“It was GavaskarThe real masterJust like a wallWe couldn't out Gavaskar at all, not at allYou know the West Indies couldn't out Gavaskar at all.”Quite a few people remember The Gavaskar Calypso written by Lord Relator to celebrate Sunil Gavaskar's first Test series in the West Indies in 1970-71. The lyric is particularly significant as it epitomises the powerful sense of nostalgia that cricket never fails to evoke.There was no Sunil Gavaskar in the 90s - many of us were not fortunate enough to have seen him ply his trade. But for us, a generation of cricket lovers growing up in the 90s, cricket was the sport everyone watched.In many parts of India, cable television had just arrived and the prospect of getting together to watch a high octane clash had a romanticism of its own. Shops would be closed with their shutters down at mid-day if a Tendulkar or an Azhar was batting.Every time we look back, the 90s is the decade that still has a special charm of its own. And cricket forms an integral part of this romantic nostalgia. We never fail to get maddened with a strange longing every time the memories of cricket from the 90s come back to haunt us.Let us travel down the memory lane and re-live some of those moments. 

#5 The last decade of the bowlers

Courtney Walsh and Saqlain Mushtaq at work

The 90s is popularly considered to be the last decade 'of the bowlers'. Cricket lovers across the world are unanimous in their distaste about how much the scales are getting tilted in favour of the batsmen in the modern game. While the crazy scoops and switch hits are scintillating to watch, it is sad to see that no one wants to be a bowler now. 

With flat pitches and the barrier of 400 in ODIs also getting crossed every odd day, a popular joke doing the rounds is that a time will come when we might as well replace the bowlers with bowling machines.

But the 90s were visibly different. Batsmen had to play quality bowling attacks in trying conditions, and any score above 200 was difficult to chase in ODIs. On green tops where the ball swung viciously, it was the last decade of the fiery West Indies quicks who struck fear into the heart of any renowned batsman. The likes of Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh were difficult to contend with on any track. 

The 90s saw some of the finest fast bowlers in Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Alan Donald and Glen McGrath. In the spin department, the world saw Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Saqlain Mushtaq, who were the finest exponents of spin bowling.

With such iconic bowlers around, the batsmen had to endure nightmarish times. Only four batsmen averaged over 50 in Test matches in that decade. 

Batsmen in the 90s averaging over 50s in Test matches

Player	Span	Matches	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100s	50s	0s
SR Tendulkar	1990-1999	69	109	12	5626	217	58.00	22	21	7
SR Waugh	1990-1999	89	143	26	6213	200	53.10	18	28	11
BC Lara	1990-1999	65	112	4	5573	375	51.60	13	29	4
GA Gooch	1990-1995	45	83	2	4176	333	51.55	12	17	3