KRIS – Hello! Today we have with us Roger Binny in our show.  Welcome to our show Roger and incidentally I don’t know how many of you know that Roger was the highest wicket taker in 1983 World Cup.  How does it to feel to be the highest wicket taker of the 1983 World Cup, Roger?

BINNY :  Well, looking back at it now,  it is a great feeling to sit back and think that I took that many wickets and to cap it all, we won the Cup, which was a very exciting for all of us

KRIS – Ok coming to the Final Roger,  you have bowled well throughout the series, obviously to be the highest wicket taker, you should have bowled well. What I want to know is  – What was your feeling when you were asked to bowl with such a low total?  I mean, How did you feel when Kapil asked you to bowl …you bowled one change, right?  How did you feel?

ROGER – Well you see, when I came in to bowl, the things looked much better than the start of the innings because when I came into bowl they were 4 wickets down, but still the match could have gone anyway.  You see...but, I think what happened to all of us is that the small total made us better bowlers, you know, we came out with better bowling performance than any other game in the World Cup. 

KRIS – Do you think that the English condition is very useful for you, because you seem to be wobbling the ball? In the 1986 tour of England, you got a lot of wickets.  Was the English condition was very useful to you personally?

ROGER – See I depend the lot on the wicket, it’s the pace of the wicket. In England if you get the ball to pitch up on the seam it does create a lot of difference.  That was my strength in bowling and I found the English wickets and some in India like – Calcutta, may be in Australia…Melbourne.  Those wickets suited me because it suits my type of swing bowling.

KRIS – Now you caught Clive Lloyd in the Finals…So how did you feel when you got him out!  You were just jumping… I could see…What was your feeling?
…
BINNY – It was a brilliant feeling to get Clive Lloyd out…because I was a kid – I got him out in first game in the Manchester too, before that. 

KRIS – That’s right… the first Round Robin Match, the first game that you won

BINNY – In fact we were the first team to beat the West Indies in all the three World Cups.

KRIS – Boy!!! I didn’t know that. Ok

BINNY –The first team in Manchester to beat them!!! You had played that game too!!!  When I got him out there and in the Final, it was a fantastic feeling. As a young child growing up and watching the West Indies play, I always admired these blokes as cricketers… and to get them out it was something which…even better than…I can’t explain such situations.

KRIS – Incidentally that match against Australia, that was a very crucial match – that was  the Round Robin Match – I didn’t know the viewers like…we had to beat Australia to qualify for the Semi Final and Roger Binny was the Man of the Match in that match.  What was your feeling about that?

ROGER – That again was a very crucial match

KRIS – You got 4 wickets, right!

ROGER – Yes, I got 4 for 29 and I got 28 or 29 runs in that game.  That was a crucial for us because if we didn’t win that , we wouldn’t have not come into the Semi Final stage.  So we had to win that and I think I bowled the best in the whole tournament in that game.  Because I had all the left handers out…3 left handers out.

KRIS – Alan Border!

ROGER – Alan Border..didn’t..he seems survived…Graham Yallop got out…Graham Wood out…and the left arm spinner…, Tom Hogen…

KRIS - Thump Hoge!

ROGER – Yes, Tom Hogen.  Those three I got out – so that broke the back to the batting.

KRIS – How was the feeling when you got the “Man of the Match Award” in the World Cup 1983, when we won the tournament.  How did it feel?

ROGER – It’s a great feeling…because I received the World Cup from Trevour Bailly..  which was even more special…because I always admired the senior cricketers and to win that game…to think that it’s the first time we got into a Semi Final match, we were all thrilled.

KRIS – You seem to have a special liking towards left handers.  When I mean liking … you seem to get them out easily.   I remember in the World Championship cricket in 1985 in Australia, again in Australia you got 3 Left handers out.   What is the secret …you seem to be very good against left handers.  Why is it so?

ROGER – No, I had this ball which mostly left left handers…I got Alan Border, I got Clive Llyod the same way, I got even Ranathunga.  You know, I pitched the ball up and it’s late into a left hander…after they play the shot, the ball was in to them…beating them with swing…and besides that the one that straightened on the left hander’s off stump… they always play for the ball coming in but it went away from them and they were caught in the slips.  I had Richard Hadley in my first tour..that’s the line I had bowled to the left handers. When they went for a drive and (the ball) swung late into them, ……..

KRIS – So, you probably feel that you are better off against the left handers.

BINNY – My line is more suited to a left hander.  Same line if I bowl to a right hander it was on his pads.  .

KRIS – Ok, in 1983 World Cup you had 18 wickets.  Which was your prized wicket?  Which (wicket) is still in your memory?

BINNY – Well, the wicket which I got Viv Richards in the first game at Manchester.  Viv Richards…When he was caught behind by Kirmani…that was the ball that swung late and I think Richards was looking to play it for a single to the point region… (I think the pace of the ball surprised him!), and immediately after that I got Clive Llyod out.  The ball swung right into him and beat him all ends up…

KRIS – What do think of the delivery that got Chris Traver out, when they were playing quite well.  When they got 60+…You gave them the break through…Semi Final game against England?

BINNY – The first one was Chris Traver.  I just kept to bowling line to him. He is a batsman who doesn’t play many shots. He is more of a single…..keep the strike moving…I just kept good line and I got good one against him…. the ball pitched and moved late to get him on his drive.

KRIS – Now coming to your Career, Roger, you have got a very good time, , I particularly remember the match against Pakistan at Calcutta when surprisingly when nobody was able to swing the ball, how is it only you were swinging the ball on that particular match.  Even Kapil Dev, even the Pakistan player…Imran Khan was not able to do anything…How was it you were able to swing the ball and you got 8 wickets?  It was a freak spell or what it is?

BINNY – You remember…that was a come-back game for me.  You see when I…that was the second new ball again...it wasn’t the first new ball…so I didn’t have much of a  chance to bowl with the first new ball.  So when I came back the send new ball I was…. kept saying to myself..I have to get wickets if I want to stay in that side..to me the breeze was right… that time it blew in from Hoogly..I just kept putting ball on the off stump.  That’s it!!

KRIS – I think Javeed Miandad struggled against you both the innings, right!

BINNY – Yes, I got him out both the innings..and Rameez Raja…both innings I got them out.

KRIS – Now coming to your batting Roger, I personally feel that you really not done your bit with your batting?  What do you think?  Do you think that you could have batted better or could have been more successful with your Bat?

BINNY – I put it this way.  I tell you, When I came into the Indian team I was an attacking Batsman.  I hit many a sixes in the local Ranji Trophy Games…remember our present selector Shiva Lal Yadav…I hit him 4 sixes an over!!  I could hit the ball..I was an attacking batsman...all my innings were…they were not dull…but when I got the hindsight, many a times I was under pressure.; even after such good tours ….’83 world cup,  85 world-champions…. but still I hadn’t established myself! Each time I came back to the crease, I was under pressure. I didn’t play my nature game.

KRIS – I am sure the viewers know that you were one of the best fielders of your time; you had a brilliant throw. Even in the series against the West Indies in 1983, when everybody was struggling, you were one of the few successful people in India. You could have well continued in that vein. What happened to you after that?

BINNY – That time 83 to 84 I had good series with the bat. I kept getting lot of runs against Pakistan in the tour that year, and then against the West Indies. But somehow again when it came to ’85 after the world-championship team was picked, to Sri Lanka…. You remember? In trying to establish myself in the team, my batting got …. I think I became too defensive, trying to stay there and get runs.

KRIS –You used to open for Karnataka? Do you think you should have struck to your opening slot even at the international level?
.
BINNY – I think I had a better chance at No.6. When you are batting at No.6, you get the second new ball. That’s why I shifted to No.6 position. The bowlers are not the same with the second new ball. They are bit tired and I was setting in properly at the No.6 slot. Somehow, I was not able to establish myself as a batsman. In the Indian conditions, bowling-wise, I did struggle, in most conditions… except Bombay, Calcutta…where I got the wickets.

KRIS – You were a major wicket-taker, both in the ’83 world-cup and 85 world-championship – both of which India won. ’83 World-championship, as you know, was something like  a mini-world cup, that time. Which tournament you felt you bowled better; which tournament’s victory was better from your point of view.

BINNY – The world-cup – winning it for the first time – created a big impact. You remember, after the world-cup, we lot a little bit to two other teams. And I think once again we proved to the rest of the world that we are on top by winner the world-championship. In World championship we played better cricket again…. As a team, we fielded, batted and bowled better than most teams. We proved we were ahead of all the teams.  In the world-cup, we had some close games, we lost a few games. But in the world-championship, we knocked out everybody.

KRIS – Any funny or interesting incident – at the world-cup or world-championship – off the field which you still remember Roger – or can never forget?

BINNY – Those days I used to smoke a little bit. Whenever we had a certain opening batsman called Srikkanth walk into the crease, Madan Lal used to take out a pack of cigarettes and have a few puffs before you batted…. That was the tension we had…You see the tension used to tell… whenever you walked out to bat, your carefree style of batting created tension. It (the carefree style) was good, alright, but we wanted to see you score runs rather than get out. Every team wants to get off to a good start, you see….. (laughs)

KRIS – I remember you were one of the guys who pulled a stump out after the ’83 world-cup. What did you do with the stumps? I would like you to tell that to our viewers.

BINNY – I have got it in my show-case. I have got people like Freddie Trueman, Michael Holding, Ian Chappel, Colin Cowdrey ….autograph….all of them autographed. You remember, after the world-cup, we had some many of these world’s greatest cricketers (past), in our dressing room. It’s something that we as kids we had heard so much about them in the radio but not seen them. It was good to have them next to you, shake your hands…They were very also happy for us, that Indian won the world-cup.

KRIS – You got them to autograph…and you also took the team’s autograph, if I remember right.

BINNY – Yes, I got the team’s autograph as well as those of the all-time greats on that.

KRIS – That’s good! That must be terrific souvenir to have!!! Coming to your golf, I believe you have become a golf freak. You love to whack the ball with your beefy muscles. How does it feel to play golf now?

BINNY – You can call me a golf freak! I love the game. Very much. I took it up after I finished my cricket…. When everything was over. I had so much of spare time. I used pick up the golf club and play golf the whole day, sometimes! I have now come down to a decent handicap, and I really love it very much!

KRIS – Any way, Roger! It was nice to have you on our show, and thank you very much for taking time to be on our show! Thank you very much for being a part of us.

BINNY – It was my pleasure too! Thank you too!