JULY 29 — One of the most overused clichés in sport asserts there is a fine line between success and failure.
However, like so many clichés, this particular phrase carries the justification of being absolutely correct, because sporting glory or despair can often be decided by mere inches, if not millimetres.
Consider, for example, the World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina earlier this month, which will be forever remembered for Mario Gotze’s magnificently executed winner in the latter stages of extra time.
But if Gonzalo Higuain had shown his usual composure in front of goal when he was presented with a glorious chance by a misplaced header from Toni Kroos in the first half, the evening would have probably ended with Argentina crowned champions and Lionel Messi assured of his place as a sporting immortal rather than left waiting for the only major honour to have escaped his grasp.
The World Cup will also be remembered for the great fiasco of Spain, the reigning champions who were dumped out in the group stages after being thumped 5-1 by the Netherlands in their opening game.
The fine line between success and failure came into play here as well, though. When Spain were 1-0 ahead through Xabi Alonso’s early penalty, David Silva received a magnificent pass from Andres Iniesta but had his shot brilliantly saved by Jasper Cillessen. If Silva had made it 2-0, the Dutch would have struggled to come back and — who knows — Spain could have improved as the tournament progressed to eventually end up as historic winners.
And yet again, what if Real Madrid hadn’t managed an equalising goal from Sergio Ramos in the very last seconds of the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in May? Carlo Ancelotti would probably have been sacked and Real would have spent the summer gnashing their teeth at their failure to secure their long-coveted tenth European crown.
Instead, the occasion — and the whole season, as far as Real were concerned — turned on Ramos managing to lose his marker and planting a header in the small gap between the upright and diving Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Fine margins, indeed.
One of the most recent sportsmen to experience the fine line between success and failure is England cricket captain Alastair Cook.
A week ago, you may remember, I was writing about the ferocious pressure Cook was being subjected to after a run of dismal failure both for his team and on a personal level.
Heading into Sunday’s opening day of the Third Test against India, Cook was in desperate need of a change in fortune for the better and duly got a small break by winning the toss, electing to bat on a docile wicket.
And when he donned the pads to open the batting for his team, another huge break — or a fine line — soon came to his benefit. Jabbing the bat nervously at a delivery from Pankaj Singh, he edged disastrously into the waiting hands of Ravindra Jadeja in the slips… only for Jadeja to fumble the chance, drop the ball and give Cook a badly needed reprieve.
For much of the day, Cook seemed set to make the most of his luck by advancing to his first Test century for more than a year, thereby eliminating the doubts over his ability to lead the team — at least for the short-term.
But then came another twist of fate, this time for the worse, as he misjudged a poor ball from Jadeja (who else) and mis-hit it straight into the gloves of India’s wicketkeeper-captain MS Dhoni.
Just five runs short of a landmark century, which would have done so much to bolster Cook’s grip of the captaincy, he found himself undone by yet another of those darned sporting fine lines. Sometimes they’re in your favour, but sometimes they fall cruelly against you.
Despite that blow, the match could well end up proving to be a turning point for Captain Cook. Yesterday’s second day saw superb innings from Ian Bell and Gary Ballance give England a commanding position as they declared on 569-7 and then used the remaining hour of play to take the first Indian wicket, with Cook taking a smart catch to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan.
It’s now almost inconceivable that England will lose this test match, and if they play well they should win it. From Cook’s perspective, the ideal scenario would be for his team to twice dismiss India cheaply, leaving themselves with a small target to chase down on the final day… and for Cook himself to gleefully smash the winning runs with a trademark cut to the boundary.
It could happen. But sport isn’t usually quite so obliging, so instead Cook will probably be forced to endure a far more nerve-wracking conclusion to the match and hope that, on this occasion, he can manage to land on the right side of the fine line between success and failure.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
