September 22, 2022, marked a turnaround in Justin Greaves’ life. It was the day the West Indies medium-pacer all-rounder decided not to quit cricket and rather, defy all odds and establish himself on the world stage.
For his change of mind, some credit has to go to Rajasthan Royals and the franchise’s performance coach Siddhartha Lahiri, also batting coach of Paarl Royals in SA20 and assistant-cum-batting coach of Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Back-foot game and front-foot defence against spin were among the major lessons Greaves undertook while training under Lahiri in 2022 and 2023. Since then, he has gone on to become a player with an overall solid defensive technique, which was reflected in his determined 202 not out, helping the Windies salvage an epic draw in the opening Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.
Greaves also had an unbeaten 50 in October’s New Delhi Test, which denied India an innings win and dragged the game till its final day.
“Justin was extremely disillusioned (for a good part of 2022) and had even contemplated giving up cricket. He wasn’t getting a chance, neither in the West Indies team nor in the CPL. But then, I came in and started working on his mind too, alongside his game,” Lahiri, recalling that difficult phase in the 31-year-old’s career, told The Telegraph from Dubai.
“I used to send him training drills and kept motivating him, telling him about opportunities in the Windies team, especially how he could make himself a regular in the (Test) side. On September 22, 2022, he told me he would stick to cricket.”
On the final day at the Hagley Oval, Greaves had to fight an extremely difficult period after losing overnight batter and centurion Shai Hope and keeper-batsman Tevin Imlach early. But, being in touch with Lahiri since after the fourth day’s play, he had valuable words of advice in his arsenal.
“After the proceedings on Friday, I told him about the ball-focusing drill. It helps in easing everything as the muscle memory takes over. So, what you need to do here is try and follow the ball for 10-25 minutes. Even when you are the non-striker, just keep following the ball and its journey back to the bowler’s hand,” Lahiri, a former Behala resident, explained.
Given the problems plaguing Windies cricket, will Greaves be able to prove his match-saving unbeaten double hundred wasn’t a flash in the pan? “The keen learner that Justin is, he’s more assured of his game now,” Lahiri emphasised. “His mental side has led to him performing, while he also has that belief in himself now.”