ipl a real good perspective

really well written, Mr. Haigh

for a few TRP’s more…

The Sydney test might be a watershed for technological assistance in umpiring, hopefully some better onfield behaviour and some more grace in defeat. one thing i dont see changing quickly is the petty and utterly disgraceful attitude of the Indian television in particular.

the front runners are obviously the so called expert panels of the 24*7 news channels..there has hardly been any moderate and remotely sensible reaction to the umpiring fiasco. some of them have to be heard to be believed – a bowler was asked to kick an umpire in his run-up by one such expert.Coming from someone who has played the game at the highest level and is recognised as such, it only reinforces to the millions watching that it is nothing short of barbarism out in the middle.You also wont find the experts wasting a lot of time giving the opposition credit too- cant remember Brad Hogg, Hussey and Hayden being mentioned except in connection with the racism episode..

The umpires are biased – the channels tell us. Re-running tapes of incorrect decisions made by Bucknor is the way to re-jog everyones memory about the damage he has caused over the years, but it is also strangely silent on the occasions that Indians have benefited.  also, no mention of the correct ones he has made in tough circumstances? obviously not, that will be tarnishing the evidence.Meanwhile, a fine man is heading off into oblivion after good service to the game.

dont get me wrong, I am not defending the bloomers made by the umpires in the sydney test, but cant help feeling that the television stations might be fervently praying for a dozen every time, anything that adds a few notches to the TRP..

these channels have perfected the ability to whip up the audience to a frenzy for a percieved slight or even in the case of a geniune error.. if it doesnt work – they always throw in an emotive interview with a players relative or publish a poll’s result that justifies the outrage.this media outcry feeds itself anyway, they are also wary of letting it die.. even when the issue seemed settled atleast temporarily, one channel had a poll for absolving bhajji before the appeal ran its course..

unfortunately this is also what makes India a cricketing superpower and its ability to hold the cricketing world to ransom

where does this leave the spectator??  Fed on a larger than life cricket they dont know any better, for even when at the ground, the television cameras attract more attention. monkey chants are a direct effect more than anything else..

the real impact sank in when i realised that you cannot have a chat with a player from an opposing team in a 3rd division league match in bangalore without being stared or sledged at. even Neville Cardus could not have imagined this impact when he said that camera & experts will one day become a subsitute for the spectators own assessment of the game.

one only hopes that the media has the sense not to kill the goose that lays the proverbial golden egg..

t20 – playing the devils advocate

Watching the current T20 tournament has left me with some mixed feelings. while it has captured the fancy of everyone in general, the college night canteen, normally the haunt for lonely night owls has in the last few days resembled one of the packed buses typically shown on “Sights of India” documentaries in the western world. A list of these ‘typical’ standard indian sights could be an interesting exercise, but more on that later.

i am probably one of the unfortunate ones, the excitement has rubbed off enough, cant help let not-so-flattering thoughts passing through my head. And it is not as if i havent tried -  i am unabashed totally egalitarian cricket watcher who can watch a street match for hours – but T20 still hasnt touched home.

the biggest letdown has been that while some of the cricket has been good viewing and spectacular,there have been more than the normal share of ugly hoicks and dismal batting from otherwise very good batsmen and very unattractive defensive bowling, like talented spinners bowling low full tosses and quicks bowling slow off breaks. While there have been some very good wicket taking spells, it cant be denied that most of the wickets were given away by rash strokes by batters and not due to skilful bowling. only fielding has been top draw compared to other versions.. 

The T20 makes cricket pretty uni-dimensional and therefore poorer. Cricket is one game played in the mind as much as in the field and not sure if this version has been able to do justice to that very unique aspect. It will never see something like a Michael Artherton keeping Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock at bay for a 10 hrs just by sheer will to draw a game, or a Steve waugh playing a characteristic stodgy yet match winning 200 against a bumper barrage from a ravaging Ambrose and Co…

also remains to be seen how it will equip the players of tomorrow to play the other versions of the game. lets not forget that the players of today have been brought up playing cricket the normal way, so in a sense it is their adaptability that is being put to the test. someone fed on t20 diet might be a different animal, probably a bits n pieces player who can strike the ball a long distance, bowl 4 niggardly overs n dis-appear.  if this happens, cricket will surely be the loser.

while it is important to entertain, dropping the level of the game to the lowest common denominator is not without its dangers. while it has caught the fancy world-over right now, what is to say that this attraction will stand the test of time? the fundamental question here i guess is cricket solely to titillate the senses? where do we go when our senses will have enough of slam-bang? 5-5,10-10? or directly a shoot/bowl out?

i am sure there are enough people thinking the same way, only hope that some of them are amongst those managing the game today. it is upto them to evolve a balance between the various versions.While cricket is not without its failings, it has in it something for everyone. while tweaking it to suit one group of interests, caution must be used to preserve its essential character so it still has a special place in our lives. 

indian cricket – day of reckoning or deja vu?

another dismal performance overseas, lot of frustration vented, some knee jerk reactions.. in the near future, a home series white-wash of some unsuspecting opponent and today will be relegated to a bad memory.. the soap opera of indian cricket will go on. and soap opera is what the indian cricket has become; characters come and go,the plot remains unchanged.

and yet, there is no better opportunity to introspect – to look at indian cricket and ask the right questions.it is not a new situation that we are faced with, the questions have been the same for years now. while the standard questions on team selection, individual performance, fitness, preparedness etc will be asked, the bigger question is how do we ensure we create a system which breeds the competitive edge in its players, a burning desire to win? our cricketing history is littered with examples of so called giants of domestic cricket coming up cropper against slightly strong willed opposition? is it not because whatever competitive spirit in a player is dulled by the system that he is a part of during his developmental years??

at a more philosophical level, it is also time to ask if we are flogging the game to its death by trying to squeeze the last marketing dollar? is cricket losing its essential character of being a pure sport – and turning into a bollywood style commercial flick with its standard happy ending?

we will be kidding ourselves if we think that this is an uni-dimesional problem and there is a easy fix by making a few superficial changes. Sacking the coach, the captain and a few players will not fix the issue long term. The changes need to be far reaching, there has to be someone who needs to stand up and be counted. unfortunately, the administration of the game has shown remarkable capability to not look beyond the noses. i for one am not holding my breath in anticipation.

however, the world cup exit would do us all a good turn if it helps turn the spotlight in an another direction. the message needs to sink in that Watching a well played stroke or a well bowled delivery is just as pleasurable in a first class match, it will still remain after all the marketeers have gone home. Damn, it is the same game that is played to empty stands on substandard pitches in far flung corners of the country.

hopefully, it will lay bare the crumbling edifice that supports the game.