Football is called the beautiful game, cricket the gentleman’s game, rugby the game of mud, basketball sky football and golf the gentleman’s walk. It’s hard to reckon how and where these prefixes germinated but they must have some history myth and romance associated.
But times are not changing. Times have changed. As with the advent of Artificial Intelligence(AI) young job seekers feel threatened, lot of the sheen has been rubbed off sport too due to player’s behaviour and attitude. Historically sports was leisure but now it’s business, often dirty business.
It is but natural that any writing on Cricket now to be influenced by the just completed Men’s Cricket world cup. This one is likewise.
Once upon a time there was a game called Cricket. The symphony, camaraderie of a gentleman’s pursuit where the spirit of the game was a silent agreement beyond boundaries and scores. Each delivery was a heartbeat, pulsating through the very essence of the game. And so it continued for a few centuries. The love between the sport and its exponent grew and spread to far corners of the globe.
Then the winds of change swept in with the arrival of the white ball, casting a delicate shadow upon the sacred field. Now, in the age of the white orb, the game seems to be losing its white blood cells, its vigour drained like the ebbing tides. The very immunity that fortified cricket against the ravages of time and trends seems to wane. Cricket used to be played with the red ball with white clothing. Is it being sacrificed with the white ball and coloured clothing? Let’s explore.
As the game embraced the Twenty20 format, boundaries and sixes reshaped the game’s soul. The spotlight today is on speed and spectacle. And that sparks this article.
Few instances and events stood out in the recently completed Men’s Cricket world cup in India. They shed light on what the game has transcended into and where it is heading.
7th Nov 2023 Arun Jaitley stadium New Delhi. In the 25th over Sri Lankan batter Angela Mathews walked in at No.6. Once he was at the crease and seemed ready to take guard he realised that the chin strap on his helmet was broken. He signalled for a new helmet but Shakib the captain of Bangladesh sensed an opportunity and spoke to umpire Marais Erasmus with a smile on his face. Both umpires conferred, then ended up holding up the appeal. Mathews was timed out. Eventually, a visibly disgusted Mathews dragged himself off the field. This was the first instance of a batter being adjudged timed out in recorded history.
Shakib would later say.
“I was doing everything to win”. Bangladesh won the match that evening but the game died. Crucified at the altar of winning stories.
The second incident was more nondescript. During the India versus New Zealand match Virat Kohli suffered from cramps and the kiwis helped out. But a certain Simon O’Donnell an X Australian player fumed. “Why would you go and help Virat Kohli when he had a cramp? When they’re heading for 400 in a World Cup semi-finals? Spirit of the game is playing within the laws. Virat Kohli is tearing your country apart and you want to go over and give him a hand?” O’Donnell barked on Australian radio station SEN.
But Daryll Mitchell, the New Zealand batter disagreed.
“We’ll keep playing cricket the way we do … that’s something that we really pride ourselves on as Black Caps and as New Zealanders … We want to play cricket in a way that suits us as a country and how we want to see our kids grow up and play the game themselves as well,” he told reporters.
Well it’s for players like Mitchell the game is still played with a round ball and not a square peg! So, as the cricketing world navigates the currents of change, the spirit of this timeless pursuit stands as a silent guardian despite the Shakib’s – as a poetic force that weaves together the threads of tradition and innovation.
This World cup also largely brought to light the two essential skill sets of the game. Batting and bowling. Cricket is an outdoor game that depends tremendously on weather conditions. It’s a sport that cannot be played during the rains. However, cloud cover, moisture in the air, overcast conditions, whether it’s sunny or not, whether the wicket is wet or not – all these conditions have great bearing on the game. Because these conditions aid bowlers to dismiss batters. And when batters get out the game becomes exciting.
More exciting than even when they are making runs perhaps. But crowds today bay for only fours and sixes and the game has tilted heavily favouring the batters. The 2023 World cup had the most 300 plus scores with a few even crossing 350! Cricket pitches became placid conveyor belts that brought out “seamer corpses” and on which spinners gasped for survival. That has resulted in the game becoming drab and dreary. First the batting side would put up 300 that is a par score and the chasers would either canter to a win or stumble due to mishits or spectacular run outs. Bowlers seldom won you matches anymore. Yet, amidst the scepticism and the yearning for a bygone era, purists prayed for a glimmer of hope. And before anybody could write the obituary for bowlers in walked Mohammad Shami. As a beacon of hope. Shami announced that the batter can still be ruffled by a bowler who has a heart. With 24 wickets and dozens of simply unplayable deliveries Shami proved that bowlers can still win you games. Among others he was one of the most crucial performers behind India’s spectacular World cup story.
But Shami is a reminder. To continue to innovate. Those in command must make the game an even playing ground. Where batters and bowlers shake hands and test each other’s grip strength. Time’s ripe may be to re-look at the two ball rule from both ends. Give swing a chance. Give bowlers a life. And make batting little more challenging. Else its becoming too easy for the fly swatters! Batters perishing to outstanding deliveries would make the game more intense. That’s what will continue to be Cricket!
MCC ICC and those who rule the game should and must bring onboard past bowling greats to resonate. Wasim Akram and Michael Holding would love to bend the rules as they swung the ball. Bend it like Akram. Spin it like Murli. So batters would dance on their toes. That would only benefit the game.
As the game evolves, rules must change because rules like records are made to be broken. Fly swatters masquerading as batters must be challenged enough. But even with all the change the quest must remain to preserve the romance of the game where the red leather kissed the willow.
– ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 (image source)
