Why One Day Cricket will survive … and Thrive

It has become di riguer of late to lament the decline of ODI cricket and herald Twenty20 as the unstoppable David that will eventually slay the ODI Goliath. This week on the eve of the Champions Trophy the ICC has been struggling to convince all and sundry that ODI cricket is still in good shape. But the crickets governing body must also take the blame for creating the Frankensteinian monster that Twenty20 has become. Thanks to the ICC’s poor scheduling there will be 3 editions of the Twenty20 World Cup between the 2007 and 2011 ODI World Cups. Add to these 3 seasons of the blockbuster IPL and you can see why Twenty20 now has more top of mind recall for most cricket fans.

However not all voices speaking on ODI crickets future this week have been sounding the death knell, with outspoken Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh one of those coming out in support of the format. This disparity in opinion between voices within and outside the subcontinent is mostly likely due to the variance in the way cricket sits within sporting calendars in different nations. Cricket is a year-round phenomenon in the sub continental countries while in countries like Australia it has a narrow home season sandwiched between seasons of other popular sports like Rugby League, AFL and Racing. For the rest of the year cricket is a forgotten sport when Australia plays overseas, unless the contest is the Ashes or the Border Gavaskar trophy against India. As a result for the South African or Australian cricket fan it makes little difference if the handful of home ODIs gets replaced by Twenty20 matches with the added incentive of seeing international players like Andrew Flintoff in action.

By contrast for the sub continental fan cricket is a staple he can never switch off from. It is this obsession that sees him following the national team’s fortunes and live scores irrespective of the time of day the game is played. This devotion is absolute and lifelong, regardless if he’s an expatriate living thousands of miles away from the action in his native land. The cricket boards themselves have been overzealous never missing an opportunity to schedule an ODI tournament in narrow breaks between exhausting series. This is largely due to the current BCCI regimes greed in trying to maximize as much as possible from ground and TV rights and the need to strengthen its vote banks by obliging its neighbours and Associate countries with hastily scheduled tours.

In summary, despite the valid questions about the necessity for 2 short versions of the game the volume of ODI cricket is unlikely to reduce in the near future as long as there is fan support and marketing dollars to sustain it. With the Indian team playing so well under Mahendra Singh Dhoni such an occurrence is unlikely anytime soon.

India within reach of ODI Ranking Summit

Two years on from their humiliating exit from the World Cup 2007, India find themselves sniffing at the ODI top spot having had a quick 24 hour stay just days ago. Both administrators and players must be commended for the impressive rebound in the teams performances since the Carribean debacle. India's ascent has been forged on three planks: a refreshing change in leadership (coach/captain), an infusion of youth and to the detriment of opposition teams the renewed vigour of Sachin Tendulkar. Where the current No.1 South Africa is a collection of dour robot-like performers, India are a team with colour, flair and youthful exuberance. Most importantly at a time when long eulogies are being written about the futue of the 50 over game, India alone pack the charisma and following to pull in crowds wherever they travel. Combining the experience of the Tendulkars, Sehwags and Harbhajans with the exuberance of Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina this Indian team is a now a world-beater in all conditions. Previously a side dependent heavily on its batting to win matches, the side now has multiple match winners in its playing 11 as underlined by Harbhajan last night in the Compaq Cup final.

A look at the numbers since the last World Cup has India winning 44 out of 72 for a win/loss ratio of 1.91 while the current No.1 South Africa has won 29 out of 43 for a ratio of 2.41. Since Apr 2007, the 2 teams have met in only one tournament the Futures Cup in May 2007, with India winning 2 of 3 enroute to winning the title. If we compare performances against the dominant team of the decade Australia, South Africa hold a better 7/3 record while India have a more even 5/6 record against Australia. Only 10 of the 44 wins have come at home with a better W/L record overseas 1.92 than at home 1.66, and have also won 3/5 matches in tournament finals to improve upon their woeful record in the last stages.

Flattering as the stats are they do camouflage weaknesses like an inability to win finals without a significant Sachin contribution and deplorable ground fielding despite the abundance of youth. The decline of Australia raises hope that a subcontinental team may finally go one better after 3 being runners-up in the last 3 editions. Based on the evidence of of numbers and talent, India will certainly be the popular and experts pick to win when the World Cup comes home in 2011.

Dear BCCI, "Shut Up and Shape Up"

Does anyone else think its time someone put a gag order on our loose tongued BCCI officials. It seems not a day goes by that one doesn't hear of an outlandish quote from either Niranjan Shah, Rajeev Shukla or Lalit Modi. In contrast the Indian team has gone about its cricket with a great sense of purpose and unity that has earned it the respect and admiration of both the opposition fans and cricketers. I find it poor taste and highly un-Indian the manner in which BCCI officials have issued ultimatums to other boards and tried to tutor them on their internal decisions. The Indian board is currently behaving like an arrogant 'lala' (Indian moneylender) dictating terms to those desperate for a share of its riches. While the current board has been impressive in monetizing its brand its report card on basic matters like tour scheduling, setting up a working website, hiring of a new national coach and managing its own employees such as Dilip Vengsarkar, has been woeful. There still remain much more important development issues to be resolved in Indian cricket than engaging in vulgar rhetoric that only portrays the country as a bully, when we'd rather be respected as a nation for our on-field exploits.

Hail India! 20/20 Champions

It's 1.30am in Melbourne, India have just edged out arch-rivals Pakistan to win the inaugral 20/20 World Cup. What a see-saw battle, ending only when Pakistan's lone saviour Misbah Ul Haq attempted a fatal chip shot with victory in sight. In 1983, I was all of 5 years and too young to comprehend the famous victory at the 83 World Cup. Including that game India have played 9 finals in tournaments involving 5+ teams, winning only 3 the last time being in 1993 in the famous Hero Cup win in Kolkata. What I've just witnessed is one of the best ODI finals in recent history, given the damp squibs the last few World Cup finals have been. India triumphed relying mainly on self-belief and casting off doubts about their inexperience in this format. A new captain, the return of a few old stalwarts and some fresh blood undoubtedly helped to a large extent. Truly after ages we've seen a superstar Indian team rather than an Indian team of superstars. That the two teams played this encounter in the true spirit and hugged and complimented each other after the game only gladdened the heart at the end. September 24th will go down as the day India rediscovered its fighting spirit and started to write a new script that will define its cricketing future for years to come. Who would have thought an event in another continent would give me my happiest day yet in Australia. Good night.

Chappell Vision - Lost in Transalation?

In his ground-breaking book 'The Making of Champions' Greg Chappell puts forth a thorough thesis on his viewpoint of what he believes are essential requirements to be a successful cricketer. He does this by dissecting the characteristics of a select group of 20 cricketers from the modern era. In doing so he breaks down cricket into more of an intelligent science than a skillful art relying heavily on terms such as kinetics to explain his viewpoint. It is not surprising then to imagine that such lofty principles and process driven terminology would be above the comprehension of the average Indian cricketer. Many of today’s crop hail from middle class non-English speaking backgrounds, having learnt their skills in the many maidans and gullies that dot the country. A large proportion of India's national players today come from the smaller centers like Baroda and UP and one wonders if Chappell’s theories would make any sense to them. Unlike the Australian cricketer, an Indian cricketer has other pressing matters on his mind, like handling fame, regional politics, a fanatic fan base and zealous journalists. Also Indians are essentially bad learners once they have reached a comfort zone and/or tasted success. When Chappell took over the team, it consisted of senior players who had just tasted success reaching the World Cup Finals, and scoring creditable test victories in Australia and Pakistan. It is not surprising that these senior players resented being denigrated in the national media by their new coach for weaknesses that the previous placid coach had overlooked for much of his tenure. Perhaps Chappell’s only fault then was serving up an unpalatable menu that offended his wards tastes. Ten years from now Chappell may regret that while he got the message right, he might have considered toning down the delivery to suit his audience.