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Who wants to watch cricket?
With one Test to go and no result so far, West Indies tour is a colossal waste of time.
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MIND
GAME
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FOURTH UMPIRE
June 27, 2006: If you’ve not been watching cricket, involving the Indian team that is, you haven’t missed much. After
all, why are all those people losing sleep over some strange teams playing and pushing themselves the next
day towards that unexciting place called office? Because the action that you watch should make you feel
that you have sacrificed your sleep for a worthwhile cause. Of course, there is also the factor of peer
discussion. You don’t want to be left out when they talk about that Beckham bender or Carlos foul.
The St Kitts Test match ended predictably in a draw, the third consecutive one between the two teams not to produce a result. It has turned out to be a very dull series from the angle of the cricket lovers. But if
you remember India’s dismal record in Tests abroad, this is not a bad performance. But who’s interested?
What does Mr Greg Chapell have to say about the series?
It is quite clear that both the teams have been adopting a safety-first approach. Of course, there was
the weather factor that affected the series and the nature of the pitches. But the pitches couldn’t have
changed character overnight. One has been hearing for years that the pitches in the Caribbean have been
slowing down. If so, then it should have suited the Indians well.
Brian Lara’s decision not enforce the follow on was baffling to say the least. The first time India did
something like this was when Kapil Dev was captain, leading to much bafflement and a match-fixing charge. Kapil had explained that the bowlers after bowling for too long didn’t have the energy to carry on, that’s why he decided to set a target.
But what happens in such situations is that you throw away the psychological advantage. Reports say – I
confess that I didn’t watch the entire proceedings – that there was a time when Indian batsmen went after
the target but couldn’t force the pace because the ball was not coming on to the bat. And that Lara made
the bowlers bowl short and wide to deny Indian batsmen the length. In short, both the captains wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
When you think about the money and careers at stake, you can understand that to a certain extent but it
doesn’t make for good viewing at all. The recurring question of why play Tests at all crops up as a result.
Even the Jamaica Test proves to be different, the series has proved to be a damp squib, begging the question whether it is worth all the trouble, people being flown to such a great distance and put up in five star hotels, with all the attendant circus of commentators, writers, support staff and what not? Not long ago, when Australia made it a habit to force the pace and get four runs per over and win matches in three or four days, it seemed that they were signaling a revolution to save Test match cricket from being dumped into the dustbin of history. It seems certain other teams including India are acting as renegades to such a revolution.
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