The Cricket Chick

Testing Times

2009-06-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Twenty20, the future of cricket looks very exciting. Twenty20 suits our lifestyle, it’s fast paced and we’re guaranteed a result. Full of action, it’s all over in less than fours hours, and attracting new fans like moths to a stadium light.

These new fans, who never would have dreamt of spending a whole day (let alone five) watching a sports game, are now slipping into the stands to sit alongside fans so devoted to their sport they’ve formed armies.

Out on the field the action is as captivating for the new fan as it is for the old. Originally billed as a game for big hitters and fast bowlers, spin bowlers refused to be left out and have already defiantly made their mark on Twenty20. So it’s fair to say the game remains the same, it just happens a lot more quickly.

Whether it was an ingenious move or a desperate bid by the ICC to attract bigger crowds, or the evolution of a new code like Rugby 7s, Twenty20 has already been a huge success for cricket. And whether they like it or not, the stalwarts have a lot to be thankful to Twenty20 for.

Some past and present international players and a few in the members stand are concerned about the effect that Twenty20 will have on test cricket. They are publicly calling for the preservation of test cricket claiming its traditions are far too important to lose out to an abbreviated game dismissed by purists as a spectacle of little substance.

But others are speaking out in favour of Twenty20. Eyebrows were raised when Chris Gayle announced he was more interested in playing Twenty20 than losing test matches to England. Adam Gilchrist has called for a concerted effort to get cricket added as an Olympic sport. The top players are making good money.

This week the ICC agreed to allow umpires to consult video replays for decisions in tests. Most tellingly, they’ve agreed to trial the first day/night test matches. Test cricket needs a life-line but video umpires and day/night games won’t be enough. Test cricket needs Twenty20 fans that leave the stadium buzzing, longing for more, and when they absolutely must get their next cricket fix – they’ll turn up at a test. The pace will be slower, but the principle will be the same. It’ll be a fun day out amongst a happy crowd, there’ll be great catches and golden ducks, run outs, and smashing cover drives.

Before they know it, those action seeking Twenty20 fans will be first in line for their ODI tickets, and then they’ll start showing up to evening test sessions after work just to watch their favourite players. If the test loving cricket enthusiasts know what’s good for them, they’ll welcome them with open arms.

Cheers for the Cricket

2009-06-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

Having been deprived of cricket for four long days since the final of the Twenty20 World Cup, I find myself thinking about recent competitions and it pains me to admit that there is one aspect of cricket I'm not thrilled about - cheerleaders. They don’t belong.

I blame the IPL. Since Twenty20 burst onto the scene, cricket has quickly evolved from a gentleman’s game where sensible men wore baggy whites and blocking deliveries was considered good form, into the perfect spectator sport growing in popularity at a rate that other sporting codes can only watch in envy.

This morph into an exciting blend of action and entertainment has brought with it new money, new fans, new competitions, and unfortunately, cheerleaders. Admittedly, the dancers in the IPL in South Africa were not too bad, and interestingly Jacques Kallis’ sister and Mark Boucher's* cousin were among them. The same cannot be said for the Twenty20 World Cup cheerleaders who looked like they’d been handpicked off the street just before each game. One cricket fan summed it up when he said “everything about the world cup has been absolutely brilliant…except for the dancers, everyone thinks they’re awful”. And awful they were, in fact the last I saw of them was when the camera showed them sitting huddled in a group apparently as bored with dancing as the crowd had become of them.

My first encounter with cheerleaders at a cricket match was at a Twenty20 game between India and New Zealand. Excited at the prospect of a great encounter, I took my seat and waited anxiously for the teams to come out. Billed as the rock stars of cricket, the Indian team was full of big names, and the New Zealand team, ever the underdog are always capable of being the David that causes the downfall of Goliath.

Imagine my horror when I realised these international sporting superstars were to share the field with cheerleaders. When I say share the field, that’s being generous to the cricketers. Every time a boundary was hit the cheerleaders ran about 10 metres out onto the playing field and began to dance, completely oblivious to the game that was literally being played around them. That play had resumed was lost on these dancing divas, and they continued to wiggle their hips and wave their arms long after they should have been back behind the boundary rope, where they belonged in the first place. That’s when the booing started.

At first it was a subdued polite kind of jeering but as the game continued, and it became clear that the cheerleaders fancied themselves as the main attraction, the crowd’s displeasure reached fever pitch. When one of the Indian players couldn’t take up his position on the boundary because the dancers wouldn’t get off the field, it was the last straw for the cricket loving spectators. That’s when the throwing started. Call me crazy, but when men start throwing missiles at cheerleaders in disgust, you know you have a problem.

But perhaps the real injustice came after the game when Indian captain MS Dohni voiced his disapproval at the crowd for throwing things at his players. He was disappointed in us. It pains me to think that he would think this of New Zealanders. We would never do such a thing to any visiting cricket player, not ever. We were just trying to knock our cheerleaders out.
*correction

The Bowled and the Beautiful

2009-06-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Pakistan on becoming 2009 Twenty20 World Champions. There can be little doubt in anyone’s mind that Pakistan is most deserving of the title, though few predicted it. Just before the event got underway, I read that Pakistan was desperate and determined to win the championship. Nothing less would do. I thought it an admirable goal, but a tall order. It appears that for Pakistan, the taller the order, the higher they aim. Not only did they prove us wrong, but they did it in fantastic style.

Ultimately their bowlers triumphed over Sri Lanka, first tearing through the batsmen inside the first six overs, systematically picking them off one by one. Only the popular Sri Lankan captain, Sangakkara held his nerve and battled on against the odds, scoring 64 from 52 deliveries. He was joined late in the innings by Angelo Mathews, who is equally comfortable with bat or ball, clocking up 35 from 24. Keep an eye on this young man in the future, you won’t be disappointed.

Pakistan bowled like the champions they are. 17 year old Mahammad Amir picked up just one wicket (in the first over) for 30 runs. What is remarkable is that he also bowled 12 dot balls. Of the four overs he bowled, two were completely worthless to Sri Lanka. Abdul Razzaq was the star taking 3 for 20 (with 9 dot balls), and Afridi picked up a wicket as well.

When it was Pakistan's turn at the crease, Shahid Afridi, promoted to number three, took to his new position in the batting line-up like a duck to water. This might be the one time in cricket where being mentioned in the same sentence as a duck is a good thing. Afridi was no feather weight. He embraced the final and the task at hand with a confidence that few would dare to exhibit. He ended his innings with 54 off 40, the Man of the Match award, and a trophy to take home. And he was backed up beautifully by Shoaib Malik who scored 24 from 22.

It was an all-round performance from Pakistan, and they are worthy recipients of the crown. In my heart I wanted Sri Lanka to win. Becoming World Champions may have gone some way to healing the wounds inflicted on them just a few short months ago. But now with the last ball bowled, and the stumps pulled up for the final time in the 2009 World Cup, I’m happy that Pakistan won. In the eyes of the world the Sri Lankan team were already champions, and on the pitch they were second best only to Pakistan.

Pakistan also bears the scars of that awful day in Lahore. For the foreseeable future the champions will have to leave their home country to take on anyone else in the world. Now at least, if the world can’t come to Pakistan, Pakistan can bring the World Cup home.

Villains and Heroes

2009-06-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

Twenty20 cricket makes heroes or villains of players and the second World Cup semi-final was no exception. There were villains and heroes aplenty.

Sri Lanka, formidable across all three disciplines, remained unbeaten. The West Indies, powered by pace bowlers and rocket propelled sixes, had a point to prove on the back of an unsuccessful tour of England. In the end Sri Lanka dominated, proving to be 57 runs better.

Tillakeratne Dilshan’s role was that of hero. His unbeaten 96 off 57 so comfortably done that he might have scored a double century had he been able to keep on batting. Unwavering, Dilshan kept his wicket intact, while six Sri Lanken batsmen scored 56 runs between them.

The best of these was Jayasuriya, who very nearly villainised himself, clocking up just 24 runs from 37 deliveries. It was a strangely unfamiliar site that confounded commentators, and mystified fans. We cannot begrudge a man for having an off day, but we can wonder at the manner in which he dealt with it. Jayasuriya focused on his bat. Not up to the task, he summoned another, and another, and another, until he eventually settled on the original one.

When he was out for 24, he carried the culprit bat off with him. It reminded me of the man who sat cloaked in shade beneath a solitary tree in a field, watching his friend out in the warm sunshine enjoying the beautiful day. Frustrated at being in the shade, the man took his axe and cut the tree down. That is not to say that Jayasuriya chopped his bat up after the game (however tempted), but sometimes when you find yourself in a place you’re not comfortable in, you have to get up and walk out into the sunshine. Or, in the case of Twenty20 cricket, get out. And all the while, Dilshan played on.

The West Indies were not without their own heroes and villains. Chris Gayle’s ability to dispatch the ball out of a ground is a remarkable sight. As happens all too often, the hopes of a nation fell on broad shoulders. To his credit, Chris Gayle was the West Indies, scoring 63 not out, while his team mates fell around him like hailstones.

Enter Sri Lanka’s next hero. Angelo Mathews tore the West Indian batting lineup apart with successive guided missiles and before I was comfortably back on the couch after the break, the West Indies were reeling at 1 for 3. Gayle did his heroic best while the other ten players scrambled desperately for a miserable 27 runs between them. It was a villainous performance indeed from the Caribbean side. The misguided belief that one man can win a game of Twenty20 alone should rightfully now be dispelled for ever.

Sri Lanken fans will have their heroes, and West Indians will seek their villains but the two most deserving sides will meet in the final.

It is a fitting end to the World Cup in 2009. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have played exceptional cricket and shown the world that they both have the will to survive. After all, no other teams better understand that even in cricket, there will be villains and heroes.

Duminy Cricket!

2009-06-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

What a heartbreaker today for South Africa in the first semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup.

Until today you could not fault the peformance of the team in light green. They have been consistent and methodical in their campaign. They’ve bowled well, batted well, and fielded well on every occasion.

They’ve given us display after display of text-book cricket. They took their catches and wickets with decorum and they played the gentleman’s game without fault.

South Africa gave us no impromptu human pyramid celebrations, no attempted take-offs by running wildly about with arms outstretched, and no excessive fist pumping.

They had a job to do and any dramatics could wait until they took their place on the winners podium.

But in the end, South Africa lost to a bit player called Passion. Pakistan showed passion. South Africa showed precision. And then it was over. A 100% clinical performance will never beat a performance that is, say, 90% clinical and just 10% passion.

Passion brings with it a will to win that drives even the most stable player to try things he might otherwise have thought impossible. It stretches men six inches taller in the deep to take that impossible catch. It adds another 5 kph to a man on a mission’s delivery. It creates a run-out throw so spectacular that it’s a hit on youtube before it even hits the stumps.

Pakistan had their heros, and their cricket was first class. But they had a 12th player on the field. Not always visible, just occassionally you’d see his name flash across the back of a dark green jersey ‘Passion’.

It wasn’t until the last ball had been bowled that I learned I had been deceived. South Africa also had a player called Passion in their midst. I saw him sitting in the dugout beside JP Duminy. As Duminy sat with his head in his hands, desolated, unable to believe that the dream was over, I caught a glimpse of their Passion. But his appearance was too little, too late, and no good to anyone in the dugout.

He should have taken the field for South Africa.