The Hindu : Sport : All teams fancy their chances

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Tuesday, Sep 11, 2007
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Sport

All teams fancy their chances

Nandita Sridhar

The shortest version presents a curious challenge for the men involved

— PHOTO: AP

FRESH CHALLENGE: Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be keen to do well in his first assignment as the captain of the Indian team.

Johannesburg: Cricket’s shortest version presents a curious challenge for the men involved. Having arrived in South Africa — some out of compulsion, some seeking redemption — they have two weeks to master a format they are either indifferent to or haven’t a clue about.

The build-up towards the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 has been mixed. Purists have studiously dismissed it as a disastrous outcome of ICC’s globalisation (and ‘footballisation’) plans. How does one take less than half a one-day match and less than half a Test match day seriously?

Format

The format seems to mock at Test cricket’s existence. The purists have a point. Cricket was never meant for instant gratification. Cricket teases, breaks promises and throws up excitement just when the mind numbs after its periodic inactivity. Cricket tortures, thrills, and by doing so, entertains. Entertainment for the sake of it is just not cricket.

But one misses the point by mindlessly trashing Twenty20. The format has taken off like nothing else has in the sport. Just like anything else seen as a ‘dumbed down’ version, Twenty20’s popularity has only fuelled criticism.

It has been tailored for sixes, fours, uprooted stumps and ridiculous scorecards, and it delivers. It’s unpretentious and doesn’t look to pass of a skill-test as entertainment.

How this tournament pans out will have, primarily, financial implications. Whether the tournament succeeds or not in getting more people to watch Tests, Test cricket is secure as the sport’s hallowed stage.

A successful T20 could impact one-day cricket more, though its immediate presence in the calendar has been limited to an odd match in a tour.

There has been little talk of overwhelming favourites in the tournament.

England has played the most number of Twenty20 matches, but since when did England start any sporting event as the favourite? Most teams are a mix of new faces and discards pining on this choc-a-bloc run-fest to reclaim their places in the squad. There is uncertainty on how these compositions will perform.

All teams fancy their chances. The heavyweights believe they their relative experience and strength will do them good, while the lightweights are hoping to play their ‘unpredictable’ card.

India’s chances

Even harder is predicting the Indian team’s chances. Captain M.S. Dhoni and a few others will have little time to regroup after an intense ODI series in England, while the youngsters have little experience and practice.

More than results, how Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh perform will be closely followed.

Team results notwithstanding, what one can hope for is energy and some freshness. There will be no time for meaningless periods of play (though some believe the entire exercise is meaningless), and we might be spared of matches slowly nearing painful conclusions.

With so much talk on repetitive patterns and dead rubbers, this tournament’s newness could work to its benefit.

The first ball of inaugural match between hosts South Africa and West Indies on Tuesday will be viewed with some relief.

Too much has been said of Twenty20 and too little understood. It’s about time we got down to watching the cricket, whatever little the format offers, and keep the judgements to later.

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