Because of a temporary dip in confidence about my capabilities as a movie critic this is not going to be a about movies. I want to talk about cricket. Another area about which i am uniquely unqualified to write.
I know what you are thinking.. here is another "day after" pundit going off about how India lacks the killer instinct or why the fab four (or three?) should retire . Don't worry i am not going to do any of that. I want to talk about the game of cricket. How the game has some fundamental flaws which will cause its demise as a spectator sport.
I have only seen one cricket match at the ground. Australia was playing India in Cochin. The first international match in kerala. Stadium was jam packed , we were inside the stadium from 7 am for the match starting at 9 . Although there was to be 21 other players who were going to be in action on that day , there was no doubt that majority in the stadium (me incuded) was there to see the great Tendulkar. His dual with shane warne was one for the ages and we all hoped that we would see something special that day.
Match started , India was batting first . 5'th ball Tendulkar Out!!! Although India won that match, it got me thinking. Is it fair that a player as talented as Tendulkar be forced to sit out the rest of the match (he can field and bowl but we are not there to see him do that). He made one mistake , a momentary lapse in concentration and his is match is over. and the match is over for the millions of his fans too. I have tried researching and did not find a comparable rule any where else. I guess they all knew that its sensible to keep your players on the field doing what they do best rather than have a rule which kicks them out of the game for making a single mistake. How about giving an option to the team of either bringing the batsman in when he gets out or allowing him to continue but the runs scored by him would be reduced from the total?
Another thing that bothers me about cricket is its lack of short term goals. The teams can control the tempo of the game and matches slow down as teams go on the defensive when they are in trouble or when they have 50 overs to score 15o runs. This makes good cricketing sense but kills it as a spectator sports. There should be rule changes that force teams from slowing down the game. one could be to dock a run for every three consecutive dot balls or something like that.
With 20/20 cricket has probably unearthed the format that will ensure its popularity for another 100 years and maybe increase cricket's geographic reach. But i am willing to bet that
the one days and the test format will die in another 10-15 years. Remember you read it here first!
