Friday 25 November 2011

The Weight Goes On

Sachin Tendulkar fell in the 90’s for the second time in five test innings as his search for the record breaking 100th International hundred continued.

In front of a capacity crowd at his home stadium in Mumbai the story was written for the Little Master to complete his century having resumed overnight on 67, especially as the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium had seen over 900 runs scored in the first three days with only 14 wickets having fallen.

He seemed in little trouble early on as he unleashed some trademark straight drives before cutting Fidel Edwards for six to take him into the 90’s.

However, just as his fanatical following, who cheered every run as if it was the winning run in a World Cup Final, began to dream that they would be the ones who witnessed the greatest moment in Indian sporting history, it was all over.

Cramped by a short of a length ball from Ravi Rampaul, Tendulkar could only guide it to the West Indian captain Darren Sammy at second slip. The West Indian’s celebrated the prized wicket against a backdrop of absolute stunned silence.

Just as Tendulkar’s presence at the crease created an atmosphere at an otherwise poorly attended test match, his dismissal reduced this match to another meandering drawn test, played on the type of pitch that will kill test cricket.

These pitches, which are particularly prevalent in the sub-continent, destroy test cricket as a spectacle and turn each match into a glorified net for the batsmen. In an age where test cricket is under threat from its shorter formatted cousins it needs to produce matches which enthral and rivet rather than bore.

Tendulkar has now gone 17 innings without an international hundred, and has not scored a test match hundred since January. Despite being 38, time is still very much on his side in this quest for the hundredth hundred.

Yet the longer that this wait goes on, the more comparisons will be drawn with his other rival for the tag of the greatest batsman ever to play the game, Don Bradman, who was left with a test average of 99.94.

Every game longer that Tendulkar doesn’t reach three figures will only serve to ratchet up the pressure that is on Tendulkar’s diminutive frame. The whole of India wants him to succeed and, no matter how experienced Tendulkar is, that pressure will get to him. Every game that passes by is another game nearer to retirement the Little Master gets.

A milestone like 100 centuries needs to be reached in grandeur, bullying a century against one of the weaker test nations on a batsman paradise simply wouldn’t befit the achievement. Having missed out at Lords and on his home ground, Tendulkar has a third chance in 2011 to achieve his milestone at one of the great test arenas at the Boxing Day test in Melbourne.

After Australia, India have a home test series against Pakistan before a long test break until the end of 2012 before they face Sri Lanka.  By then Tendulkar would be almost 40.

It would be an injustice for one of the greats of the game to prolong his international career for the sake of chasing a record, Tendulkar, regardless of his century count, has to recognise when it is time to retire.

As Bradman proved in his pursuit of perfection, sometimes not quite making it is more endearing than struggling over the finishing line. 

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Amir's Redemption Could Be Cricket's Ruin

Usually at the end of a court case one side or the other can claim victory or closure in the matter. At the end of the Spot Fixing case at Southwark crown court there were no winners only losers. Cricket’s reputation has been greatly tarnished, the game has lost its brightest star for the future and Pakistan as a nation has once again had its name dragged through the mud. And the worst part for all involved is that we will all be back here again in the future.

Such is the minutiae of individual events in cricket it is impossible to convincingly say that spot betting is not still prevalent. It is undoubted that illegal bookmakers still have a powerful hold over players around the globe. In 2010 56 players reported that they were approached by ‘fixers’ looking for information about games. The illegal betting market in India, where cricket is a religion, is worth billions a year. Anyone who thinks that case is anything more than the tip of the iceberg is unfortunately deluded.

There is much about the state of Pakistan itself that can be seen in this case. Some commentators have said, somewhat harshly, that corruption is rife in Pakistani cricket because corruption is rife in Pakistan in general. Whilst there may be some truth to that, it does appear to be a slightly simplified and generalised viewpoint.
More crucially though for the case it shows the power that elder statesmen have over the young players. A lot has been made of the pressure put on young Mohammed Amir to bowl no-balls. The hierarchy of Pakistani society and the cricket team in particular places a great emphasis on looking up to and respecting the elders.
It is perhaps best to say that Mohammed Amir is the innocent party in a case that has no innocent parties. 

Being young and under the influence of peer pressure is one thing, but Amir simply cannot be naïve enough to not realise the repercussions of his actions. Especially seen as he appears over time to have become more of a driving force in the spot fixing allegations, he went from following orders at Lords to seemingly negotiating his own fix at the Oval. Once he was in it appears he too became caught up in the greed of the situation.
Amir had the potential to be a global superstar of the game. He was the great bowling hope of a game that has seen genuine fast bowling talents disappear. Financially, he could have earned millions. In twenty years’ time his name could have tripped off the tongue alongside Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as the greatest Pakistani pace bowlers ever. Yet he threw that all away for a few thousand pounds.

And it is for these reasons why Amir’s ban will not be enough to act as a deterrent in the battle against corruption in cricket. When Amir’s ban runs out he will be 23, an age at which most people are only breaking into test cricket. If cricket is genuinely interested in sending out a message that spot fixing in cricket does not pay, Amir’s success will always fly in the face of this message.

Amir’s case is a no win situation for cricket in reality. If he is allowed back into cricket at the end of his ban then the ICC will look toothless to truly eradicate the scourge of illegal betting in cricket. Yet kicking him out of cricket all-together will deprive the game of a potential superstar.

In the end though the game has to be bigger than one potential superstar. Amir’s presence on a test pitch again in the future will be a permanent reminder of cricket’s seedy surrounds. While the ICC continues to embark down a program of rehabilitation for match fixers, which has seen convictions quashed and sentences reduced, the game’s greatest devil will continue to sit on the shoulder of players whispering poisonous thoughts into their ears.

For its own sake cricket’s administrators must start to make examples of players to act as a future deterrent. The rules themselves are clear. Youthful naivety is one thing but breaking fundamental rules of the game is quite another.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Clubs hold all the aces in Team GB row

The sight of Gareth Bale advertising the Team GB football team gave the clearest indication yet that he is set to ignore the official stance of the Welsh FA and agree to be part of Stuart Pearce’s 18 man squad for the Olympic Games next summer. Understandably this has caused anger amongst Welsh fans and administrators alike who fear that their nation’s footballing sovereignty, like that of Scotland and Northern Ireland, will be diluted by this Team GB.

Much as the home nations would want to believe otherwise, the lure of playing in a major footballing championship, will overcome any nationalistic feelings that players may have. Especially as players such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, and members of the Northern Ireland and Scotland will be kicking their heels at home while their club colleagues compete at Euro 2012.

The increased flow of players around the British Isles has also helped to break down the barriers between the contingent states. Gareth Bale joined Southampton as an eight year-old; his entire footballing career has been spent in England surrounded by English players. Aaron Ramsey, whose footballing education was in Wales with Cardiff, was heavily influenced by English and Scottish players. Ramsey played under an English manager in Dave Jones. Of Cardiff’s current squad there are twice as many English players as Welsh, and more Scottish than Welsh players. In Swansea’s team last week in the Premier League there were six English starters, compared to three Welsh players. The divide between England and Wales at club football has well and truly broken down.

As a Welsh FA spokesman said ‘We are welsh and we are British’. Welsh and British sportsmen compete with each other in every other sport. Simon Jones played a pivotal role in England’s cricketing success under Duncan Fletcher. Welsh players proudly represent the British and Irish Lions. Athletes such as Colin Jackson and Dai Greene have competed under both the Union Jack and the Welsh Dragon. It is only football where, internationally at least, there is a chasm between the home nations.

However much as these ideas of nationalism and footballing sovereignty are important to this issue, there are a group of people who are far more influential in this debate: the player’s club managers.

Club managers are the key people in this Olympic battle. It is the reason why Aaron Ramsey, who is as keen as Bale to join a GB team, may find it more difficult to be a part of the London Olympics. Managers such as Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson will not want players missing the first two weeks of the season, with the possibility of picking up an injury, especially if players such as Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverly and Jack Wilshire go to the European Championship before the Olympics.

Under persuasion from Sir Alex, Ryan Giggs seemed to always pick up niggles every time an international friendly came around, and ended up retiring with only 64 caps. Nemanja Vidic has just announced his international retirement at the age of 30, and Paul Scholes also quit international football prematurely. Regardless of his national allegiances, Sir Alex will not want any of his players being involved in any more international football than is absolutely necessary.

There is no doubt that there will be players from the other home nations in the Great Britain team for the Olympics, as well there should. Granted, a guarantee from Fifa usually isn’t worth the paper it is printed on however, Fifa have no quarrel at all with the home nations and playing as Team GB will not change that. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Olympics were the first view the world got of Lionel Messi, Kaka and many other world stars. From a footballing point of view the home nations will benefit from sending players to this tournament. Any international tournament experience can do nothing but benefit young Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish stars.

Players want to play football, and any chance to win a medal in front of their ‘home’ fans will easily negate any nationalistic divisions. The men who control the fate of this team are not Football Association powerbrokers, but the managers and club chairmen who pay wages and whose pressure can easily persuade players that they do not wish to be part of a GB team. A good run as a united Great Britain team would help create Olympic fever in a way few other things could, especially if it comes in the aftermath of a poor showing at Euro 2012 by England.