Champions Trophy- Just what the doctor ordered.

ICC Champions Trophy Concludes

ICC claimed Champions Trophy 2009 a major success two days after its conclusion. Credit must be given to ICC for presenting us a well packaged 50 over tournament, which was the need of the hour. During the course of these 15 odd days, we witnessed some quality cricket and exhibition of sportsman spirit from some of the top names in the game of this era.It was widely speculated that failure of this tournament would actually serve as a final nail in the coffin for the 50 over cricket. After the conclusion of this event we can safely say 50 over cricket can still survive provided ICC is able to mange the events more effectively and reduce the number of meaningless and one sided matches. The tournament was a success largely because of the fact that it had some close games between some well matched teams; no semi final spots declared before the last respective games of the league stage. Even the supposedly weak teams like NZ and England made it to the semi final stage and WI pushed its opposition to the limits on numerous occasions. South Africa presented us different tracks that had something for batsmen as well as bowlers.

Two things that stand apart are the quality of cricket at display and the exhibition of sportsmanship by the leading men specially from England and NZ. Shoaib Malik and Mohd. Yousuf showed the world how to pace the innings in the match against India, Daniel Vettori showed how to lead from the front as a captain and set benchmarks for the team and Shane Bond and Kyle Mills displayed their class with the new ball in the final against Australia. There are numerous other instances where one wonders whether this quality cricket can ever be reflected in even shorter format. Greame Smith’s magnificent hundred in a losing cause, Grant Elliot’s giant effort with the bat in the crucial games, Cameron White and Shane Watson‘s struggle against the new ball in the final and both of them still managing to hold their ground eventually are prime examples.

You need not go anywhere to find instances of sportsmanship even in this era. Andrew Strauss’ decision to recall Angelo Mathews after he was run out following a collision with bowler Onions was applauded and appreciated by all across the globe. Daniel Vettori did not hesitate in calling back Collingwood either in the crucial game even after that Collingwood-Elliot-Sidebottom incident some time back. Maybe that incident was still fresh in their minds.Struass’ made another interesting decision soon when he didn’t allow Graeme Smith a runner after the latter suffered from cramps during his innings of 141. Strauss was perhaps right when he said that cramping was a preparation and conditioning thing and you are bound to get tired after a long innings. It seems to be well in sync with the spirit and the basic nature of the game.

It was really heartening to see fans turning out in large numbers to support their teams.

Champions league 2009 started today as well and I doubt whether it would match to the standards set by the Champions Trophy. The buzz is still missing. Maybe it would catch up with time. Actually the intent of T20 cricket is entirely different. If T20s are introducing the game to an entire new lot, the purists still remain loyal to earlier and longer formats of the game. T20s are just like desserts and as Sachin Tendulkar asked who would like to survive only on desserts.An occasional T20 is fine. In fact we must also accept this version of the game making sure the other versions don’t get neglected.With the commercial aspect that T20s bring with them, they have started to threaten ODIs but still I don’t think we have reached the stage where T20s can actually threaten Test matches.The credit must go to ICC, first of all for presenting us a dull show-World Cup 2007 which invariably lead to promotion of T20s which by that time had already made an impact in England. Secondly ICC never took some initiatives to promote ODIs or maintain any standards in the game. If we look at the pitches, the groundsmen are preparing flat pitches so that it can yield maximum runs. You can safely predict results of most of the ODIs at the time of toss itself. Batting under lights or infact batting second in most cases seems to be a totally different experience.England recently abolished the 50 over format from its domestic itinerary. This is actually a regressive step. Instead of trying certain innovations in the game they abolished the format and are bent on trimming down the overs.At almost the same time, the BCCI launched its 50 over Corporate trophy.I don’t know the intentions behind this, but still tournaments like this are welcome.Cricket should be played at its own pace and the pace of the game of football should not be imitated.The fact that India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup also helped T20s in gaining popularity in India and ultimately among the global audience.The fame and the money was introduced by IPL like never before. Though I understand the commecial aspect, the cricketers must not be mere entertainers.T20s have also brought out change in attitude of a cricketer. The batsmen think that they can really slog and attack their way out off any situation. The bowlers are more content in containing the batsmen rather than going for their wickets. Thats why we see Stuart Broad bowling around the wicket, full well outside the off stump. It won’t fetch him any wicket untill batsman commits a mistake but he won’t leak any runs as well. Players know that achieving required rate of 10+ runs per over is possible today with flat pitches and small boundaries. Even a mishit can fetch them a six.I suppose, for the players as well, Test cricket followed by ODIs still remain the prime challenge and concern. The game must evolve with time and we must accept any innovations but that shouldn’t be done at the cost of the game itself. I believe that purists and supporters of the longer versions of the game still easily outnumber the fans of T20s. Still there are millons who would cherish quality cricket as displayed in Champions Trophy 2009. Still there would be millions who would like to watch the classic struggle between bat and ball. Still there are millions who root for ODIs.

Bring it on ICC and do Keep It Up.