The Hindu : Sport : Future in the hands of entertainers

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Tuesday, Sep 12, 2006
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Future in the hands of entertainers

Why the `Entertainer of the Game' award has not been added to the list is something Speed may find difficult to answer, writes Makarand Waingankar

The credibility of any institution relies mainly on its principles and policies, and consistency in the rules laid down to govern such policies is essential to preserve people's faith in that institution. But the chain of events that the ICC has allowed itself to be dragged into, has made a mockery of its principles and policies.

Even as everybody watched the drama of ball-tampering unfold with the ICC dragging its feet to buy time, there is now yet another controversy — that of the absence of the name of one of the game's entertainers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, from the list of nominees for the ICC Awards.

The CEO Malcolm Speed has defended the ICC, but the reasoning is so unconvincing that cricketers may begin to lose confidence in ICC's working. The strike rate of Adam Gilchrist and Kumar Sangakkara may be slightly better than Dhoni's, but was there any actual restriction on the panel against picking three wicketkeepers?

Spectator sport

Cricket is basically a spectator sport. Spectators, especially in sub-continental stadiums, go through all sorts of ordeals to get themselves entertained by cricketers. Which parameters suggest that Sangakkara is more entertaining than Dhoni?

Though the ICC has added two more awards, why the `Entertainer of the Game' award has not been added to the list is something Speed may find difficult to answer. Isn't `entertainer' more important to the game's popularity than `emerging player'?

In instituting the award for `Emerging Player of the Year', there is a risk involved in the player not fulfilling his potential to optimum level.

Pressure

Irfan Pathan was the Emerging Player of the Year in 2004, and in 2006 he is struggling with his form mainly because of some faulty technique as has been pointed out by some great former fast bowlers.

Whether it was the pressure of performing or inability to sort out the problems, the award to some degree may have increased the pressure on Pathan. This is unlikely to happen to any entertainer of international class. Glance through the list of entertainers this game has produced and one observes crises got the best out of them. The mental makeup of any entertainer is quite different form that of other players. When Tendulkar arrived on the international scene, there were many who doubted his ability to score heavily considering his grip. The grip never changed. He made bowlers change their grip.

Salim Durrani may not have done justice to his talent, but he was a great entertainer. To the constant shout `we want sixer' in the 1973 Test against England at the Brabourne Stadium, he waved at the spectators and lofted the next ball in that direction. To do that, one has to have tremendous confidence in one's ability.

Predictable

Adding the Women's Cricketer of the Year to the list is understandable, but isn't the award for the Best Captain of the Year predictable? The game badly requires characters and entertainers.

The Code of Conduct got rid of characters. Merv Hughes and Javed Miandad would not have earned a penny had the Code of Conduct been prevalent at that time. The crowd loved them.

And now when the game is producing some fantastic entertainers in Kevin Pietersen and Dhoni, there is no appreciation for them in terms of ICC awards. Initially, the England selectors were apprehensive about Pieterson's calibre in handling Test match pressure. He has proved them wrong. Entertainers are born. No coaching manual can teach you how to entertain spectators.

Fun for paying public

Sehwag scored some brilliant hundreds overseas and yet his technique is questioned. What is most important is the frequency at which he sends the ball out of sight. That is entertainment to the paying public.

By adopting Twenty20, one may get oneself entertained by some breathtaking shots for a couple of hours, but to entertain spectators in the longer version of the game when there is enough time for the strategy management to implement plans is not easy.

The future of cricket is in the hands of entertainers. Without entertainers, the game's popularity drops, and without that popularity, the ICC's existence would be in a cloutless vacuum. The ICC needs to understand this and appreciate those who bring the paying crowds in.

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