Being in the US, one does not get much cricket but there is its cousin golf, which is pretty big and has a wide following. Golf is catching up in India as well as the encouraging performances of Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh and company is exciting for the followers of sport in our country. Sure, we need more golf courses for the game to grow, but in a developing country like ours, open spaces are usually used for housing and thus golf, which needs lots of room, is shifted to places outside the city, which doesn’t make it easy for the common man to take it up. The cost of golfing equipment is also high and so it’s not a game that parents will encourage their kids to take up. Having just seen Vijay Singh falter in a tournament where he and Ernie Els had the chance to topple Tiger Woods from his No. 1 spot that Tiger has held since August 1999, makes one wonder whether cricket or golf is the great leveler. Remember, Vijay had just won the last major of the year the week before, but then sank to 32nd the week in which he had the opportunity to take Tiger’s place at the top of the rankings. Tiger, though he did not win, came second and it was one more tournament where he came close but did not win. Now, he has been winless for quite a long time by his early standards and it’s causing him worry. Tiger came up with a classic quote as to now everybody should know why golfers lose hair and get gray fast, but then we opening batsmen can say that too. To the best of my experience, there aren’t too many opening bats with thick hair, but look around and you will find plenty of fast bowlers with flowing locks even in the mid fifties of their lives.
But coming back to golf, it certainly has a way to humble a player more than the game of cricket can, and so it probably is a greater leveler than cricket. In golf, one has to be on top of one’s game everyday and not just one day, while in cricket, one can get away with a lesser than top effort if the opposition isn’t good. The kind of competition that’s there in golf does not allow even players like Tiger and Vijay Singh to relax one day, for there are so many snapping at their heels week after week.
One hopes that Vijay, who is refreshingly not intimidated by the West, will one day take up the case of ensuring that there’s a major that’s played in Asia and Africa as well. At the moment, with the last major played in US, there’s no major till April next year, which is a long gap and makes one wonder if Asia and Africa who have their summer from September to April should suffer because the authorities aren’t prepared to look beyond Western developing countries. There are three majors in US and one in UK, and with the game getting bigger in Asia, especially in South East Asia, there is a case for having a major there. South Africa has a million-dollar event, so most of the top golfers go and play there, but they give Asia a miss, unless of course like in Dubai, they get a rich appearance fee. It’s something that even the tennis bosses need to look at, for the majors in tennis also finish by the US Open, and then there is a lull till the Australian Open in late January. This domination of the West will soon hopefully come to an end, just as it has in cricket, where, thanks to some bold administrators like Jagmohan Dalmiya, the major events have come to Asia and other developing countries. Other sports could do with administrators with a vision to spread the sport wider around the world and then these sports will truly be global sports.
The Indian cricket team’s season hasn’t begun in the best possible way, having lost twice to Pakistan whom they beat earlier in the year, and though the major part of the season is still to come, there will be some worried people, but then India have a reputation for being a slow starter and Indian fans will be hoping that they will come good in the Champions Trophy starting a few days later. India has had some injury worries and in a team sport, that’s normal and don’t forget, they are coming off a off-season and so have taken a bit of time to get going.
The matches against England in the NatWest Challenge should be just the tune-up they are looking for, but that being said, it’s also important to win those games for the confidence to be high for the Champions Trophy. England are certainly on a high after whitewashing the West Indies, and though they have faltered in the limited-overs format earlier in the season, right now they will be in a far more confident frame of mind than they were when they took on India last time two years ago.
Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison have made enormous progress and England now have a good all-round team, which should be a real challenger for the Champions Trophy, especially as it is being played in England. If they fail to do well, then maybe we can look at whether cricket is a greater leveler or golf, but for the moment, I am convinced that it’s golf which is the leveler that sportsmen don’t want.
