The Ashes are back in England’s custody but unlike 4 years ago when the celebrations were massive with an open bus-top ride followed by a reception at the Prime Minister’s house this time around it has been fairly muted. Perhaps with the one-day series still left to be played and the memory of the white wash in the 2006-7 Ashes series may have led to the subdued celebrations. Last time the Ashes winning squad were honored with CBEs and MBEs by the Queen.
A lot was made about the MBE given to Paul Collingwood for scoring barely 10 or 20 runs in the only Test he played then and was mentioned by Shane Warne more than a few times this summer in England and so this subdued celebrations have gone down well with the Aussies, especially their extended support staff who have written about it.
Mind you the Aussie celebrations are invariably written about as a great bonding exercise even if it is a win after losing a series like when they won the last Test against South Africa after having lost the previous two Tests.
At that time the celebrations got a touch nasty when Simon Katich is said to have grabbed Michael Clarke by the throat when he wanted to leave the dressing room at 10 p.m. which is a good 4 hours after the last ball had been bowled.
It is for this reason that one feels that a lot of the so-called traditions are imposed and not spontaneous. A big deal is made about the team song which is sung after a win by someone standing on top of a table and the beers drunk without a thought about the dressing room attendants, security personnel and ground staff who also have friends and family and who may well want to go home than stay for longer than their usual duty hours and clean up after a drinking binge.
The Australians have what is called a ticker tape parade when they win big events like the World Cup or when they win the Ashes especially if they have been lost to England for some series. That’s why it was hard to understand Andrew Symonds whinge about the rapturous welcome given to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys when they won the ICC Twenty20 in South Africa two years back.
Dhoni’s team was taken in an open bus top all the way from Mumbai airport to the Wankhede stadium where they were given a huge reception by the BCCI. That was only the second win for India in a world tourney in cricket unless of course one takes into account the World Championship of Cricket win two years after the 1983 World Cup win as a world event too.
The Aussies on the other hand had won the World Cup a few times already so it was really nothing new but for a success starved and cricket mad country like India who won a world event after 24 years there was bound to be celebrations so what was wrong. It is just an attitude problem where if they do something it’s right but if somebody else does the same then it’s wrong, be it on the field or off it.
England win has gone down well with the cricketing world who were all waiting for the Aussie dominance and the attitude that came with it to be brought down a notch or two. Thankfully the Brit media hasn’t gone overboard and started calling its team World Champions but are realistic enough to suggest that the tour to South Africa later in the year will be the one to show how far England rank in world cricket.
Hopefully they have realized that they may have gloated about India’s young guns’ difficulties with the short ball but have found in this series that their batsmen are no better and are like rabbits caught in the glare of a car’s headlights. Not that the Aussies were any better with helmets being clunked regularly by short deliveries from Flintoff and company. All this when the bouncers are restricted to only two an over mind you.
So lets get it clear that it’s not just the Indians who have to work on dealing with short stuff but also the rest of the cricketing world.
Back home in India the BCCI deserve plaudits for starting the Corporate Cup. It is an initiative that will not only give employment opportunities to those players who may never play for India but also give good competition to the international players as they prepare for bigger battles in the season ahead.
Unsurprisingly there was criticism from some sections of the media for curtailing a training camp to allow players to play in the Corporate Cup but isn’t actual match practice better than just playing against a bowling machine or just rolling the arm over in net sessions? Yes, one can argue that the camp could have started earlier but not about its closure to play cricket matches.
If the BCCI can have a Cricket Committee to help officials take cricketing decisions about venue, duration and such like it will have a positive impact and certainly improve the team’s chances in the event or series they are going for.
With the year’s domestic and international schedule out, it’s a lot easier for the committee to plan camps and tourneys so that the maximum benefit is derived for the team. Maybe this year’s AGM will take this decision that will help take Indian cricket forward. Let’s hope so.
