India’s progress to the finals of the tri-series has been most impressive. Even without big players like Tendulkar, Sehwag and Kumble playing in some games, the side has won in style. True, the Zimbabwe team is struggling a bit, but even the performances against the world champions have been good efforts.
The crowds here have been so used to their team defeating other teams rather easily that to see their side being given a run has brought great respect for the Indian side. Apart from the huge Melbourne Cricket Ground, all other grounds where India play Australia have been sold out and that’s not what Cricket Australia is used to and they are indeed very happy.
Both teams though look pretty tired by the contests and the travel involved and once again it brings to the fore that whoever arranges the travel schedule of the touring team must sit down with the team managements and discuss travel plans with them. After a day-night game where the match finishes at 10.30 at night and if there is a rain delay, as in Sydney, then there is a later finish, and the players hardly get to sleep before two in the morning simply because the adrenalin is still high and it is tough to get sleep.
So, when they have to wake up early next morning to catch a flight to another venue, they would rather have a later flight that allows them a proper sleep than an early flight would give. This is not just an aspect of traveling in Australia, but even in India, that’s something that needs to be looked at so that players have adequate rest.
In any case, there should be two days between limited-overs matches, one for travel and the next for training and practicing at the next venue.
It really is not a big thing to ask but that is what administrators should be doing, making sure that players do not suffer from burnout.
The Zimbabwe issue has come up again with England and Australia looking at the possibility of not going there. The cricket boards of both these countries have come under severe pressure from their governments and media, and it is a tough decision to make. The primary thing has always got to be player safety and if that is not certain and guaranteed then the tour to any country should not take place.
The ICC regulations allow a team to cancel its commitment to tour another country only if the safety and security situation is not good. The safety and security in each country is going to differ and so there is no hard and fast rule of what exactly is safe, and so cricket will continue to have these controversies cropping up from time to time.
India’s top players may not have sent the so-called letter to the BCCI expressing their reservations about touring Pakistan, but there certainly is apprehension in the minds of senior players about not just the odd venue but actually touring. Luckily, there is a gap after they return from Australia, which will not only allow them to get a much deserved rest, but also give them some time to pause and think of the consequences of any hard decision that they might make. When the mind is tired, some decisions made are regretted later, so the break after the return from this grueling tour will be most welcome. It will give the players time to sit with their families and think through any decision they take in a calm and cool manner.
The problem for the BCCI is that the players are still not under a contract with them as is the case with the rest of the countries, and so the BCCI can’t really force any action. It is a free World and the players are free to choose whether they want to go or not. In recent times, India has let players choose if they want to play Test cricket or one-day cricket and that is sensible for it allows the player to prolong his career and serve the country better than if he was forced to play in every event.
The one big plus is that India will have not much cricket after May and like last year, the players will get some months off from May to maybe July.
The ICC Champions Trophy will be on in September and before that India play a triangular with Australia and Pakistan in Holland, so they will once again hit the road from mid-August and then be busy as they host Australia for a Test series and then host South Africa too.
At the time of writing, Melbourne is also hosting the Australian open Tennis and so there is lots of great sporting activity going on. By the time India come back here for the tri-series finals, the Tennis will be over and the International Cricketing season will be coming to an end in Australia. It’s been a good one for the game with some top cricket being played by both Australia and India.
The crowds have loved every moment of the riveting contests between the two sides and happily the game has been played in good spirit by both teams and the awful abusing has been absent, though some mind-games have been played all right. That though has only added to the contest and has not taken anything away from the game, which is how it should be. Mind-games with a bit of banter is fine, abuse is not and in this season in Australia, maybe the Aussies have learned that they can play good cricket without resorting to the abuse that has taken the gloss away from their performances in the past.
