Cricket on the Go

Even as Australia and India are playing an important series with the first match having commenced in Chennai, it is time for us to think how cricket has reached its prime sporting position in India and how it has retained a significant foothold in the UK and NewZealand and a pervasive presence in Australia and the West Indies.In A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport, Ram Chandra Guha describes the arrival of the MCC team in India on S.S. Mooltan. The ship made a short stop-over in what was then Bombay before leaving for Karachi where the team deboarded. Microphone was placed on the deck for the captain Douglas Jardine to address the public on All India Radio.Besides, the people who went to the matches, there was a considerably larger number following cricket and learning about it on the radio.It is this media which has been ignored by the BCCI when it asked for Broadcasting Rights and ABC Grandstand chose not to broadcast the series live in Australia.The TV rights in Australia are held by a pay channel, which means the casual listener or viewer has been kept out of the equation.

Radio was an important medium for cricket to grow and is still a meaningful medium for it to keep growing.Those of us who have grown up on rich diet of cricket commentary over medium, short and long waves(Radio 4LW, the current home of the Test Match Special on the radio) have moved on to the radio commentary on the net and internet radio via the smartphone.The treasure trove to be found is immense.Last Night there was the T&T vs Windwards thriller from Arnos Vale.Tonight one hopes there will be the ODI from Grenada.Listening to the Carribean t20. Regional 4 day and the International matches, the impression is that cricket has managed to remain important culturally with significant support of the radio coverage.It is time that BCCI and cricket broadcasters allow access to the matches to radio stations covering it live.During the last few months I have been follwing South Africa vs Pakistan on PBC during evening walks while listening to the Carribean t20 and NewZealand- England matches during my morning walk.There is also All India Radio chipping in on 106.4MHZ and one does not even need to pay for the internet.Cricket on the go with the radio cannot be matched by TV and the Desk top audio in the background at the workplace can only popularise the game even further.

Winston Derrick via a Cricket Match

Looking for a live match on the radio via tune in, I found ABS radio from Antigua broadcasting the Leewards Island versus Guyana. Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Shivnarine's son made his first class  debut in this match.The Leeward Islands'side managed to draw the match.This was the regional 4Day tournament.While listening to this match reminded me that even Ranji finals and Irani Cup does not have live ball by ball coverage on All India Radio.There was a time though that one heard the commentary of plenty of matches live on radio in India.Cricket has moved into the realm of commerce rather than something to be engagede with.
The Leewards match on Antigua Broadcasting Service made way in the afternoon for coverage of the funeral procession of Winston Derrick, the media personality in Antigua.From a small island in Antigua, it is only through cricket that one can learn about their society, culture, media and even history all over the world.The audience may not be large but it can be significant.Cricket is only the medium to make an entry into a society or a nation.

Cricket, lovely Cricket

Even as I was following the West Indies- Australia series and hearing about the drubbing that the West Indies were receiving, I could not but remember that for most of the eighties, the great West Indies were great because of their exploits in the Test match arena not in either the ODI whites or coloured clothing. The last time the West Indies won any significant one day tournament before the Champions Trophy in 2004,  was in 1979.They won the World Cup for the second time.By then they were on course to becoming the finished product of the nineties.Yet, that was the last one day achievement of the team led by Lloyd or Richards or even Richardson, the last leader of that vintage.

The West Indies in Tests were just recovering from a test series loss to India, albeit with a Packer depleted side. That team led by Kallicharan was effectively a developmental one and included Malcolm Marshall who was to be the West Indies spearhead in much of the eighties.The West Indies through much of the eighties did commendably in ODIs but were hardly the force that they were in Tests.We remember the rescue act of Richards and his partnership with Garner or the semifinal loss in the WCC at the SCG when Mudassar Nazar ran through them in 1985. There was a little matter of the 1983 World Cup as well.They were competitive in 1996 World Cup as well.However all through this period they were very good in tests.Only Pakistan managed to scare them once in a while.

The current West Indies though no match for the Test side of yore are perhaps better in Tests than ODIs.They play t20 best and Tests second best.They should build their cricket around it.Money to individuals will come from t20s and the west Indies can play tests in Philadelphia to target the expat Carribeans and the Indian origin cricket followers and play so much test cricket in North and South america that cricket becomes a major sport in the largest English speaking country in the World.Not knowing the joys of Cricket is not quite in tune with the language spoken in North America.

Post Script: The West Indies were defeated 5-0 in ODIs and bounced back remarkably in the only T20 match against Australia.They won it confidently and with the confidence of being world's best, which they are.