On a good wicket
Harsha Bhogle
In the last four months, I have filmed features in a cycle rickshaw on a
busy and crowded street in Dhaka; in a ferry on a freezing night on the
Yarra river in Melbourne while in search of penguins; and before dawn in a
beautiful game reserve outside Nairobi when no more than a few metres away
from wild animals. Cricket has taken me to these and to many other places in
the last few years. It has taken me to different climates and different
cultures. It has shown me, not just how cricket is played in different
lands, but how people live in these fascinating countries as well.
Over the last few weeks, scores of people have asked me how I can retain my
enthusiasm for the game in the midst of all that has happened. The answer is
really very simple. When cricket has given all of us so much, and it has
given people more than it has given me, the current problems are like a mere
injury that is suffered and which heals with time and medication. You don't
shun a friend who has opened his heart to you because somewhere along the
line you developed a scratch; you don't shun your faith because a pundit was
dishonest. And remember, it is not the game that is stained, only some of
those that sought to take more than was due to them.
Cricket is a great way to live life, certainly the best way I can think of.
And over the last two or three weeks I have heard from, and met, so many
bright, young and qualified people asking how they can be part of the game
that I am convinced it is in robust health. I am writing this in a hotel
room in Nairobi on the day before the first game of the ICC Trophy and if in
the next two weeks we can see three or four tough, well-contested games, I
am sure that more people in India will return to the game that flows in
their veins.
So how do more people get into the cricketing fraternity? If you can score a
century or take five wickets or hold some brilliant catches at first class
level, it becomes a bit easier. But for all those of us who cannot do it, or
do not want to take a professional risk in attempting it, the media is a
fantastic option. I am only a bit concerned though that everybody wants to
turn into a television commentator for international cricket overnight. That
cannot, and will not, happen but there are a couple of other very exciting
ways of getting involved.
Newspapers and magazines are the best place to start if you love the game,
have a flair for words and pictures and are willing to start at the bottom
and learn. Too many young people are convinced they know everything about
the game already and that is a major deterrent in this profession. I don't
know about other cities but almost everybody in Mumbai and Delhi is looking
out for people to work on their sports desks; not just newspapers and
magazines but internet sites as well. This explosion in technology has
brought amazing opportunities with it and if I was a young man out of
college today, I would be charged up and ready to go. Never in India has the
private sector been so vibrant, never have the opportunities been greater.
The only black spot in India is radio and that is a huge tragedy because it
is the most lovable medium in the world. In most parts of the world, radio
stations are a great place to work in because they are live, interactive,
chatty and reward talent fairly well. It is a lot easier to make a mark in
radio than in television and all over the world there is some fantastic
talent in radio. But technology is poised to overcome the barriers of
obsolete thought in India and even more than private FM stations, I am
excited by the arrival of net radio. Already the ABC and BBC put their
ball-by-ball commentary on the net and Cricinfo has just started exclusive
commentary on the net. India, the great innovator in internet technology
will, I am sure, be on the ball very soon.
There are two ways of looking at technology. You either look upon it as a
monster that is going to gobble up the old, comfortable way of living; or
you regard it as a wonderful new friend that will take you to new frontiers.
Remember technology can never kill talent, it can only annihilate decay, so
the earlier we embrace it, the further we will go. Certainly in sport, the
countries that have accepted technology have gone way ahead, others that
haven't are stagnating. India and Indian cricket is a great example of that.
Most cricket playing countries use video and computer assistance to great
effect. India have been reluctant and I sometimes wonder if our cricket
community has an inferiority complex deep within; I wonder if some of our
coaches fear that they will get exposed. But the computer and the video
camera are merely diagnostic tools. Just as the x-ray machine didn't replace
the doctor but helped him, these devices can only help a coach for they only
provide the facts. It is up to the coach to interpret them and use them for
learning.
Just to give you an example, on ESPN Star Sports we have just announced the
use of an analytical system called the Namadgi. It is a brilliant little
tool and while all it does is to organise facts, in doing so it throws us
some great insights. It can, for example, tell you where a bowler is
bowling; what his preferred line, length and bounce are and whether he is
using a different strategy for different players. It can, for example, tell
you whether McGrath is bowling shorter to Ganguly than to Tendulkar. It can
tell you whether a batsman is scoring more runs against a particular kind of
bowler, even against a particular length or direction. So you might find
that when the ball is pitched just outside the off-stump a particular
batsman may be unable to score freely but the moment a ball is pitched
around middle or leg, he scores many more runs. It can show you if a bowler
is more effective bowling a certain line and less happy if he is forced to
alter it.
These, and many more, are no more than organised facts. Like the scientist
or the doctor, the coach has to use them for the benefit of his team. Each
player, for example, can be presented a printout of his performance for the
day and he can either self-assess or join the coach in correcting what he
might have done wrong.
Indian cricket has been pitifully slow in keeping pace with these modern
aids and the results are showing. Thankfully the media has its ear to the
ground, technology is well and truly in and it is a fabulous place for a
young man or woman to begin life. I have seen the fruits of it too many
times in the last few years not to be convinced of it.
Harsha Bhogle
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