The busy sporting calendar hid the culmination of this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup final. For the last month, teams from around the world have played the now much maligned 50 over game on the subcontinent. In the end, it was the hosts, India, who managed to lift the trophy and send the world’s most cricket loving fans into a national party. Cricket has suffered a bad press over the past 18 months and administrators have struggled to cope with the changing face of modern sport and the pressures that surround the modern cricketer. From this month of cricket the ICC have some many difficulties to address.
The tournament shows that the 50-over game is not dead and managed to create some interesting results with tense endings, not to mention some brilliant individual displays. The problem for the ICC is purely the intensity of the cricketing calendar. For England it has been a non-stop cricketing show for the past six months, starting in Australia for the Ashes and then exiting the World Cup in the quarter finals. To a television audience the continuous schedules of international cricket may be a blessing, but it is evident that player burn out is compromising the elegance of the game. Despite some of England’s entertaining and yet miserable performances, the team were not low on morale, they were simply fatigued. The departure of Michael Yardy after the group stages through depression is a rare event but it highlights the stresses players have to go through playing professional cricket.
Critics will always flag the fact that these men are paid handsomely during their careers. They are fulfilling the dreams of many players and fans, this is true. I would point out the fact that it ultimately does not generate the best cricket. Cricket is a game played with both mind and body. The stresses of intense schedules have meant the likes of Andrew Flintoff and Brett Lee had to curtail their careers. The final was a battle of two exciting teams with two special geniuses. Both Muralitharan and Tendulkar have been destroying teams for years with their intensity and unique skills. Perhaps it was a fair result from the day’s cricket but one can’t help to think what a fit Murali may have come up with. The ICC have three popular formats but more cricket does not equal great cricket.
The tournament shows that the 50-over game is not dead and managed to create some interesting results with tense endings, not to mention some brilliant individual displays. The problem for the ICC is purely the intensity of the cricketing calendar. For England it has been a non-stop cricketing show for the past six months, starting in Australia for the Ashes and then exiting the World Cup in the quarter finals. To a television audience the continuous schedules of international cricket may be a blessing, but it is evident that player burn out is compromising the elegance of the game. Despite some of England’s entertaining and yet miserable performances, the team were not low on morale, they were simply fatigued. The departure of Michael Yardy after the group stages through depression is a rare event but it highlights the stresses players have to go through playing professional cricket.
Critics will always flag the fact that these men are paid handsomely during their careers. They are fulfilling the dreams of many players and fans, this is true. I would point out the fact that it ultimately does not generate the best cricket. Cricket is a game played with both mind and body. The stresses of intense schedules have meant the likes of Andrew Flintoff and Brett Lee had to curtail their careers. The final was a battle of two exciting teams with two special geniuses. Both Muralitharan and Tendulkar have been destroying teams for years with their intensity and unique skills. Perhaps it was a fair result from the day’s cricket but one can’t help to think what a fit Murali may have come up with. The ICC have three popular formats but more cricket does not equal great cricket.
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