From the iSport Cricket Paddock: Another disappointed fan pours his heart out with the current scenario of Cricket. iSporter Uttaresh Venkateshwaran shares his views on the game. He strongly believes that the players can either make or break the sanctity of the game.
The game of cricket has “suffered” a lot in the recent past. Corruption in the game has grown from being an “internal threat” to being a “global threat”. The magnitude of this problem just gets bigger and bigger. The footage released by a T.V. channel which shows the Pakistani players accepting bribes to bowl “no-balls” during a particular over of a test match shows the level of corruption that has entered the game. The recent past controversy surrounding the IPL in terms of match fixing and the amount of money being exchanged in these times raised a very important question; Does the “spirit of the games really exist today?”
The phrase spirit of the game is very ambiguous. It has to be made clear that by spirit, it is meant to play the game legitimately and ethically. It is a mistaken notion that it is limited only to ethical aspects. What has been observed in the past week or so shows the significance of both these elements in the game. It has brought us to such a low level today, that it should no more be limited to ethics but be extended in the legal framework too.
Well, in my opinion, this feeling of playing the game in its right spirit is dying with the passage of time. We have seen this transition from being a gentleman’s game to the current day scenario. It has gone from bad to worse if one talks about corruption and spot fixing in the game today. There have been instances in the past. The 1932-33 Ashes series aka Bodyline series was just the beginning of such an era. Unethical means adopted by the England bowling attack in the series was a shocker to watch. That was something not to be proud of at all. The other incident that created a major uproar in the cricketing world was of the underarm bowling incident. Trevor Chappell surely became infamous after this match and etched his name in history. From such incidents, things have changed rapidly in the game of cricket.
The phrase spirit of the game is very ambiguous. It has to be made clear that by spirit, it is meant to play the game legitimately and ethically. It is a mistaken notion that it is limited only to ethical aspects. What has been observed in the past week or so shows the significance of both these elements in the game. It has brought us to such a low level today, that it should no more be limited to ethics but be extended in the legal framework too.
Well, in my opinion, this feeling of playing the game in its right spirit is dying with the passage of time. We have seen this transition from being a gentleman’s game to the current day scenario. It has gone from bad to worse if one talks about corruption and spot fixing in the game today. There have been instances in the past. The 1932-33 Ashes series aka Bodyline series was just the beginning of such an era. Unethical means adopted by the England bowling attack in the series was a shocker to watch. That was something not to be proud of at all. The other incident that created a major uproar in the cricketing world was of the underarm bowling incident. Trevor Chappell surely became infamous after this match and etched his name in history. From such incidents, things have changed rapidly in the game of cricket.
Match fixing scandals to a new-age term known as spot-fixing; have added more fuel to the fire. Apart from the trio of Pakistani cricketers who allegedly took bribes, there have been instances where the cricketers were approached by the bookies. It was only after this incident that we could gather that the Australian, the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka players, were also approached. The pattern in which things have changed is a very interesting aspect to be observed.
Of all the incidents mentioned earlier to the recent ones, we see that the recent ones are related more to money rather than just on-field altercations. In fact, Matthew Hayden commented on this whole issue of spot-fixing some days back and said, “It is impossible to have a game today without money not being involved in it completely.” This sends out a very strong message on the kind of phase the game is going through. Amongst all these, we have something known as the fair play award. It is said that injustice lies in the absence of the voice claiming it to be unjust. In the same way, the award itself signifies the presence of some amount of unfair means in the game which are hoped to be curbed through such means.
India’s ace billiards champion, Michael Ferreira once said in at a discussion forum that earlier sports were played purely and hence the games were pure. Does that mean that the attitude of current day players are more inclined towards commercial success than the passion for the game and for the country? The latter part of the question should be paid more attention these days rather than the former. If that is taken care of, commercial success will follow. Current day players are filled with awe of what the game has in its store rather than contributing towards it. And that is why we saw a Pakistani cricketer, all of only eighteen, involved in one of cricket’s worst scams ever.
To sum it up, the betterment of the game is in the hands of the ones involved in it. By all of this I do not mean that the money coming in for the betterment of the game should be stopped. Infrastructure is a very important aspect to be taken care for the greater good. Along with this, it has to be seen that the money does not land in wrong hands and is not used for the wrong purposes. If the game of cricket has to be saved, it is in the hands of the players and the organizers of the game to save it. The conscience of the players and the organizers matters in these times. If one has the desire to do it for the greater good, then I am sure that the game we love can come out of this crisis soon.
India’s ace billiards champion, Michael Ferreira once said in at a discussion forum that earlier sports were played purely and hence the games were pure. Does that mean that the attitude of current day players are more inclined towards commercial success than the passion for the game and for the country? The latter part of the question should be paid more attention these days rather than the former. If that is taken care of, commercial success will follow. Current day players are filled with awe of what the game has in its store rather than contributing towards it. And that is why we saw a Pakistani cricketer, all of only eighteen, involved in one of cricket’s worst scams ever.
To sum it up, the betterment of the game is in the hands of the ones involved in it. By all of this I do not mean that the money coming in for the betterment of the game should be stopped. Infrastructure is a very important aspect to be taken care for the greater good. Along with this, it has to be seen that the money does not land in wrong hands and is not used for the wrong purposes. If the game of cricket has to be saved, it is in the hands of the players and the organizers of the game to save it. The conscience of the players and the organizers matters in these times. If one has the desire to do it for the greater good, then I am sure that the game we love can come out of this crisis soon.
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