CLOSE-IN: The Rainbow of cricket, 'The cricket ball'

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Cricket as a game is going through an interesting transformation. New formats are coming forth from the original 5-day Test matches to the 60 overs day encounters and now to the 10 overs version. The shorter the span that is keeping the spectators interested, the shorter the popular format of the game will evolve in the future. Cricket, like no other sport is building itself into a world established sport which in time may be the only one to challenge football. It is travelling far and wide and with its introduction in the next Olympics, it has the potential to colour the sky around the world with its presence.The most significant and important change, if one can term it is, “The rainbow of cricket- the cricket ball”. The move from the red cherry to a white was itself a significant one. The day-night Test matches have led to and added another colour, “ Pink”. The most baffling outcome of these colour changes to a ball that has not changed in size or structure is the behaviour of it. The red, white and pink balls from the 3 prominent manufacturers seem to all behave differently. Why a standard manufacturing process cannot be implemented in the highly skilled present world of ours, is quite baffling.Presently, all the 3 different colours have either a more prominent seam and stitching, or a more shiny lacquer and finish or most importantly uncertain capabilities to keep its hardness intact. Countries around the world have their own preference as to which ball and manufacturer to buy from, solely dependent on the availability and commercials.

The ICC needs to look very seriously into standardizing two important areas of cricket. The bat and the ball. The present bats are making a mockery of batsmanship. The art of artistry in batting has receded to give prominence to the high and mighty hitters. The thickness of the bat needs to be curtailed, to make the game more challenging between the bowler and the batsman. One cannot enjoy a top edge or a false mishit sail over the boundary line. One does feel a bit sorry for the bowlers as run-making becomes a piece of cake once a batter gets set or the wicket eases.

The equipment and the cricket gear have also gone through a major upliftment. That is one area that was essential for batters protection and has been a boon from the junior level onwards.

The record books from the days of making a notch to indicate a run on a wooden plank, to now being recorded via a computer make for an analytical comparison of runs scored and wickets taken by a batter and bowler. However, this is a fallacy to compare performances over so many decades of time. Cricket is a sport played by a team of players and not by an individual. Greatness flows from the ones who have excelled and each one has played their part in making cricket a sport to enjoy.

The greatest cricketer to have played the game by far is Sir Garry Sobers. If he was to bat in the top order all throughout his career, he would have scored well over 60% more runs than what the scorebook today indicates. The grace, aura and selflessness that Sir Sobers brought to the table and Sir Don Bradman to batting cannot be emulated, however, hard one tries to do so.

Similarly, comparing Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli the three all-time great batters of Indian cricket to the upcoming Yashasvi Jaiswal is a ridiculous one. Even more bizarre is the comparison as a bowler of India’s greatest allrounder, Kapil Dev, to Jasprit Bumrah. The latter may finally take more wickets than the former, however, cricket is not a game of knots and crosses for one to pick a winner.

With a victory under their belt, India will be on a high psychologically, however, the pink ball can be a deadly missile. One that will require technique, patience and plenty of resilience to overcome it. The moving ball has been the Achilles heel of the Indian batters in the recent past. Their bowlers saved them in the 1st Test match at Perth by bowling out Australia for even less than what they had scored.

The hosts are not one to give up so easily. The Aussies will come strongly and aggressively this time around. The Indian team has the fire power to prevail against any onslaught, it is challenging encounters such as these that make Test cricket enjoyable. A clash of the Titans of World cricket (Yajurvindra Singh is a former India cricketer. The views expressed are personal.)