| At a time when the ODI format is fighting for survival, the success of the 2009 Champions Trophy will help serve as a benchmark for the administrators to decide on the future of the 50-over game. |
Raring to go... India skipper M. S. Dhoni at a press conference ahead of the Champions Trophy in Johannesburg.
The ICC Champions Trophy has proved to be the launch pad for some cricketers apart from providing some high quality contests in the past. The 2000 edition (it was called the ICC knockout tournament then) saw the emergence of Yuvraj Singh, who has since gone on to become one of the most feared batsmen in international cricket.
The ascendancy of Yuvraj Singh coincided with the rise of Sourav Ganguly’s stature as a captain, but in a span of nine years things have come to such an extent that the 2009 Champions Trophy has failed to create the buzz that the previous editions had. At a time when the ODI format is fighting for survival, the success and following that the 2009 Champions Trophy achieves will serve as a benchmark for the administrators to decide on the future of the 50-over game.
However, from the cricketers’ point of view, the Champions Trophy will provide South Africa, the host, another chance of getting rid of its infamous and irksome ‘chokers’ tag. South Africa is on top of the ICC rankings but it can all change within the next fortnight.
Graeme Smith will be keen to ensure that his side remains at the top just as Mahendra Singh Dhoni will strive to take India to the top. The Indians are bracketed with Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies in Group A; one wonders whether the tag of ‘group of death’ is justified.
The Australians have not been at their best despite their near whitewash of England in the seven-match one-day series. Pakistan can be as inconsistent as only it can be. The West Indies is not expected to take the world by storm though it can always stunt other teams’ progress. Team India has its share of issues too, but its form in the last couple of seasons has been excellent and the recent victory in the Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka would serve as a morale booster. The absence of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan will be felt in South Africa where experience will come in handy. And with the Indian skipper making it obvious that he is unhappy with his team’s fielding and bowling, there is lot of work to be done for the Indians.
The main point of interest will be the kind of surfaces that are produced for the Champions Trophy. Since the tournament is being played at the start of the summer in South Africa, one can hope to see the bowlers having a level playing field. And with only two venues earmarked for the entire tournament, there could be some joy for the spinners as well towards the final stages. But if CSA (Cricket South Africa) provides flat tracks as they did in the 2003 World Cup, it will be akin to issuing a death warrant to one-day cricket. The batsmen had a rollicking time in the 2003 World Cup, but people even today remember the low-scoring close encounter between India and England as against the matches with tall scores in that tournament. To watch a side pile up runs all the time and that too over a period of 3½ hours, will only be as interesting and as realistic as a WWE bout.
The format of the Champions Trophy this year does not provide the teams with any cushion for a bad outing as the sides hoping to qualify have to win two out of the three games in the league stage. With the Indians banking heavily on their batting, it becomes paramount that the top order gets into the act straightaway. The return of Gautam Gambhir will give India the extra muscle at the top and there is no better recipe than a left-right combination to unsettle the bowlers.
India will depend on its experienced batsmen to deliver and it will be reasonable to presume that they will not be given many opportunities to drive. The Indian batsmen’s shot-making ability off the back foot will be probed and tested by the Australian and Pakistani fast bowlers. It remains to be seen if the forcing shots off the back foot will be employed with enough conviction and felicity, as therein lies the key to put up runs on the board.
While the success of the Indians will depend on the improvements they make to their bowling and fielding, the survival of the ODI version of the game will depend on the excitement and the quality of cricket that will unfold in the Champions Trophy. The quality of cricket hinges on the nature of the tracks available and CSA has to strike a delicate balance in ensuring that the pitches are not heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen or bowlers.
One other important factor will be the performance of the host nation as its success will be imperative if the spectators are to turn up at the venues. Team India will have its share of support but given the current scenario, the administrators will be desperate to see full house for the matches right through the tournament. CSA is renowned for its organisational abilities, but this time it is faced with the biggest challenge of keeping the waning format of the game alive. Then, of course, there is only so much any one organisation can do and it is up to the teams participating to keep the ball rolling.
| Well before big Freddie Flintoff announced his retirement from Test cricket he made sure that the rest of his life was going to be shaped by the one person he knew understood his needs and inner wishes. Himself, in other words. By Ted Corbett. |
Andrew Flintoff has a long-term strategy for his future and that is something you cannot say about many people in cricket.
Well before big Freddie announced his retirement from Test cricket he made sure that the rest of his life was going to be shaped by the one person he knew understood his needs and inner wishes.
Himself, in other words.
He made the announcement of his farewell to Test cricket during the Ashes series which ensured that he would not be troubled by questions about his future and then, quietly but quickly, filled in the plans for his transition from a county based England international player to a full-time freelance.
These plans were not just formulated by Flintoff. He has, for most of his career, been guided by two men he is sure have his best interests at heart. One is the golf players’ manager Chubby Chandler and the other is his former Lancashire and England team-mate Neil Fairbrother. Now he has added another pal to the growing number of Flintoff’s people.
Chandler has a raft of sporting personalities who rely on his good sense and judgement to guide their lives and the fact that you never read of arguments in their camp must indicate that his words hit the right spot most of the time.
He appointed Fairbrother to be Flintoff’s minder and there we have a completely different story.
You may remember there was a time when Freddie did not always behave in an entirely appropriate way, when he had a drink or three too many and when he was inclined to indulge in whatever adventures came into his mind first.
Sometimes it was a television interview when he was not completely in control of his output of words, sometimes it was an attempt to follow the Christopher Columbus route round the Caribbean in a pedalo.
Fairbrother, a calm character with infinite patience, usually found himself in the firing line when these incidents occurred but he has fought on and I suspect he and Freddie have an understanding about these adventures. They will not stop but they are becoming rarer; perhaps the young Turk in Freddie is growing into an adult Turk. Those with a love of a good laugh may say more’s the pity but Fairbrother may not think so.
At one of their many meetings it was also agreed that Flintoff — with book contracts, requests for interviews and articles to deal with — needed public relations help. Typically he chose a man he has known most of his life: Myles Hodgson, who was a young reporter at Old Trafford when Flintoff joined Lancashire and who has been a friend ever since.
They are both in their own way Lancashire lads, with accents that betray their northern roots, a quiet sense of humour that allows them to look on the brighter side of life and a loyalty which knows no bounds.
(My own affinity with Myles goes back to the childhood of my now grown up children. They went to the same school as Myles while I worked alongside his father Derek right through from provincial journalism to national newspapers. I stepped into Derek’s shoes when I began my cricket journey in 1982; I count him as one of my best friends in a profession with a competitive element that does not always help long-term friendship.)
Myles has already helped Freddie write two or three books and there is another coming out shortly. I sometimes grin to myself when I see him referred to as “Flintoff’s spokesman.” It will be a greatly changed life for the man who was never stretched as an agency reporter churning out yards of copy at lunch, tea and close of play. I hope he finds it a lot more rewarding. He ought to for, as Flintoff holidays in Dubai to recover from his knee operation and offers his advice to the United Arab Emirates side, he is at the beginning of a cricket revolution.
Flintoff has announced — through Myles, of course — that he has turned down the England offer of a one-day contract and that in future he will be a freelance. He will play for whoever offers the best price; Lancashire, if his knee is up to the workload, England if they ask politely, one of the IPL sides if they come up with the right cash and, if my forecaster’s eye is in form, one of the new city teams which may replace the creaking old county, provincial and state sides.
I know his scheme is bound to succeed because of the number of die-hard, conservative traditionalists who have warned just how dangerous this decision must be. They are the same voices, 30 years ago, who railed against Packer, one-day cricket, coloured clothing, and the wearing of helmets.
People hate change. It makes them think outside the box. Cricket people see change to the basic structure of the game as religious zealots used to regard the Reformation. “It is heresy,” they bellow, “and if you just hang on a minute I will think of a reason why.”
Flintoff is not a thinking person; he is action man in spades. But in this case he has made a move which will resonate with players all round the world. They like this genial man but at the same time they recognise that cricket cannot continue as it is, with an over-filled fixture list, a growing number of players folding with injuries and the continual pressure from television in particular for more startling performances.
Just let me offer one hint about the way cricket is gobbling up players and spitting them out. County sides used to have more than their share of men in their 40s, some in their 50s. Not any more. The volume of work, the pressure, the physical effort involved means that retirement at 35 is almost a certainty.
Most of these Flintoff ideas will have filtered through to Freddie from Chandler, Hodgson and Fairbrother but he bears the responsibility for them because he is the figurehead, the blond haired giant by who all rise or fall.
His decision to go freelance may also be the most important move forward in the history of the game. Good luck, Freddie, you are going to need it but at least you have the right team behind you.
