Moments for bookmarks

Fast bowlers have an appreciation for the insane, but Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif seem to have stretched that brief too far. Misfortune comes back like Frankenstein to bite and sting Shoaib; he can scarcely tear himself from strife. And Asif, too, seems to be catching up with him on this score.

As the doping charges broke out, cricket lovers, who had warmed themselves at the hearth of these two showstoppers, could feel their dreams dampening into cold white ash. As if that was not enough, the sapless Brabourne wicket milked sports headlines.

Finally the Champions Trophy had some bookmark moments as Pakistan put it past favourites Sri Lanka and Australia met their Waterloo against West Indies.

One should see an Indian’s teeth-scrubbed, disfigured nails to gauge the intensity of a tournament. Unfortunately, the quality of contests before the Sri Lanka – Pakistan and Australia – West Indies fixtures gave no alarms for finger sepsis.

Every game needs personalities to sauce it up. If cricket were only about ‘runs and chases’ it would be the most boring exercise on this planet. But like soccer it extols characters, emotions, new quests and most importantly man-management. That’s what makes it so special.

Now we understand why Pakistan’s long laundry list of problems seems to have tilled a few souls in India. Prior to their first match, Pakistan looked like a side that had lost its glamour and lived on forked support.

Little wonder that hormones went into overdrive when Abdur Razzaq biffed those two sixes. The crowd went delirious rooting for him. Few years back it would have been “Pakistan hai hai.” Perhaps Indians realise that the Champions Trophy needs Pakistan to fire. There isn’t much to choose by way of flair from other sides.

Apart from Australia, Asia is capable of the cult of genius. Brian Lara’s men live on the flicker of promise but can play with panache. With the exception of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, England are way too clockwork with their methods. And much as New Zealand and South Africa strut their wares, they aren’t pied pipers. A bank clerk may not forsake a few meals to watch Hamish Marshall and Graham Smith bat.

Add to the lot Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, and you find a few like Stephen Fleming and Herschelle Gibbs holding their own in this outbreak of mediocrity. Though the Delhi police seem to have iced Gibbs’ swagger, it is only a matter of time before he lords it over his opponents.

Yet, at the end of the day, the outcome of a contest stands way above individuals. Sorry for the streak of sadism but turnouts would be poor if all of cricket’s silverwares head towards Jolimont Road offices of Cricket Australia.

Good for the game that Australia are made to realise that winning in India isn’t duck soup. It’s not that Brain Lara summoned a winning jinni against the Kangaroos. He merely revisited the virtue of realistic totals. Instead of girding his loins for a blast of 300 plus score, he assessed both his team’s and the wicket’s limitations and settled for 234. Perhaps, he took a cue from what Stephen Fleming did against South Africa.

What’s more he believed in his judgment of players. Marlon Samuels struggled to grip his bat against Sri Lanka. But he and Chris Gayle were Lara’s aces in the middle-overs bowling. Samuels’ figures read: 10 – 1 – 36 – 0.

Queer fish Runako Morton should have got short shrift after his 31-ball zero in the finals of the DLF Cup. Which captain would have had him in the side? Lara did and in the process divinised Morton’s bat. Trust a cricket captain; he understands his players better than scribes do.

Now it looks like there could be a special Diwali in the offing.