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A
View from the North Stand.... |
Mar 23, 2006 (From the
Cricket Journal)
Barmed by the Army
Oh well, as I made my way through the 'F' Block
in the North Stand at the Wankhede Stadium,
surprise was the first emotion that went through
me, as I could all but bump into a swarm of the
British Barmy Army fans. It was a pleasant one
as well, as for once, I happened to watch
cricket with a bunch of highly knowledgeable
persons. It was a great sight to see so many
fans travel all the way from England/Wales to
watch their country play, braving the weather
and the pathetic infrastructure of the Wankhede
stadium. It felt pretty lonely out there to be
an Indian, but gave me a perfect opportunity I
was looking for to discuss some good county
cricket (something I follow religiously) and of
course, flaunt the pride I carry with Manchester
United (highly unpopular among the fans there of
course though I managed to find someone with the
same leanings).
Where is the comfort ?
Someone actually remarked about the inferior
state of infrastructure, particularly the
seatings of the Wankhede Stadium. He asked me
"You guys have so much of money, why don't you
spend it in improving the stadium ?" and to a
large extent I do empathize with him, having
come all the way from England just for this game
and this is what we welcome our 'guests' with ?
Another British spectator went to the extent of
rating the stadium as the "worst" he's ever been
to, having seen cricket all over the world.
Unfortunately, one must admit, Indian cricket
has been too busy about revenue-making than
actually bothering to allocate it. It is about
time the administration takes the question of
spectator comfort seriously ! The Mumbai Cricket
Association need not look anywhere outside for
inspiration, just up north at Mohali. The way
the spectator has been treated there is nothing
short of exemplary. Dean Jones has gone on to
rate Mohali as the number 1 venue in the Indian
sub-continent, for its hospitality, the stadium
and ground and the pitch of course. As someone
based in Mumbai and a regular spectator at the
Wankhede, I must confess, its much better off to
watch the cricket at home than the Stadium, with
some good snacks and of course comfort at its
best. One hopes that by the time the ground
hosts another match, such issues will be
addressed and Mumbai will also throw its hat in
the ring to claim some accolades.
Of Bloated Egos
A British-Indian based in London remarked about
the electronic scoreboard at the Garware
Pavillion End, which was nothing but an
advertising spot used by the Mahindras. He asked
me "Does this Anand Mahindra have a big ego ?"
and that left me wondering if our corporates
have resorted to cricket matches to flaunt their
prowess ! There was a scroller in the
scoreboard, which constantly, if not very
regularly reminded what the Mahindras stood for
and beyond a certain extent, it just seemed a
pointless exercise. Of course, there were
mentions of Anand Mahindra winning the
Businessman of the Year and the taking over of
British Telecom by the Mahindras, but one
somehow felt that they were overdoing it,
jumping over all the lines of publicity !
Definition of Appalling
 If
ever the dictionary got a chance to describe the
shot Mahendra Singh Dhoni played, a few words
like appalling would do it best. It was nothing
but a display of mindless and reckless cricket
by the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, and as it
turned out to be, his dismissal proved costly
under the circumstances. Maybe I would lose many
friends here, but it won't be wrong to say that
Dhoni is still very much a one-day specialist.
Test Cricket is not meant for nuts that crack
easily and Dhoni, somehow has not yet learned
the grind and the mettle required to answer the
tough questions, test cricket poses at you as a
batsman. I would stick my guts out and say that
Dinesh Karthik got a raw deal at the hands of
the selectors and perhaps should be back in the
reckoning, bouyed by Dhoni's lack of maturity as
a batsman and butter-gloves as a keeper.
Of-course, Dhoni is a phenomenal one-day
cricketer, no-body denies it, but as per the
requirement of the game, talent, technique and
temperament are imperative to the makings of a
quality Test batsman. Dhoni seems to have a
decent blend of the two formers, but certainly
lacks on the latter.
P.S : This post is in no way undermining the
ability of Dhoni, but just questioning his
makings of a Test cricketer ! As a footer, I'd
like to quote Navjot Singh Sidhu here, "To Err
is Human but to repeat the error is foolishness"
- hope Dhoni's listening !
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