Arjun
Cricketer Of The Year
This was discussed on a television show on a local channel, and the comments made a lot of sense.
Bangladesh have only won five out of 95 ODI's that they have played. They only have one centrion, and have been shot out exactly 7 times for less than 100, and have only got 250 or more four times. Their Test record is even worse. They have not won a single Test, and have lost 28 out of 31. Worse, two of the three matches they saved were due to the intervention of rain, and they may not have been so lucky had the West Indians held on to their catches.
Ever since Zimbabwe lost their best players, they have been a laughing stock of international cricket. An out-of-form Lankan side rolled them over, and shot them out first for 136, then for 35. Their batting seems to be dependent only on a man or two, and none of their bowlers are of strike bowler quality. Doube tons are scored quite often, with two double-grabbers in the same XI! Even Marvan Atapattu has smashed them- he actually hit a few sixes! Kenya, as a team, who were not too far from Test status, are going downhill rapidly. The less said of the old West Indian extras playing for the US, the better.
It brings back the annoying, but crucial question- is the minnow issue handled properly? Is the game benefiting by giving these teams chances? Do they really deserve to play in the big league? Should there be a two-tier system? Should the ICC try its best to shed the elitist image of cricket by getting more raw teams?
Those who feel for the minnows think that they need the international experience, at this level, to improve. They need to get more contries interested. Even some of the top teams took some time to win their first Test- India took 31, while New Zealand took 44. Even the performance of the Zimbabweans and Lankans has been very good, and better than theirs, as improving teams. Maybe it is 32nd time lucky for Bangladesh. They may be right.
But for how long? After all, those teams were improving. They learnt from their mistakes, their experience was helpful only because they put in more effort. But the same cannot be said of today's minnows. Bangladesh, in particular, are not getting better. In fact, they're only getting worse. The purpose of the discussion is not to ridicule minnow teams. Look at the number of innings defeats. Or even defeats by 10 wickets, or 200 runs. Why big league teams, they are even losing to A-teams, and other teams that are not even playing Tests. Former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu asked loudly on NDTV 24x7's "Cricket Controversies", where this issue was discussed- can they even defeat club sides?
In fact, when asked by ESPNSTAR's presenter, Wasim Akram had given up on them, saying that they're consistently playing badly, so you cannot do anything but criticise them. Even with the revolutionary coach Dav Whatmore, who took the Lankans to victory in the 96 World Cup, they're not improving, and Akram had again got it right when he said that coaching this team is really, really tough.
It adversely affects the image of the country's cricket, so much that jokes may be made on them. The people of Bangladesh may not even be supporting their team anymore, given their nonexistent chances of winning a match. That's not good for a team at all. Even sponsors would shy away from a series involving them, since nobody, not even their supporters, would watch them play.
But relegating these teams to a second tier would be too negative. Rather than cure the problem, you're running away from it. More practical but less drastic moves are required. A possible solution would be to make them play more against A-teams, and against other developing nations. Sidhu said that they were believing their doubts and doubting their beliefs. They have to get used to winning matches, or at least performing better- scoring more runs, taking more wickets, saving more runs and taking catches that matter. They should be kept away from the top teams, and should play only once a year against one of them, if the calendar demands it.
But a lesson well learnt is that you shouldn't promote a new team because of just one good result, as it was with the Banglas' victory against Pakistan in 99. As Sidhu would say, this is a case of a fly sitting on a chariot and say, "My, what dust I have raised!" when the chariot raised all the dust! Kenya will definitely have to wait a little longer.
Bangladesh have only won five out of 95 ODI's that they have played. They only have one centrion, and have been shot out exactly 7 times for less than 100, and have only got 250 or more four times. Their Test record is even worse. They have not won a single Test, and have lost 28 out of 31. Worse, two of the three matches they saved were due to the intervention of rain, and they may not have been so lucky had the West Indians held on to their catches.
Ever since Zimbabwe lost their best players, they have been a laughing stock of international cricket. An out-of-form Lankan side rolled them over, and shot them out first for 136, then for 35. Their batting seems to be dependent only on a man or two, and none of their bowlers are of strike bowler quality. Doube tons are scored quite often, with two double-grabbers in the same XI! Even Marvan Atapattu has smashed them- he actually hit a few sixes! Kenya, as a team, who were not too far from Test status, are going downhill rapidly. The less said of the old West Indian extras playing for the US, the better.
It brings back the annoying, but crucial question- is the minnow issue handled properly? Is the game benefiting by giving these teams chances? Do they really deserve to play in the big league? Should there be a two-tier system? Should the ICC try its best to shed the elitist image of cricket by getting more raw teams?
Those who feel for the minnows think that they need the international experience, at this level, to improve. They need to get more contries interested. Even some of the top teams took some time to win their first Test- India took 31, while New Zealand took 44. Even the performance of the Zimbabweans and Lankans has been very good, and better than theirs, as improving teams. Maybe it is 32nd time lucky for Bangladesh. They may be right.
But for how long? After all, those teams were improving. They learnt from their mistakes, their experience was helpful only because they put in more effort. But the same cannot be said of today's minnows. Bangladesh, in particular, are not getting better. In fact, they're only getting worse. The purpose of the discussion is not to ridicule minnow teams. Look at the number of innings defeats. Or even defeats by 10 wickets, or 200 runs. Why big league teams, they are even losing to A-teams, and other teams that are not even playing Tests. Former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu asked loudly on NDTV 24x7's "Cricket Controversies", where this issue was discussed- can they even defeat club sides?
In fact, when asked by ESPNSTAR's presenter, Wasim Akram had given up on them, saying that they're consistently playing badly, so you cannot do anything but criticise them. Even with the revolutionary coach Dav Whatmore, who took the Lankans to victory in the 96 World Cup, they're not improving, and Akram had again got it right when he said that coaching this team is really, really tough.
It adversely affects the image of the country's cricket, so much that jokes may be made on them. The people of Bangladesh may not even be supporting their team anymore, given their nonexistent chances of winning a match. That's not good for a team at all. Even sponsors would shy away from a series involving them, since nobody, not even their supporters, would watch them play.
But relegating these teams to a second tier would be too negative. Rather than cure the problem, you're running away from it. More practical but less drastic moves are required. A possible solution would be to make them play more against A-teams, and against other developing nations. Sidhu said that they were believing their doubts and doubting their beliefs. They have to get used to winning matches, or at least performing better- scoring more runs, taking more wickets, saving more runs and taking catches that matter. They should be kept away from the top teams, and should play only once a year against one of them, if the calendar demands it.
But a lesson well learnt is that you shouldn't promote a new team because of just one good result, as it was with the Banglas' victory against Pakistan in 99. As Sidhu would say, this is a case of a fly sitting on a chariot and say, "My, what dust I have raised!" when the chariot raised all the dust! Kenya will definitely have to wait a little longer.
