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Commentator, television presenter and writer
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Time for the unknowns to shine
The Champions League offers a world stage to those who never thought they'd get one. Let's hope we can enjoy a clean tournament
September 10, 2010
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In its deepest strife cricket looks towards its youngest - and in the eyes of many its most vulnerable - sibling to bring a smile to its fans and proprietors. It is a great opportunity for the Champions League Twenty20 and for those who will turn up full of hope and expectation to play in it. For many of them this will be their moment in the sun, so far either denied or beyond them. Therein lies the essence of club sport.
Two of the happiest moments in the first Champions League were provided by Cornelius de Villiers and Alfonso Thomas. Cricket must give them too the opportunity to frame their exploits and display them.
And so I am hoping to be part of a happy tournament. Hopefully one free of villains who entice and villains who succumb; from bumbling bureaucrats and ridiculous conspiracy theories; from the sleaze that breaking news is married to. I am hoping to see the wonderful eruption of joy that Trinidad & Tobago experienced, and infected us with, last year. Already a step has been taken in that direction with the government of Guyana coming forward to sponsor their side.
This is the little man's opportunity on the big stage; the moment when he can land an upper cut on the big star and maybe even fell him. Cricket is about them too.
But the Champions League also faces a test. Television has invested hugely in international club sport but loyalties take long to build. Supporting your nation is the easier and more natural way. It will take time but we must persevere. Hopefully the ambiguity of who players truly belong to will soon be addressed, and the IPL won't be seen as the ugly big brother kidnapping players away and forcing them to play against their home clubs. Hopefully we will get to where football has, where it is okay for a kid from Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas, to play for a London club against his home town.
| Hopefully cricket will get to where football has, where it is okay for a kid from Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas, to play for a London club against his home town | |||
And South Africa is a good venue. They know how to handle events, to produce good pitches; and their spectators enjoy good sport. The Champions League is being played very early in their season and these are fresh pitches that, having enjoyed their siesta, will now have men trampling over them all over again. Their character could well hold the key to the success of the tournament. Last year when the Champions Trophy was played there, Centurion produced an excellent surface, while the Wanderers, after sporting a spiteful look initially, settled down too. Everyone would like to see wickets with good bounce and carry for that helps batsmen and bowlers alike. It produces 140-150 kind of games, which are always good fun, like a 270-280 game over 50 overs.
It may seem that South African teams will be favoured, but that need not be the case. Both at the first World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy, played around the same time of the year, the home team promised much and delivered little to their fans. The only difference I can see is that there will be players from the subcontinent who are still a little short of international class and they might struggle. Having said that, they could be compensated for by the other stars that the IPL money allows.
The first game could well provide an indicator for the rest of the tournament. The powerful Mumbai Indians take on the unexpected qualifiers from South Africa, the Highveld Lions, on their home ground. If the Lions can produce an upset, it could set the stage for South African teams. A good Twenty20 side is not necessarily a collection of stars but of committed multi-skilled players. South Africa have many of those.
But the Indian teams should be better prepared after the embarrassment of the first Champions League. There is now greater bonding, even though this will be the last time they play together, and the young guns, just below international level, have seen a bit more of life and the game. If they are defensive about their chances it will betray their mindset, for on paper they have the best balance.
And don't forget the next IPL auction is a mere month and a half away. Uncapped players will be hoping to attract attention and get the kind of payday that Tyron Henderson did. So, you see, there is much to play for but nothing can be bigger than the opportunity to tell the devotees that they play a clean sport.
Harsha Bhogle is a commentator, television presenter and writer. His Twitter feed is here
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Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle is one of the world's leading cricket commentators. Starting off as a chemical engineer and going on to work in advertising before moving into television, he is also a writer, quiz host, television presenter and talk-show host, and a corporate motivational speaker. He was voted Cricinfo readers' "favourite cricket commentator" in a poll in 2008, and one of his proudest possessions is a photograph of a group of spectators in Pakistan holding a banner that said "Harsha Bhogle Fan Club". He has commentated on nearly 100 Tests and more than 400 ODIs.
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Two thoughts - (A) Harsha's recent columns have a lot in common: 1) "The importance of Kumble" (20 Aug 2010) is mentoring centric; "Shape Up or Ship Out" (28 May 2010) talks of mentoring; so does, "Who is mentoring the players" (04 Jun 2010). Contrast it with, "Go figure it out yourself" (7 May 2010), which claims young players are unable to think on their own due to excessive interference from coaches. 2) "The case of missing teeth" (23 Jul 10) conveys what "Where are India's bowlers" (25 Jun 10) aims to say. (B) While "Cricket cannot afford meaningless games" (27 Aug 10) labels India-SL-NZ ODI tri-series as meaningless, this piece affords CLT20 world stage status despite non-representation by Eng (T20 world champs) and Pak (past world champs)! Hmmm... talking of a stage for unknowns to excel, one can but feel for the inability of winners/runners-up of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (India's domestic T20 championship) to represent India, whereas some have luxury of choosing from 2/3 teams.
Posted by fastcrew on (September 13 2010, 09:41 AM GMT)@eomer17 U just got pwned. I agree with Runster1. Population may be a slight factor; but not a major one. you cant use this as an argument to support your chicken restaurant league...lol. ride of to gondor. thats funny.
Posted by Runster1 on (September 13 2010, 09:38 AM GMT)@eomer17 + sanks555 your argument is completely irrelevant. so wat if it india has a 1 billion population? What about china? Why dont they have a major sports league that has 40 000+ crowds? They have a pop. of 1 billion! So, i think both of your two should think of something better to say. There are also many things that STOP 1 billion people following one singer sports league; poverty and interest. Not every SINGLE person in india follows cricket: only a TV audience of 250 million does: which is very good compared to the cricket league called Big Bash...hmmm....how many people watch that...maybe a couple hundred in the last few minutes to make sure the nightmare has ended and a lot better leagues like AFL can start in Australia? Btw, eomer, i think you shud ride of to gondor with gandalf than talk about leagues u dont knw.Sanks555, uncovered meaning they have become recognised in many countries where IPL is followed: players like rayudu, tiwary, jakarti etc.
Posted by eomer17 on (September 12 2010, 14:50 PM GMT)"India has a population of 1 billion and hence, it is easy to fill stadiums." BANG ON!!!
Posted by Sanks555 on (September 12 2010, 09:14 AM GMT)last time I checked NSW didnt even make the champions league, so they cant be that good now can they? ----- The other teams in Australia are almost all equally good. And as mentioned many NSW players were doing international duty.
Posted by Sanks555 on (September 12 2010, 09:07 AM GMT)i do admit that the IPL has uncovered some talented indian domestic cricketers. ------- I would like to know the names of some of them. Firstly, what do you mean uncovered? These players were playing badly in other domestic tournaments but played well in IPL? Or they played well in other domestic tournaments and played well in IPL? In both cases as they were playing domestic cricket before, how come they were uncovered. FPT20 is also much better than IPL. India has a population of 1 billion and hence, it is easy to fill stadiums. The quality of cricket or lack of it is seen in India's performance in international T20 matches and CLT20.
Posted by Rivaldoooo on (September 12 2010, 08:47 AM GMT)Nice article. Do you think the teams are not evenly matched and this may result in not so competative tournament ?
Posted by Jim1207 on (September 12 2010, 07:54 AM GMT)@gr8_Sachin_fan: Do you enjoy batting only if an innings is without a life and it results in a win? Is that the way you see Cricket and if so who is your fav. cricketer in your terms? Sachin has been playing test cricket and vacationing during ODI series. If he is not available, XI players need to make India win and you cannot blame a person who is not in the XI for team losing, if that's the case how long would Sachin play and would India not needed to win after Sachin retires? Does it bother you that after few weeks' vacation, Sachin comes and play a wonderful innings in very first game?
Posted by Runster1 on (September 12 2010, 06:22 AM GMT)@eomer17 I agree with fastcrew. I dont wanna argue with you. You can watch your big bash. I never mentioned anything about "IPL talents" but i do admit that the IPL has uncovered some talented indian domestic cricketers. "More Aussie internationals"; The only two Australians that played well this IPL were Bollinger and symonds. Hayden, gilchrist, warne etc played below average. Their performances actually DEGRADED the quality of cricket played in the IPL. I never bagged your so called "Big Bash talents"; I only insulted the pathetic league they play for.
Posted by Jim1207 on (September 12 2010, 03:01 AM GMT)@Sanks555 & @thebrownie: Harsha mentioned that repeated ODIs between India and SL and NZ - when NZ is also going to play 5 ODIs later this year - are boring and not needed. In'tl Club competition is must for cricket to grow and only T20 provides so. Cricket also needs some revenue so 3 weeks of club T20 is not a waste, if some people don't like this concept, they should not watch, that's it. Would you like club test or ODI competition to happen instead adding to the already congested FTP?