The Surfer

In the modern era, given the way cricket is played and administered, player welfare becomes a critical, if not the most important aspect, of cricket administration. Sadly, the BCCI isn't up to it. Or let's just say partly so, given that in this country player welfare is by and large seen through the sole lens of financial security. That view is no doubt is important, but in the big picture it serves more as an illusion than something concrete.

Financial security apart, the most important aspect of a sportsman's career is the accepted cycle of fitness and injury issues, and in today's circumstances that has become more acute than earlier. And this is where there is a need for the players to stand up and be heard on these issues - especially the ones involving scheduling particularly of needless commercially-motivated adventures largely driven by pre-decided obligations.

The IPL is a mass brand that appeals to everyone because of the exciting cocktail of cricket and entertainment it serves. The Ashes is different it is classy, exclusive and decidedly upmarket.

Whether the same holds for creating interest for events is somewhat less clear. The advertising for next month's Champion's League in South Africa is focussed more on Amitabh Bachchan than MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar. It is uncertain what the megastar is supposed to do. Is the purpose to increase viewership or is he trying to attract sponsors?

There are two Andy McKays. One is that rare breed, a late-blooming fast bowler who has impressed the Kiwi set-up with his raw pace following Shane Bond’s exit. The other is a more experienced physiotherapist, and the two are forever at odds waging the never-ending battle between good pain and bad pain. It’s a mental conflict many injury-ridden pacers would gladly foment.

On Sunday, Jadeja used his leftarm spin to beat the edge of Dhoni’s blade on a few occasions. This was shortly after the India skipper had reposed faith in Jadeja as the player who will do the job for India at No.7. The plan is to use Jadeja as the fifth bowler and hope that he clicks with the bat.

The severity of the problem of finding the elusive all-rounder can be gauged by the reluctance of the India team management to think beyond Jadeja at the moment because they feel there are no viable options. In case Jadeja’s bowling form fades, then India is planning to play a specialist batsman to fill the No.7 slot, a move that could backfire if the part-time bowlers, namely Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have a bad day.

India's mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton feels repeated injury can sometimes result from mental stress under pressure to perform, and Yuvraj has certainly struggled to make the seamless transition from good to great we all expected him to.

Some phases of his Test career have been nightmarish. In the tri-series here, he was back to fielding at point against New Zealand but pottered his way through a 25-ball five as India collapsed for under a 100 runs. It proved the ghosts of dodgy footwork and fragile temperament still linger.

For the moment, though, it is interesting to measure the team of 2010 against the one that walloped New Zealand and West Indies in 2004. And while marks may vary by a point or two here and there, depending on who is awarding them, most observers would agree, surely, that Strauss's current set still have ground to make up on their record-chasing predecessors.

The Rose Bowl is expected to be full, though there are those, including the Somerset chairman, Andy Nash, who think the concept of three Twenty20 matches in a day is outmoded. He believes three games in 10 hours denigrates the tournament and reduces the occasion's appeal.

"The final, supposedly our FA Cup, is actually played to a stadium either in the gradual process of emptying or containing large numbers of fans of defeated semi-finalists," Nash says. He would prefer a stand-alone final with the semi-finals taking place at county grounds, a format that would provide greater financial reward to the participating counties. Moreover, there is a strong argument that it is inappropriate to lurch into a prestigious final 90 minutes after completing a semi final.

The first requirement after this tragedy should have been to go to Sri Lanka and express public sorrow over this tragedy with some compensation for players but this is beyond the PCB officials who are more interested in their own foreign travels and the huge daily allowances that they earn. Example Ijaz’s numerous trips at PCB expense including the latest summer stay in England. Reportedly, he received $48000 as daily allowance during one year alone.

With the IPL, the Champions League and all the domestic Twenty20 competitions around the world, it's now quite possible for a player to have a long-term contract with absolutely no one, domestically or internationally. Australia's bad-boy all-rounder Andrew Symonds has already started to do this, after repeated disciplinary clashes with his national board. England's legendary Andrew Flintoff would probably do the same if he weren't injured all the time.

So the issue of who cricketers work for is no nearer to being resolved, except insofar as they definitely work for themselves. For the long-term future of domestic cricket in particular, that's not at all healthy.

That a one-day series then starts two days later is even more tough on the guys for that is even harder on the body than a Test match. Yes India is a team that most countries want to play, since there is so much more sponsorship for their boards when that happens, but that gives India all the chance to at least ensure that its players are given adequate break days between games. India has a busy season coming up culminating in the ICC World Cup and that is going to test the players physically and mentally.