The Surfer

It was an amazingly happy experience. He is energetic, positive, always there for you. We relaxed under him, with him, told ourselves that finally, this was just a game. We continually promised ourselves that we would give 100 per cent every time, there was no substitute for that, yet, we refused to let the pressure of situation get to us. We enjoyed ourselves, each other and at the end of the day, that showed.

Dhoni realises that leading Team India is going to be one of the most challenging jobs in world cricket. "Yes, I think it is. It seriously is, I am telling you," he says. To be sure, along with startling reflexes and wrists of supple steel that defies coaching-book proprieties, the 26-year-old brings a native sense of humour that will help him in the teeth of the storms and the stresses that go with the job.

Before he became captain, I had asked him how badly he wanted it. He told me: "Let it be clear I have not told you. But I want it very badly. Then the kingmaker is in Kolkata." This was a reference to Jagmohan Dalmiya. Now the kingmaker is in Mumbai and that, too, a government bigwig. He wants Tendulkar as captain. And so does the chairman of the selection committee. So Rahul decided he had better go as it would not take much to relieve him of the responsibility. That he had a relatively poor run of scores in England enabled him to trot out the excuse that he needs to concentrate on his batting.

There are two clear messages from South Africa for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The first is that the time may be just right to consider easing out the old guard. The other is that the BCCI must not allow this Twenty20 triumph to lead to a slow cannibalisation of Test cricket.

Arguably, Twenty20 is better in small doses but it has stated its case impressively and now must be part and parcel of the program. Apart from anything else, helped by a notably cheerful commentary team, it makes entertaining television.

There is no time to think, just do what comes naturally. Veteran commentator and former England batsman David Lloyd went as a far as describing the celebrations as unprecedented on a cricket field. This sheer delight in winning a tournament most people dismissed can only be a good thing for a sport that hasn't had much to cheer about recently.

Not only was the game different, but the team was unlike those past. Its members played fast and furious. They danced victoriously on the cricket pitch. At news conferences, they spoke Hinglish, a mongrel of Hindi and English that has become the lingua franca of the young small-town Indian.

There is no shame in this defeat even though it might be at the hands of Pakistan’s biggest rivals. Malik and Lawson have revived Pakistan as a force in world cricket. It is an era begun with energy, passion, discipline and much excitement.

The ICC can no longer ignore the popularity of the shortest form and needs to accommodate the wishes of their fanatical paying public. This injection is exactly what the game needs to rejuvenate the sport and whilst Test cricket needs to be protected and preserved, the relatively sluggish 50 over game can step aside and allow the new pretender centre stage.

So the administrators have a hit on their hands, a hit that will reverberate. We have already seen the best-case scenario: a successful tournament still tinged with novelty.

The lion's share of this credit must go to Chris Adams, a brilliant man and fine leader. I wonder how often he and Yorkshire wonder about destiny, for last winter he had all but signed the papers that would take him from Hove to Headingley. It will irk him to have let them down but his instinct was right to stay put.