Cricket's past is its best future

It has been a hundred years of cricket's governing body. Commemorating a century if the ICC , Tehelka, the Indian weekly magazine, has attempted to deal with a history which is encyclopaedic, a history that generates an intense passion.

Despite 100 years of a tumultuous journey, cricket still thrills millions, says ICC president David Morgan looking back on the century that shaped international cricket.

Cricket’s survival lies in its social meaning, not business opportunities, says Brian Stoddart, author of Saturday Afternoon Fever. The writer believes the men who matter should cut some of the top-tier games and focus on local clubs.

Tradition is a powerful force in most cultures and protecting tradition in cricket is important in order to guarantee it a future. Most tours now, however, do little to stimulate local interest. Ashes tours of old, in both England and Australia, had a series of state and county matches that were well-attended and gave good exposure to a wider range of players. They attracted more people to matches at cheaper prices. Tradition comes at a premium these days – a ticket to a day at the Lords test now costs more than $100. We need to have more people watching at lower prices if cricket is to remain a relevant and accessible sport.

In the same edition former ICC president Ehsan Mani says the IPL and Twenty20 cricket are changing how the game does business. It is a case of overkilling the golden goose?

MCC president Tony Lewis asks, is there place for the game's original custodians in the Twenty20 world of today?

Adam Chadwick, curator of the MCC musuem, says the history of the gentleman’s game must be compiled and chronicled.

Tehelka's editor Tarun J Tejpal says cricket today reflects the frenetic, fleeting nature of our times.

It is tight, tinselly and explosive – designed, in an age of hype, marketing and advertising, for television. In an age devastated by the whims of the mythic audience — the collective spectator — it pursues the spirit of entertainment above the spirit of excellence and contest. The bowler is no longer Hadlee or Holding. He is just a bunny boy who sets up the sixers that the helmeted batsmen can send flying into stands of screaming fans. In an age leached of all centralities, in which 24-hour news has made everything a blur, it caresses at no memory, merely fuels desire. Millions of my generation can recall, 30 years later, every great innings of Sunny Gavaskar, every great spell of Bedi and Chandra. Not one of today’s will be able to tell you what happened in the match between India and Australia month before last.