'Third world' facilities

From Shishir Dwivedi, India
Although one might be led to believe Matthew Hayden's comments on India being a "third world" country have become more of a norm these days between enemy camps; more so if the camps concerned are those of India and Australia. With the Aussies, it has always been sort of a tradition to take a dig at the opposition before the start of an important series. Be it a Glenn McGrath singling out his bunny-to-be, or predicting a 3-0 or 5-0 scoreline,or a Steve Waugh playing mental disintegration tactics, or a Ricky Ponting boasting about their "New Age Cricket". But more recently (and quite surprisingly). India have taken a leaf out of the Aussie book and have started giving them back as good as they get.

It all started back in 2001 when Sourav Ganguly got to Steve Waugh's nerves. His simple but effective ways of irritating Waugh (by turning up for the toss late, or wearing the track suit instead of the team blazer for the same) really frustrated Waugh to no end. And by the end of that series Waugh admitted that Ganguly was a tough nut to crack. The foundations for a great rivalry, on and off the field, were laid. Since then each BG series has produced not just fascinating cricket to watch but also quotable quotes to quote and listen to. But while these verbal (or mental) battles were healthy for a brief period of time, the acrimonious Sydney test at the start of this year changed it all.

Since then the remarks from both sides have been either sarcastic, or satiric or clearly insinuating. Kumble quoting a famous quote first uttered by an Australian captain - Bill Woodfull- "There were two teams out there today and one of them was trying to play cricket", after the Sydney test definitely irked the Aussies so much that they were itching to get back at the Indians. Hayden first called Bhajji an "Obnoxious Little Weed" and later apologised. When the Aussies touched Indian shores for the latest series, Ponting was quick to point out that Indians played an outdated version of Test cricket. But the Indians were not going to stay quite either. Sehwag first accused the Aussies of "cheating" in Sydney. Zaheer and even the usually diplomatic Laxman took a dig each at the Aussies' negative approach.

Meanwhile, Gilchrist lambasted Sachin in his autobiography. Symonds did the same to Bhajji in his book. And the most arrogant of them all, Mr Ricky T. Ponting, whose book is the latest to have hit the stands, pulled even Sunny Gavaskar into the murky waters. His arrogance is so profound that he even failed to acknowledge India's gradual ascent in world cricket and labeled Dhoni's men "fit only for T20". Well, maybe, as rightly pointed out by Harbhajan, while Ponting and his men were busy writing their books, Dhoni's men were busy preparing for the upcoming series. The result is there for everyone to see.

I understand its difficult to acknowledge that you are not the best anymore. Especially after being at the summit for such a long period of time as the Aussies have. But comments like "There is so much luck involved in this shortened form of the game; it's not always going to be the best team that wins" or "Teams that are outclassed in five-day matches and even 50-over games are much more competitive in Twenty20. India offer a good example of this", only highlight his arrogance and refusal to admit the truth.

Clearly (and fairly by all means), it was Ponting's team that was thoroughly outclassed in the recent series. And they were also defeated in the 50 over format VB series earlier this year. But Ponting is not the only proud man. Matthew Hayden, as soon as returning to the safe haven Down Under, blamed his team's defeat and failure to meet the over rates on the poor facilities and various distractions caused during games because of India being a third world country. It was no surprise that the remarks generated strongest of reactions from the Indian captain, BCCI personnel and others but none so more than those by Wasim Akram who retorted by terming Australia as being "no more than a village" and India being "hundreds of years ahead of Australia".

Hayden, although, has since clarified that he didn't mean to disrespect the nation and everything. But it made me ponder. Isn't what he said is actually true?

We are a prestigious nation. And we are proud of it. But that doesn't change the fact that we ARE a third world country. A majority of us still live below the poverty line. We are a non-aligned country. And our economy is still developing. But, this is in the literal sense. What about the cricketing sense? Well, we are a third world country even from that perspective. Ironic, isn't it? Considering that the BCCI perhaps has more money than all the other major cricket boards put together. And that is because India is still underdeveloped in terms of cricketing infrastructure.

Hayden had a point when he said that there were invariably, delays and stoppages because people kept moving in front of the sight screens. In this age when even Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have moved to electronically controlled sight screens and score boards, India still persists with manual labor. And that's not it. Even the rollers and pitch covers are pulled on to the ground with six men at tow when mechanical machines are used for the same in the rest of the world. Forget super-soppers, in case of rains, we have numerous children running on to the ground with buckets and sponges in hand to dry the field. The media boxes at most of the venues are pathetic.

I've lost the count of the number of times the television broadcasters have complained to the BCCI about heir expensive equipment getting damaged due to poor facilities at the venues. The venues themselves paint a very sorry picture. The Green Park at Kanpur is a classic example. It looks more like a playground for children rather than a Test centre. The entrance walls are plastered with posters of local political leaders or cheap bhojpuri films. And the street that leads to the stadium smells like cattle feed. And the major venues are no better.

The Chinnaswamy at Bangalore is a sore to the eye with plastic chairs strewn all around at the end of a game. It needs a serious renovation. The Wankhede was a similar case till not too long ago and thankfully its being taken care of now. Most of the venues get ready for a game just hours before the start with some quick stop gap arrangements. Contrast this with the stadia in Australia or England or South Africa and you would have to think that Hayden is right.

Fortunately, there's a silver lining in the form of stadia like the PCA Mohali, or the Eden Gardens, or the brand new stadia at Nagpur and Hyderabad that are truly world class. Even the Motera in Ahmedabad has improved significantly in recent years and is now rated amongst the best in India. The FerozeShah Kotla has been renovated and the Wankhede is undergoing renovation. This shows that the BCCI is at least addressing the issue. But the ODI venues strewn all across the country are still substandard.

Unless the above mentioned problems are addressed at the earliest and sorted out, India will, unfortunately, remain a third world country.