If you play a T20 game, they will come. Not!

Does the format of the game really matter? A T20 international is being played today in the West Indies and no one is there to watch it. Why does the world resent Indian "domination" of the game when they can't be bothered watching it, no matter what the format?

Inshallah, we will win in the Caribbean

Back to bilateral international cricket, that species of the game, which increasingly finds it harder to justify itself if not part of a long-running rivalry. The West Indies and Pakistan square off today and it says something for the fall of West Indies cricket that one is not more excited. For these two teams have provided, in the past, some of the greatest test series of modern times. They are unlikely to provide any of the cricket or the intensity of those series in in the current encounter.

For one thing, the two teams present the cricketing face of two of the most dysfunctional cricket boards in the world and always manage to show traces of those forces that have systematically undermined the game for them. Pakistan still retains some of their flair; the West Indies struggle more than they do to bring their older panache and verve to the pitch.

Even more depressingly for this fan, the Caribbean does not seem to provide the right atmosphere at the ground either. Something has gone missing; and all the music over the PA, the banners, do not help. If anything they serve to remind us of the constructed nature of the excitement.

Still, I'll watch (if willow.tv, who deserve a scathing post on their own, can get their act together). Inshallah, some good cricket might just show up. A new Pakistani quick might decide to make an appearance (as you can tell, I haven't bothered to check team rosters); the West Indies might implode even more spectacularly. Cricket can feature a car-wreck or two as well as anything else.

Cricket in Florida, oh my!

A new post on the significance of the NZ-Sri Lanka T20 series in Florida is up at Different Strokes. I'm excessively optimistic at times and perhaps there are traces of that on display in this piece.

Sense and nonsense to kick things off

India versus South Africa gets underway in the World Cup T20:

Two little nuggets of wisdom from the captains in the usual pre-match cliche-fest. In response to Shastri's inane "what would you be comfortable chasing", Smith says "as little as possible." And MS Dhoni points out that one of the benefits of playing yesterday was that he got a chance to work on his field placings (in a larger field).

And Murali Vijay has just gone ahead and ruined the start by hanging his bat out to dry on the very first delivery that comes his way. I've now seen him get out a few times in ways that make him look absolutely clueless against the quicks. Too early to tell, but I hope he gets his head sorted out.

Karthik, meanwhile, looks sadly clueless. What has happened to this young man, who started off so promising but seems to have lost his way a bit.

India-Afghanistan early thoughts

Early days in the Afghanistan-India game (well,perhaps not, because Afghanistan are already batting into their 14th over). Noor Ali is an impressive bat; he strokes the ball well, and has some good power and timing. Asghar Stanikzai and him have put on 51 runs in some eight overs; very good going indeed. Whatever happens from here on in, Afghanistan have not disgraced themselves at all. And they still have a chance to cause a few flutters by taking some early Indian wickets.

The contrast between this World Cup game and the IPL couldn't be greater. Everything is much quieter, the PA music system is relatively muted, and of course, the commentators aren't yelling as much (to be fair, commentators can work themselves into a frenzy when the crowd sound is loud and that is not the case here). And this is a day-game, in contrast to IPL games, most of which were at night. Lastly, its nice to see sixes and catches called as that.

I look forward to seeing Afghanistan in a 50-over game.

Some World Cup thoughts

Given my unlikely-to-change preference for international cricket over that featuring franchises, I'm anticipating the T20 World Cup quite eagerly (it also helps that the timezones work for me). There are, I think, several other reasons to do so. Firstly, I'm hoping the World Cup makes conversations about cricket to be just about the game (much as I like talking about cricket in context, sometimes I like just thinking about bat and ball). Secondly, I'm keen to see whether there are perceptible differences caused by IPL participation - will IPL players be fatigued, or burned out, or just more match-ready and savvy? (In this regard, I'm especially curious to see how India do, given the less-than-ideal team selection). Lastly, the pitches in the Caribbean are likely to be slow and low and possibly less conducive to big hitting. This could mean an increased role for spinners, or less appetizingly, for slow-medium trundlers. Let's hope it's the former.

The T20 World Cup is a good model for a major cricket tournament in today's cricket world: it is short, sweet and competitive after a slightly low-key start (and in the case of India, even that is not the case, given the off-the-field significance of their game against Afghanistan). Like many other folks, I would not mind a cricket world in which the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy alternated every year (i.e., a major limited-overs tournament involving all nations every year). It enables talk of bragging rights amongst the major nations on a regular basis in this arena and would greatly increase the significance of the other limited-over games played (hopefully as part of bilateral series) the rest of the year.

Jaya and SRT - old farts rule

So whatever one's feelings about the IPL, there is something quite amazing about the idea of Jayasuriya and Tendulkar opening together in a T20 game (in any game, really). When I think of these two, I always think of the 1996 World Cup. Fourteen years on, and they're opening in a "young man's game." Respeck maan.

On another note, this is the confusion-inducing side of the IPL. It's hard to cheer for Delhi while these two are batting.

Chris Gayle and test cricket

Is West Indies cricket a basket-case? Is the Pope Catholic?

Now that that is settled, lets talk a bit about Chris Gayle. On the face of it, a test captain talking about the stresses of the job in the middle of a test series is no big deal. Other test captains have done it before (my encylopedic knowledge of test cricket history fails me at this moment, but I know its been done). What bothers most people is the expressed preference for T20 cricket over test cricket (in the middle of a test series). Now that really seems to indicate Gayle's mind is not on the job. And given the context of his late arrival for the test series from a T20 tournament, the IPL, its made worse. The proverbial last straw of course, is that Gayle's comments have been made in the middle of a test series against England, in England, in the glare of the spotlight of a media that has appointed itself the Defenders of the Faith when it comes to test cricket. But I'm a bit of a Defender of the Faith itself when it comes to test cricket, so whats the story here? What judgment shall we pass on Gayle? (Passing judgment is fun; I highly recommend it to all and sundry: do it at least once a day, and preferably more often if possible).

Here is mine: Gayle showed a poor sense of timing. That's about it. I think he rates test cricket highly and takes it seriously. His expression after the win in Kingston over England earlier this year spoke volumes about what he thinks about tests. If you are a serious cricketer (and despite his hang ten demeanor, Gayle is a pretty serious cricketer, rest assured), you have to have figured out that test cricket is the highest form of the game and that winning a test is a big deal. At the same time, its not surprising that a man dealing with a board like the WICB, which arranged a two-test series which counts as a Wisden Trophy defense so early in the English season after West Indian players had signed their IPL contracts, and an English captain thats sniping at him, would get a little snippy.

But if Gayle loves test cricket, why is expressing a preference for T20? Well, fundamentally, (besides the ludicrous variance in the time spent versus money earned equations for test cricket and T20 cricket) if I was made to play on the lame roads that are now routinely prepared for test cricket, I would be indicating a preference for T20 pretty darn quick. Test cricket suffers worldwide from dead pitches (and a host of other factors, but this is a good one to start with) and its stars have to be frustrated by a situation in which their efforts come to a nought because of the obsession of the world's boards with preparing pitches that 'go the distance' without considering that this might be killing the golden goose.

And its being killed, no fear. I'm a bit of a Cassandra when it comes to this matter, and there'll be plenty more to say about this because this discussion isn't going away.