Indian cricket falls from grace

CRICKET LOST more than it gained in a year which was expected to give the sport a thrust in the new millennium as technology played a significant role in the game's progress. Teams relying more and more on video tapes to study themselves and the oppositions and the ease with which the Australians worked out their challengers, especially the mystery of Saqlain Mushtaq's floater, gave a new dimension to the game. Run-making increasingly became difficult because of some innovative field settings, presenting the batsmen with more demands. The intrigue increased but at the end of the year cricket remained as fascinaitng as ever, even as the ghost of matchfixing scandals haunted the administrators.

The image of cricket suffered immensely as we discovered how it had been influenced by the dictats of the bookies and punters after an unsung cop from Delhi stumbled upon the greatest scandal the game had encountered. The dreadful reality that was matchfixing overshadowed some grand deeds on the cricket fields all over the world. Nothing pained the cricketing fraternity more than the life bans handed to Hansie Cronje and Mohammed Azharuddin, both acknowleged matchwinners, now recognised as matchfixers.

Australia's domination of world cricket was complete and unmatched; South Africa was quick to recover from the blows of matchfixing scandal to once again produce hard and entertaining cricket; the decline of West Indies and rise of England marked the change in power; the inconsistent Pakistanis and over-rated Indians encountered humiliation in contests even at home even as Zimbabwe, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, which emerged as the top team in one-day cricket, kept a steady profile; Bangladesh made an eventful entry to the Test arena.

Cricket, after being jolted by the nexus between cricketers and bookies, had begun to look up. The crowds were back - more than 70,000 for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne and overnight queues for entry to the stadium for an India-Zimbabwe one-day internationals. But it had all looked so gloomy in April.

It was a staggering blow to cricket when Cronje confessed to his guilt under an unprecendented media scrutiny. His guilt shook him at 3 in the morning as he informed his mentor Ali Bacher of his `crime' and what followed left the passionate supporters of the game in a state of shock. Azharuddin followed suit when he admitted to his misdeeds as the Central Bureau of Investigation came out with a startling report indicting a list of star cricketers from around the world.

The cricketers became target of ridicule and administrators battled to save the face of a game that is widely popular. The reactions in the sub-continent were understandably strong as icons were stripped of their image and then hounded by the media. It was a great fall from grace, especially for the likes of Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja.

The ugly discoveries of matchfixing threatened to bury the game under a heap and much was said of how other disciplines could make the most of it. The sponsors expressed apprehensions about their future involvement in cricket and there was disappointment around. But it turned out to be a passing phase.

Cricket was not to be denied its rightful place just because of a few guilty players and the revival was scripted at Nairobi which hosted the ICC mini World Cup. India and New Zealand came up with some wonderful stuff and cricket had risen from the ashes literally, if one could say so.

Even as the Indian team triggered off a passionate backing from its countrymen, and New Zealand crowned itself at Nairobi with its maiden international cricket title in limited overs, there was never any doubt that Australia was the combination which was respected the most.

The awesome record that Australia created, beating the West Indies' record of 11 consecutive Test victories, firmly established Steve Waugh and his men as vastly superior to their opponents in all respects. More than the record, the manner in which the Australians achieved it made a great impact on the discerning followers of cricket.

``At least 50 years ahead of us'' commented one Indian cricketer as Australia gave his team a sound pasting. A 3-0 caning was not a surprise as Australia whipped India inside three days in the first Test of the year at Sydney. It was a continuation of India's sob story on cricket fields abroad and it hardly showed a talented line-up in a good light. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad had failed to come to terms with the challenges that Australia offered and ended up being part of one of the worst campaigns abroad by a team which was known to be good only on home soil.

By losing to South Africa in both the Tests at home, India showed that it was far from being acknowledged as a quality side. The year started for India with a thrashing at Sydney and then the loss to South Africa. A poor show in the Asia Cup showed the team had not recovered from the matchfixing episode and it soon took its toll when Kapil Dev quit as a coach with one more year of his term remaining. The exit of Kapil was laced with controversy as he defended himself against allegations of being involved in fixing matches and the Board too came out poorly in its handling of the entire episode.

The Indian spirits soared following the performance in the ICC mini World Cup, where it was expected to make an early exit. But India took Australia and South Africa in its stride before being mauled by Chris Cairns in the final. Worse was to follow at Sharjah when Sourav Ganguly and his men were bundled out for a paltry 54, a shocking commentary on the mental preparation of the team

India's Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka brought more laurels to the latter which gave a good account of itself with Aminul Islam showing the way with a fabulous knock of 145. A silver lining for India was the wonderful work by its juniors who won the under-19 World Cup in Colombo. There was joy also in the arrival of talent like Shiv Sunder Das, Hemang Badani, Zaheer Khan, Vijay Dahiya, S. Sriram and Yuveraj Singh, the last mentioned not really living up to the early promise.

Steve Waugh was the man who made the most significant impact as he led his side most competently. Not that we doubted his credentials to marshall an immensely gifted and determined side but to translate it into a reality was what set Steve Waugh apart. The year confirmed his status as a leader, one of the most warm and decorated cricketers of the modern era.

Steve Waugh's ability to get the best out of his team led to Australia dominating the international scene most emphatically. Victories against India may not have looked sensational but it extended its supremacy to New Zealand and then gave the West Indians a lesson at home, finishing the matches in a canter.

Australia was setting new goals for itself even as the rest of the world grappled to come to terms with various challenges. The Indians were at a crossroad which demanded utmost discipline from the seniors and some consistency from the men who mattered.

There were little indications of the storm of matchfixing that was to change the face of the game when India prepared itself for the home series against South Africa. ``Champions at home'' was a label the Indians had prided themselves in but the team soon came to grief as South Africa won both the Tests. It was a series which highlighted Indian cricket's sorry state of affairs and it also sadly happened to be Azharuddin's last appearance in a Test- his 99th. What a coincidence that the Hyderabadi who boasted of a Test career which began with a century on debut signed off with a blazing hundred which failed to save the team from defeat. It also failed to protect his reputation.

While the Indians, losing three and winning two of the six Tests this year, failed at home too, the fortunes of English cricket witnessed a remarkable transformation. The team, derided by most, rediscovered the art of winning and the 3-1 series win against the West Indies, after losing the opening encounter, brought cheers back to a nation which introduced the world to this great game. England had begun the year in a remarkable fashion at Centurion Park when declarations by Cronje and Nasser Hussain set up a fascinating end to the Test. England won and set off a debate at the manner in which the result was reached.

At home, England brushed Zimbabwe aside, dealt with the West Indies in a professional manner in a series which saw Lord's staging its 100th Test and then it embarked on a historic trip to Pakistan, its first to that country in 13 years. After two draws, England ebmraced victory amidst darkness at Karachi as it chased glory in very poor light. It was England's first series win in Pakistan in 38 years and the revival had begun in right earnest under the stewardship of Hussain with adequate support from Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart, both reaching the 100-Test match during the eventful year.

West Indies presented a sad sight. The world beaters were reduced to a miserable state despite the decent record at home where it beat Zimbabwe 2-0 and stopped Pakistan at Antigua in a heart- stopping finish, the task being achieved with just one wicket to spare. West Indies' worst moment came at Headingley when it lost to England a Test in two days. The last time such an event had taken place was in 1945-46 when New Zealand succumbed to Australia at Wellington.

It was the debacle Down Under that brought forth the depth to which the Caribbean charmers had plummeted. Three successive defeats, despite Brian Lara coming good in one of the Tests, evoked sympathy for a side which had dominated world cricket so forcefully under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd and later Vivian Richards. West Indies had fallen on bad days and there were many who shed tears at their decline. It was a bad development for the game indeed.

South Africa reached its peak by conquering India in the away series and the 2-0 win against New Zealand at home was in keeping with its form. The biggest achievement for South Africa was not the victories on the cricket field but the manner in which it dealt with the matchfixing controversies.

The guilty were handed their punishments quickly so that the rest could get on with the game and it was indeed creditable of Shaun Pollock that he managed to carry the team into a new, clean era. South Africa's strength lay in its self-belief and the professional manner in which the team overcame the hardships to give its cricket a refreshing image.

Sri Lanka had a mixed year. It had two rousing victories over Pakistan at Rawalpindi and Peshawar after it began the series by losing at Karachi but when the teams met again, Sri Lanka came a cropper at home.

It lost at Colombo and Galle and the Sri Lankans continued to fail when South Africa beat them at Kandy. Sanath Jayasuriya and his boys had remained inconsistent as had been suspected even though the island nation had much to celebrate from the team's demolition of India, wich has the first ever non-Indian coach in John Wright, at Sharjah in the one-day competition.

New Zealand suffered at home at the hands of Australia, which won all the three Tests but it exceeded all expectations in winning the ICC mini World Cup. It was a fantastic demonstration of collective strength even though Chris Cairns and Roger Twose played the dominant roles for the Kiwis.

Zimbabwe, weakened by the opting out of Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin, had nothing new to offer and showed that it was yet to translate strong positions into winning ones. It lost to New Zealand at home but did well to draw the Test against India at Nagpur with Andy Flower cornering glory, thanks to a well-crafted double century.

Andy Flower was the leading performer for Zimbabwe as he finished third in the aggregate list for the year (966 runs with three centuries and four fifties at an average of 80.50).

On the individual front, Inzamam-ul-Haq led with a tally of 1090 runs from 12 Tests (19 innings) at an average of 60.56 (four centuries and six fifties) with Mike Atherton next at 990 runs from 12 Tests (21 innings) and an average of 49.50 (three centuries and five fifties). The others in the order (before the Boxing Day Tests) were Yousuf Youhana (839 runs), Jacques Kallis (744), Marvan Atapattu (712), Sanath Jayasuriya (696), Wavell Hinds (683), Jimmy Adams (669) and Mahela Jayawardene (635). Among the Indians, Rahul Dravid was 11th (624 runs) and Sachin Tendulkar 12th (575 runs). Brian Lara lay 21st.

The order among the bowlers (before the last Test's beginning on Boxing Day) was Muthiah Muralitharan (64), Courtney Walsh (64), Darren Gough (48), Glenn McGrath (39), Shaun Pollock (37), Andrew Caddick (37), Curtly Ambrose (36), Brett Lee (35), Waqar Younis (34) and Shayne O'Connor (28). Among the Indians, Javagal Srinath was 18th (21 wickets), Sunil Joshi 32nd (13 wickets), Anil Kumble 38th (12 wickets) and Murali Kartik 49th (nine wickets).

Sri Lanka had the best record in one-day cricket with 16 wins from 21 matches with Australia second at 15 wins from 21 matches. South Africa and Pakistan were the busiest, figuring in 41 matches each, to finish third and fifth while England was fourth after 11 wins in 21 matches. India finished a poor sixth, 15 wins in 34 matches, followed by New Zealand, West Indies, Bangladesh and Kenya.

Sourav Ganguly had a fabulous year in one-day internationals, slamming seven centuries for an aggregate of 1579 runs to lead the field with authority. He shone with the ball too even though he ended the year by sitting out the match at Rajkot following the ban imposed for showing dissent and trying to intimidate the umpire in the preceding match against Zimbabwe at Kanpur.

Abdur Razzaq and Shaun Pollock were the leading wicket-takers in limited overs cricket with 61 victims each. The best average was, yes, Glenn McGrath who took 36 wickets at 18.9 runs apiece. Ajit Agarkar did well to finish tenth in the tally while Jacques Kallis emerged the top all- rounder with a tally of 46 wickets at an average of 29.48 and an aggregate of 1300 runs with 11 half centuries and an average of 44.83.

The following is the list of top ten batsmen and bowlers for one- day internationals :

Batsmen (aggregate in bracket) : Sourav Ganguly (1579), Gary Kirsten (1467), Sachin Tendulkar (1328), Jacques Kallis (1300), Yousuf Youhana (1162), Inzamam-ul-Haq (1074), Roger Twose (1068), Rahul Dravid (980), Alistair Campbell (960) and Andy Flower (943). The other Indian among the top 50 was Robin Singh with 528 runs and he was the first to be shown the door.

Bowlers (wickets in bracket) : Abdur Razzaq (61), Shaun Pollock (61), Jacques Kallis (46), Lance Klusener (39), Glenn McGrath (36), Wasim Akram (36), Heath Streak (35), Muthiah Muralitharan (34), Brett Lee (34) and Ajit Agarkar (34).

The other Indians to figure among the top 50 were Anil Kumble (30), Venkatesh Prasad (30), Sachin Tendulkar (20), Sunil Joshi (19), Zaheer Khan (18), Javagal Srinath (15) and Sourav Ganguly (13).

The year was marked by McGrath's wonderful bowling in both the forms of cricket.

He reached the 300 mark in Tests, Lara being the victim, and celebrated it with a hat-trick. The year also saw Courtney Walsh become the highest Test wicket-taker and he gradually inched closer to the magical mark of 500 wickets.

The retirement of Curtly Ambrose, after he crossed the 400-wicket mark, and Arjuna Ranatunga, marked the end of an era as these two great cricketers played outstanding roles in their country's cricketing fortunes.

In the death of Lala Amarnath, Roy Fredricks and Colin Cowdrey, the game lost cricketers who were known to contribute immensely.

Towards the fag end of the year, we were treated to an astonishing public row between batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar and a former Board president.

It showed this self-proclaimed administrator, who had earlier ridiculed greats like Lala Amarnath, Mohinder Amarnath and Kapil Dev too, in very poor light.

That then highlighted the tragedy of Indian cricket-being dictated by egoistic cricket administrators, who seem to know more about the game than those glorious performers. And as one inched closer to the new year, the Board's obsession with a trip to Pakistan continued even as the Government categorically denied any re-thinking on the subject.

VIJAY LOKAPALLY,

New Delhi

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Australia's sway over West Indies continues
Next     : Punjab keeps Uttar Pradesh at bay