Friday, Nov 08, 2002
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Cricket
By Vijay Lokapally
PICTURE OF PANDEMONIUM: Bottles strewn on the pitch by agitated spectators almost turned the Keenan Stadium, the venue of the first one-day International between India and West Indies, into a battlefield. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan
The One-day international match between India and the West Indies was nearly abandoned on Wednesday when the Match Referee, Mr. Mike Procter, observed the situation was dangerous for the game to continue. That it resumed was a miracle. The teams deserved the accolades for their courage. If the Board, and Jamshedpur, and Indian cricket as a whole were spared a greater ignominy, they had none but the two teams to thank. Even as thugs in the stands took law into their hands and brought disgrace upon themselves and this Steel City, the policemen watched. Just as they had watched the match. One remembers a similar incident at Gwalior when the television camera caught some policemen relaxing even as trouble erupted in the stands. The errant cops were reportedly suspended later. The same ought to apply at Keenan stadium where some police officers and members of the organising committee blissfully ignored their duties. Worse, the police, the Bihar Cricket Association and the Tata officials passed the blame on each other. Police has, over the years, repeatedly failed in its duties at cricket matches mainly because it deputes ill-trained men for the job. Its authoritarian working at Kolkata recently was a glaring example of the rot that has set in as one was left at the mercy of the ill-mannered cops. The high-handedness of the policemen is supported by incompetent cricket officials, what with the Board being taken over by self-projecting agents in the garb of cricket promoters. Needs no promotion here The Board has hardly helped improve its image by carrying cricket to far-flung venues. Cricket does not need to be promoted in India. It is way ahead of other sport in terms of popularity. This politics of garnering votes through distribution of matches to small, and in most cases, undeserving associations, has lowered the image of the Board. Imagine a team like Australia or England suffering a similar fate as the West Indies at Jamshedpur. The Board would have had lot of explaining to do. In any case, the venue would have been rejected because of the hard travelling schedule_flying from from Kolkata to Ranchi and then driving four hours to Jamshedpur. The Match Referee, Mr. Mike Procter, may submit his report to the International Cricket Council but it would hardly affect the functioning of the Board. Cricket matters come secondary to this Board. Just take a look at the appointments made to some important committees and posts and also the so-called move to improve the state of the pitches in the country. The Board has set up a few ambitious committees recently to take care of specific roles aimed at improving the image of the Board and the game but has mostly packed the same with wrong people. What to say of the spectators in the country, with the exception of the sporting public of Chennai, which gives a standing ovation to the opposition when it wins. The character of cricket watchers has undergone a big change over the years. How do students deserve concessional tickets when the same enclosure pelts players and television crew with missiles and bottles. It spoke of the degeneration of values as plastic bottles rained over a lady producer of the television team as she walked past the students enclosure at the Keenan Stadium. That shameful act should have set the policemen scurrying to identify the culprits but the situation was allowed to deteriorate to a stage where Harbhajan Singh, greeted with thunderous applause in the morning, was at the receiving end by the evening after he misfielded on one occasion and bowled poorly. So much for the passionate following of the game where only winners are hailed and not gallant losers. How could such unpleasant elements be termed passionate followers of the game? The spectators were geared up to savage their heroes simply because they were losing to a team which clearly had played better cricket. After all it was just a cricket contest and nothing more. Cricket is all about crass commercialisation in India with marketing agents giving it a rosy picture mainly to support their cause. When it comes to cricket matters, there is little to rave about. Genuine lover gets a raw deal The genuine cricket lover is always left in the lurch as police, politicians and cricket officials connive to make the most of such occasions. Take the example of `Uncle' Lester Armoogam, the portly supporter of West Indies cricket. Lester was honoured by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for his services recently. He has been travelling with the West Indies team as a supporter since the days of Garry Sobers and, thanks to a token of appreciation by the WICB, is in proud possession of a life-long complimentary ticket to watch cricket at all venues in the Caribbean from a vantage position. On his first visit to India, Lester has been watching cricket from obscure spots. The Board, aware of his presence here, could have well extended a similar facility to Lester. A seat in the club house for a single supporter from the West Indies could not have been a tough ask for the cricket promoters in this country. Incidentally, the sporting Lester is not complaining and is enjoying signing more autographs than the cricketers. Talking of cricket officials, not all are guilty. It can be frustrating for them at times as policemen take over the charge in the name of providing security. In uniform, they have free access to the game. Jaipur, Kanpur, Delhi, Kolkata are some prime notorious venues in a long list where policemen hijack the organisation and drive the cricket officials away with their autocratic functioning. But then the Board needs to have the right men to deal with such people. Returning to the security measures, as it happens overseas, strict checking measures at the gate can deter the mischief-makers, provided the law enforcing agencies take their job seriously. Why not mark every seat in the stadium? It would expose the number of policemen who turn up just to watch the match. The Board officials who travel overseas rarely seem to learn. It is also a shame that the central accreditation system of the Board does not work in the backyards of the Board president. Imagine, not being allowed to carry newspapers in the name of security threat to the players. They contribute towards making bonfires we were told. This happened at Kolkata. But few were stopped from carrying matchboxes which could be used to set the game's reputation on fire. As it happened at Keenan Stadium. The cricket officials will have to find a way to prevent needless police presence at the venue. And the police too must have trained personnel for such occasions. It was comical when a gun-totting securityman failed to recognise a top Indian cricketer when he stepped out of his hotel room to receive us and demanded his identity. It would certainly help the Board if it gives the responsibility of manning the gates and controlling the crowd to a private agency with meaningful assistance from the local police. Cricket can be watched a lot peacefully without uncivilized policemen around. If their duty is only to watch the game, it need not be at the venue.
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