It is refreshing to see Rudi Koertzen lash out against criticisms about the standards of umpiring in the just concluded Lords Test. Rather than meekly submitting to the critics, he went after the players for putting umpires in a tight spot. And that's an angle often left out.
Maybe 'coz the rules say that the player is out when the umpire raises his index finger. That's the letter of the law. More so in sports than elsewhere, the letter is woefully inadequate when not supplemented by the right spirit. And today's cricket is short on spirit. Way short. Plus, the popularity of T20 and IPL may just expedite the degeneration of the game into a dreadful cousin of American pro sports.
Not to say that pro sports are drab – I am hooked to NFL – but they get to you beyond a point. If you poll football fans in the US about their preference for NFL v/s college football, the response will be in the favor of the latter, and overwhelmingly so. Mostly 'coz college games are not "pro". Of course, we all know the kids have an eye on NFL drafts and the big sums, but for the moment, they are attached to their school. It is also what our cricketers feel when playing for the nation. And it is precisely this passion and energy that IPL sucks out. IPL will remain a great entertainer, but after a few seasons, it will turn farcical like the American pro sport scene. Players will be sold, bought, traded and it will become an exercise in sports entertainment, with the latter becoming more pronounced.
Tailpiece: This is one of those rare occasions, as rare as yesterday's eclipse (sorry, couldn't resist that), where TOI has found favor w/ me. For a very selfish reason, naturally. The thoughts in their editorial about Dr. Kalam's frisking incident echo my ramblings from the other day.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Frisk-everybody-/articleshow/4809462.cms
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