Lack of star power may short-circuit the ICL

If you’re a sports aficionado, a late-November game between the Lions and the Jets means a battle of attrition between two of American Football’s perennial strugglers. It’s not usually a match-up that you pencil into your calendar as a highlight of the sporting year, and there’s seldom much at stake other than professional pride.

But last Friday, at an obscure stadium on the outskirts of one of north India’s smaller cities, the Lions of Chandigarh and the Delhi Jets fought out a twenty-over game that could have far-reaching ramifications as far as the game of cricket is concerned.

There may have been only 6,000 people watching, but that represented a full house for the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, a far more modest venue than Ford Field or Giants Stadium.

As is the case with their North American namesakes, there were few marquee names on view. The Lions were led by Chris Cairns, the New Zealander who flirted with greatness throughout an injury-interrupted career, and also included the South African Andrew Hall, an effective all-rounder but hardly a show-stopper.

The Jets were captained by Sri Lankan Marvan Atapattu, a man who had a successful international career only after the most horrendous start imaginable – he scored one run in his first six Test innings. By twenty-over standards, it was an uninspiring game.

The big hits were few and far between, though the fielding was far superior to that usually seen at domestic matches in India. The Lions, who have home-field advantage right through the inaugural Indian Cricket League with all the matches being played in Panchkula, just edged it at the end, with Hall bowling a tidy final over that cost just five runs.

The result didn’t matter though. What did was the response of the crowd packed into the hurriedly constructed stands, many of whom had opted to give TV coverage of the Indian run-fest at the Eden Gardens a miss.

The outfield may have been patchy and there may have been a lack of genuine stardust in the middle, but the assembled throng lapped up the entertainment on offer.

Kareena Kapoor, a Bollywood star, was central to an off-field performance that included song, dance, cheerleaders and fireworks – in short, everything that you might get to see at a Super Bowl.

The striking contrast was with the Twenty20 tournament that the Indian cricket board organised last April in the wake of the Blue Billion’s dream turning into a nightmare at the World Cup.

Though the format was a novel one as far as India was concerned, it ended up just like any other domestic tournament, with matches played out in eerie silence and utter indifference from fans seduced only by the bright lights of international cricket.

You couldn’t blame them either. As far as the board is concerned, the fans are almost a necessary evil, cattle to be herded into shabby stands and provided with facilities worse than that found in most stables.

No one can bring in their own food or water, and the indifferent refreshments on offer include junk food and colas – only those endorsed by the board of course.

As for the toilets, God forbid you should ever need to use the facilities. At the Eden Gardens, India’s answer to the MCG and Lord’s, two toilets cater to a cavernous stand that houses thousands and the press box.

If start of play is 9am, it’s safe to say that these are unusable by half past nine. Often, there isn’t even running water.

When you then get a competition that actually appears to care about the average punter, an enthusiastic response shouldn’t be surprising. The ICL staged a coup of sorts by pricing the cheapest tickets at a hundred Rupees [£1.25], a far cry from BCCI events where sub-standards seats in the sun go for five times the price.

Will the concept work, and force the Indian board to look to change? That’s still doubtful, given the lack of big names in the ICL. Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq lead the Mumbai Champs and the Hyderabad Heroes, but like Cairns and Lance Klusener (now with the Kolkata Tigers), they’re has-beens on the lookout for a fast buck.

Not one big name currently plying his trade in international cricket is on board, with Mohammad Yousuf now facing court action after reneging on his contract.

By comparison, the ICL’s rival Indian Premier League claims to have agreed terms with a sizeable number of international cricket’s great and good. It appears certain that only one will be left standing eventually, and given the Indian predilection for stars, it will most likely be the ICL that shuts shop or sells out.

If Indian domestic cricket is ever to be vibrant, the only way is to ensure the participation of the top players in at least some of the games. A Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in April 2000 best illustrated that. Tamil Nadu piled up 485, with Robin Singh – currently India’s fielding coach – and Hemang Badani – now of the ICL’s Chennai Superstars in the – scoring big hundreds.

A few dozen and the obligatory stray dog had watched the opening day’s play, but once Sachin Tendulkar started to show signs of playing a special innings, word spread quickly. By the third day, thousands – stockbrokers, diamond merchants, tea vendors and journalists supposed to be on the desk – had come through the turnstiles to watch one of the great innings in domestic cricket.

Tendulkar finished unbeaten on 233, and Mumbai had a precious five-run lead that they would build on en route to yet another trophy. Tendulkar has hardly played for Mumbai since and the crowds have responded by staying away.

Ultimately, all the Kareena Kapoors of the world won’t bring them back. Only a Tendulkar, a Ganguly or a Dhoni can do that.

Test cricket gives me shivers: Yuvraj

For Yuvraj Singh it was the one opportunity he couldn’t let go so easily. Regarded as India’s best batsman in the one-dayers and Twenty20 cricket, the left-hander has found it really hard to break into the Test team.

So when he finally got his chance after nearly 18 months, he made sure he made the most of it. It was Pakistan once again who suffered at the hands of the elegant left-hander as he smashed a magnificent 169 in the third Test in Bangalore on Saturday.

The 25-year-old later revealed that he was nervous at the start as he walked in to bat with India in trouble at 61 for 4.

“I was very nervous when I went out, I have never been a confident starter in Test cricket because I haven’t played Test cricket,” said the left-hander.

“Test cricket does give me the shivers. But I enjoyed the innings very much. I went out with positive thoughts. I have been batting well, and I told myself that I just needed to be confident and back myself,” Yuvraj added.

When asked what calmed his nerves, he replied: “When I hit my first boundary, after facing 15-20 deliveries. The ball was doing a bit then, I decided to see out that spell. My first aim was a 50-run stand with Sourav [Ganguly].”

Yuvraj also said how disappointed he was to miss out on playing Tests, but also accepted that it is hard to break into the packed Indian middle order.

“It feels bad to sit out, but you must see how many great players we have in the middle order. Rahul [Dravid], Sachin [Tendulkar], [VVS] Laxman and Sourav all have very good Test records. Going out to bat today, I wasn’t worried about the Australia tour and whether I can secure my place in the eleven. I wanted to play for the team, to help the team win the Test,” he said.

The Punjab left-hander also pointed out that his failures in the Test series in West Indies last year had cost him his place in the team.

“I had a very bad Test series in the West Indies, and after that, the rest of the batsmen all played well. I have myself to blame. I stayed motivated, worked hard on my game, and was determined to take my chance when it came my way again. I always knew that I could do well in Test cricket. You have time to settle down and play yourself in. To me, Test cricket is the main thing,” he said.

Yuvraj also rued the fact that he could not carry on to score a double century.

“169 is a lot of runs. I should have got 200, and I am disappointed from a personal point of view that I did not. But I am delighted that Sourav and I hauled the team out of a tough situation, from 61 for four. What is most important for me is that the team is in a good position,” the left-hander said.

He also acknowledged Ganguly’s contribution and said his presence at the other end was a great benefit.

“I enjoyed batting with Sourav because he is also a very attacking player,” said Yuvraj. “He has supported me a lot, it was good to have that stand with him and he also batted really well today.”

Yuvraj has now scored three Test centuries and all have come against Pakistan.

“I have played them more than I have played any other team, so I have made more runs against them. I would like to score runs against other teams too,” he said.

Indian Twenty20 leagues war hots up

AS REBEL Twenty20 Indian Cricket League tournament chairman Kapil Dev expressed his desire to sign Australia’s elite players, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering an “amnesty” so the ICL’s international brigade can switch camps.

The BCCI “olive branch” approach to the likes of West Indian great Brian Lara, Australians Stuart Law and Ian Harvey, Kiwis Chris Cairns and Nathan Astle, former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, South Africa’s Lance Klusener and Sri Lankans Russel Arnold and Marvan Atapattu is viewed as a strategy to derail the breakaway league.

If the players accept the offer it will not only beef up the Indian Premier League’s “star power” which includes Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee and Michael Hussey — but also pave the way for them to win the mind-boggling revenue from the subcontinent’s lucrative pay-TV market.

“We could allow the foreign players to play in the Indian Premier League if they terminate their contracts with ICL,” BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla told reporters in India.

Dev said the ICL remained committed to luring the best possible players to the made-for-TV competition. “We are basically feeding international cricket,” Dev told The Sunday Age.

“We are only trying to increase the amount of cricket being played. If anyone is nervous, I’m very sorry.

“We’ll welcome everybody. We want more cricketers from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia. We want the best of the best here.

“We don’t want to spoil cricket, we don’t intend to upset the international calendar.

“The ICC should be happy with what we’re trying to do. We aren’t trying to offend anyone, we are simply increasing the amount of cricket,” Dev said.

The ICL has suggested it will up the ante by taking the modified version of the game to North America, where there is a large number of students and workers from many of the cricket-playing nations like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The rebel league was founded by the owner of Zee TV after he was denied the official broadcasting rights to Tests and one-dayers, despite offering substantially more than the station that got the licence.