i'm very happy that the cricket series got over. i was tired of having to see all my programmes on the second airing, or sometimes even the third, just because my cricket crazy family didn't want to miss a single second of cricket. i'm not as crazy as them. partly as a reaction to the affection shown by my family to the game. my brother, who was by all accounts the daimyo of t.v, would mercilessly switch from a paul newman movie (that i'd be watching) to a kenya- zimbabwe highlights faster than one could say kamikaze, mom on the other hand can belt out match stats that could make Wisden blush with shame and dad has sent the remote on so many aerodynamic journeys, following every middle order collapse, that im seriously contemplating putting shock absorbers on it. but me? im generally fruit cake, oblivious to any cricket brouhaha. simply because sports for me is entertainment and eye candy, and cricket has none of it. its grossly over rated me thinks.
entertainment is watching sportsmen display sublime fluidity of motion. like zidane's poetry etched football play or motion like a delicate brush stroke emanating from a maestro's hand, like roger federer's tennis. when i see cricket, it looks ugly.cricket these days is devoid of delicate wristy shots and more inclined towards ugly and loud slog shots. its obscene. like serena williams's tennis. entertainment, is watching unbelievable consequences of human motion, like zizou's goal vs england at the euro, or Hoogenband's desperate 50m dash to defend his olympic title, and watching these feats make you feel like a sinner redeemed, purged and pure. cricket just doesn't have that excitement. and as far as eye candy goes, i can't fathom how the women of this country voted tendulkar as the #2 sexiest man in the country(#1 was shahrukh khan, i can't fathom that either!), flanneled men are as charming as onion icecream on the female senses, unlike those footballers, in their cute shorts with a hint of finely cut muscle peeking out (slyly), now thats real eye candy *wink*
and finally, after what seems like an eternity of DD coverage, and an unpardonable assault on the english language, "the batter is now facing the baller", i really wish, black holes had a thing for DD's comentary team (post match analysis "experts" included)
wishing and hoping
3 comments:
hmm...to an extent yes i do agree cricket has nowadays has become the preserve of front foot bullies swingin' across the line...but i'm sure a laxman flick thru the on side is as poetic if not more as a federer dropshot or a zidane nutmeg...and how else would u describe bishen bedi's run up and delivery....? mukul kesavan once described it as a classicist's wet dream...pure poetry in motion..
perhaps contradiction itself is cricket's most enduring charm...that for every ugly afridi heave there always is mark waugh's silken drive..greame pollock,david gower, saurav ganguly, g viswanath never actually hit the ball..they almost persuaded...almost cajoled it to the fence...it is only the nature of pitches today...which i think is all but a natural evolution cricket is going thru which has taken a bit of finesse out if the game...presonally me doesnt think much of oneday
cricket...a well contested test match has far more thrills than 10
oneday matches put together...the 2nd and 3rd test matches in the
IND-PAK were simply fantastic..testing skill,mental and physical strength, tactical acumen over 5 days...now if thats not entertainment....what is?
hmm...to an extent yes i do agree cricket has nowadays has become the preserve of front foot bullies swingin' across the line...but i'm sure a laxman flick thru the on side is as poetic if not more as a federer dropshot or a zidane nutmeg...and how else would u describe bishen bedi's run up and delivery....? mukul kesavan once described it as a classicist's wet dream...pure poetry in motion..
perhaps contradiction itself is cricket's most enduring charm...that for every ugly afridi heave there always is mark waugh's silken drive..greame pollock,david gower, saurav ganguly, g viswanath never actually hit the ball..they almost persuaded...almost cajoled it to the fence...it is only the nature of pitches today...which i think is all but a natural evolution cricket is going thru which has taken a bit of finesse out if the game...presonally me doesnt think much of oneday
cricket...a well contested test match has far more thrills than 10
oneday matches put together...the 2nd and 3rd test matches in the
IND-PAK were simply fantastic..testing skill,mental and physical strength, tactical acumen over 5 days...now if thats not entertainment....what is?
hoy gowday,
"perhaps contradiction itself is cricket's most enduring charm...that for every ugly afridi heave there always is mark waugh's silken drive..greame pollock,david gower, saurav ganguly, g viswanath never actually hit the ball..they almost persuaded...almost cajoled it to the fence..."
one problem, none of those mentioned above are actually playing these days. the crux of my argument concerned the cricket of present times, not of days before i was born :P
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