Sunday, Dec 04, 2016

Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s observation that Test cricket will need great rivalries to get back the interest of the spectators is pertinent. No fan missed an opportunity to watch a Tendulkar versus Shoaib Akhtar, Glenn McGrath versus Brian Lara, Wasim Akram versus Sanath Jayasuriya or Shane Warne versus Kevin Pietersen game.

At a time when International Cricket Council (ICC) is trying out various means to attract spectators to Test cricket including staging matches at night, Tendulkar’s statement is appropriate in the context of drawing crowds to the stadium. It’s not rivalries alone; fans are also enthusiastic to watch cricketers who entertain.

Entertaining cricketers should have characteristics that youngsters would like to emulate and spectators would watch with awe.

Cricket fans enjoy players like West Indies Viv Richards’ whose characteristic walk to the crease with a swagger got everyone to sit up and watch him. No one wanted to miss Richards in full flow when even the best bowlers looked mediocre. For that matter, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi lured crowds to the grounds who came only to watch him hit those mighty effortless sixes. West Indies’ Chris Gayle too attracts people to watch him in all formats of the game.

In my recent interviews with Gayle, Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag, all three considered crowd response very important and candidly admitted that they always played to entertain spectators. Be it Test, Twenty20 or One-dayers, cricketers play a huge role in making the format an exciting one. Players must evoke rivalries, create breath-taking moments and awe in the minds of spectators.

Hence it wasn’t surprising when Tendulkar named Sehwag as the batsman whom he loved to watch in action the most. He admired him because one could never predict the kind of shots Sehwag would play.

If batsmen are flamboyant, bowlers are deadly and fielders electrifying, spectators will come to watch their actions. A fielder like Jonty Rhodes is a classic example.

India-Pakistan and the Ashes series are great rivalries because the history of the clashes between the two teams created by the players playing in those matches has left a legacy. Hence rivalries are a must for the survival and popularity of any format of the game. A point to ponder here is — Would the Twenty20 format be as popular as it is today if the first Twenty20 World Cup final wasn’t a clash between India and Pakistan?

Before bringing changes to Test cricket, every cricket playing nation must ask themselves whether they have players capable of evoking huge rivalries. Spectators turn up for a match with the anticipation of witnessing an exciting battle between the ball and bat. So if cricketers can arouse such contests, be it a day or night, crowds will throng the stands.

K.R. Nayar Chief Cricket Writer

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