Our Cricket
Predictably Bangladesh have not created a stir by stealing a march over the other participants in the sixth Asia Cup. Not that we really expected them to do so. Fancy aside, nobody really visualised Bangladesh pulling the carpet from the under the feet of any of their three more powerful and experienced opponents in this four-nation tourney.
In fact, we considered the two hundred plus score against a tough and seasoned Pakistan side as a fairly commendable sign of progress. In a well made half century Athar showed how well are we informed of the virtues of a still head, sure footwork and a straight bat. But unfortunately that was all. Performance had hit the ceiling.
The demonstrational ability of Akram's boys had been on the course of gradual decline since then. Agreed, some of the players including as vital a member as the wicketkeeper were injured. But then how did that account for the catches, some of them being pretty much regulation ones by the one-day standard, grassed against Sri Lanka and India? Or for that matter batting odorous of colonial servitude than any ecstatic innovation marked by daring and mental freedom? Probably under-achievement reached its nadir in the last match against India. Even after duly recognising the tidy spell of Singh and the pyrotechnics of Ganguly it can be said quite unhesitatingly that we simply gift-wrapped the match to the defending champions.
Let's not kid ourselves. We still have to go a long way in getting a few things right which will come with no amount of experience and exposure. One area as the national coach has reportedly marked out is commitment. Those who are representing the country and will be in future should never be short of this element. There simply cannot be any substitute for or compromise on it. And we do not understand how our players can possibly lack in this vital aspect. The kind of adulation, appreciation and incentive they have got and are likely to get in future is something unthinkable among cricketing countries of this status. So why and how lack you in that desire to give it all for the country?
More than anything else this Asia Cup has shown us how much our cricketing pretension is dependent on the old guards. How long can we afford this particularly when there is not a reassuring number of young shoulders around. Quite frankly, we cannot afford to bank on this 'experience talk' for long. After all, the powers that be are keeping close watch on our performance and no one knows it better than the local cricket authorities. We hope they will not be found wanting in sincerity and drive to plough the positives and negatives of this championship in their future plans and programmes for the development of the game here.
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