THE JOURNEY OF CRICKET
Those were the days in the mid seventies when cricket matches in Chennai wore a festive week.It usually came during the Pongal weekend. Government used to declare the first day as a State holiday.
People used to buy tickets early enough and stood in long queues to get into the stadium on an early Bogi morning.Spectators would come in around 8 in the morning to watch their stars practice in the nets. Breakfast would be packed for the full group on a pot luck basis. From the previous day onwards people would start sky gazing to look for possible clouds that play spoil sport.
Lunch was again a carnival and commentaries could be heard from the elders in the crowd of their yesteryear contemporaries .The statistics of the various players would be compared.
Facilities at the stadium were substandard,the toilets dingy,no water available and a long queue for the limited lunch parcels which would be sold in no time.
When the game gets over at 4.30 in the evening people would go to the hotels where the players were staying to have a close glimpse of their heroes.
Compare the scenario today.Tickets are priced twenty times more,not much advance booking for the tickets as daily tickets are more in vogue .Infrastructure at the stadium do not compare with the better ones in the world, fans provided in the stadium do not work ,toilets just about the same as smelly as it can be, food a shade better but at double the price.The spectators are ushered into the stadium after being frisked in detail.Neither plastic nor any matchboxes are allowed.In some cases even wearing black T Shirts are not allowed.Some of the stands have a net cordon to prevent the spectators from
throwing trash at the players.The match progresses but not without the spectators facing the fuss of jostling in long queues to enter the stadium.
This brings us to the big question whether advent of world class TV coverage have brought about a drastic reduction in the number of people coming to the stadium to watch the match.People now can have the comfort of airconditioners to watch the match,see replays, watch close ups, wine and dine while watching the match.We can even take a nap if the proceedings are dull and catch up with office work as well.
From the purist point of view, 5 day matches are a delight given the twist and turns over the said period so long as the pitches are true and sportive.
One day matches changed the face of cricket viewership.Spectators preferred to spend time and money to watch their stars over a day instead of spending 5 days on the same.Viewership drastically increased for this form of game while Test Matches became starved of viewers.Revenues for Test matches dwindled drastically .One day cricket matches became more profitable.Advent of Day/Night matches in One day cricket made viewing more compelling as people needed to just leave office early to watch the match.
The more recent phenomenon of 20/20 cricket seems to have even tricked one day cricket into submission.People finish their work when the matches start.The atmosphere is more carnival what with the dancers cheering the players and the spectators.The quality of cricket is more Bang Bang and entertaining and the result got over a period of 3 hours.
Technology over the years have changed many facets of the game.The role of umpires are being questioned with all these replays that we see.
New Superstars are born in the 20/20 matches and the crowd throng to see good entertainment.
Extraordinary performance in some of the recent matches make you watch them.They have that calm look amidst the tension which tells us ‘ Hang on ,watch me for a while’.
Any sport creates champions who in turn create moments of such precise beauty that no special expert is required to know immediately that this man is special and worth looking at.
20/20 cricket holds no appeal for the purist till
Dhoni and his team destroyed the Australian myth in the world 20/20 championship held recently.
Can any sport enthusiast resist such an opportunity!