Cricket – then and now….

Cricket as we all know is growing day by day. It is said that cricket originated in England and they took the sport to quite a few countries. To start off there were a few county teams playing and at present almost all commonwealth nations play cricket. I’ve heard that gambling was once a major part of cricket and I wonder why it was still called gentlemen’s game when there’s nothing gentlemanly about gambling. This was the story of 17^th and 18^th century. But things had changed in the 19^th century. Test cricket officially began in 1877 and there is no looking back from there after as the game is gaining a lot of popularity.

Cricket has had its share of highs, lows, controversies and rivalries. Ahh...talking about the highs, how could I forget Sir Don Bradman? He was the real DON of his times. In the early 30s bowlers were so frustrated that they even tried to bowl illegal deliveries which led to the bodyline series. Those were the times when Australians were ruling international cricket. But in the 60s and 70s (if I’m not wrong) West Indies dominated world cricket with legendary bowlers, classy batsmen and aggressive all-rounders. Though cricket is a team game there have been extraordinary individuals. Be it Sir Don Bradman, Sir Sobers, Sir Viv Richards, Denis Lillie, Sunil Gavaskar, Prasanna, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, or the present day greats like Sachin, Ponting Dravid, Kumble, Murli, well I can go on and on and on...they’ve all been great ambassadors of the game. They’ve set several records to be broken. Hats off to the commitment, passion and determination they have.

There was a big blow to cricket when South Africa was forced out of international cricket because of their apartheid policy. Ironically, South Africa was arguably the best team at that point of time. However, they eventually returned to world class cricket in 1991.

Controversies have unfortunately become an integral part of cricket. Sledging, over appealing, not walking even after being given out, wrong umpiring decisions, ball tampering, match fixing and off-field “activities” have all been the darker side of this amazing sport.

It was the test match at Oval in 1882 which gave birth to the Ashes. Till today rivals England and Australia fight hard to get their hands on the prestigious Ashes trophy. In the sub-continent, traditional rivals India and Pakistan are always geared up for a victory against each other. In the recent past India-Australia matches have been as exciting and as controversial as the Ashes or the Indo-Pak series.

Cricket has developed remarkably since the day it was started. Cricket equipments have been modernized. Latest technologies have been introduced. Cricket has become a professional sport. Gone are the times when cricket was considered a lazy game. It’s a demanding sport now. Players have to be athletic and match fitness has gone to a different level. Test matches and One Day Internationals are being played for some time now. But the introduction of Twenty20 cricket has been a complete package of entertainment for the spectators to watch. The shortest version of the game has a nice blend of cricket and glamour. But the ultimate goal in a cricketer’s life is to represent his country and play as many test matches as possible.

There is a substantial change in the approach to the game by modern day cricketers. The competition for a place in the national side is unbelievable. In India, cricket is our religion. It’s in our blood. Everyone in the country wants to contribute to the game in one way or the other. Ask any child in the streets of India – what they aspire to be? And 9 out of 10 will tell you that he aspires to be a cricketer. This is how crazy Indians are about cricket. And one can imagine the amount of pressure those 11 players will have whenever they walk out to the centre. But they are not complaining. For they’ve reached that position by choice and not by chance. There are more than a billion people in this country and every person has an opinion or two when it comes to cricket. We Indians are very passionate cricket lovers.

CRICKET IS OUR LIFE!