League Cricket and the Zimbabwe Issue

I have often wondered why Cricket has not gained the popular appeal of Soccer. Granted that it is considered the second most valuable sport in the world, but it trails far behind the revered game of Soccer (I will call it Football lest someone get offended).

 

One of the reasons has always been commitment. Football is a 90 minute game, while cricket has been a 40 hour game cut down to 8 hours and now down to 4. So now that Twenty20 has gained momentum, can we expect Cricket to garner more fans? Perhaps.

 

Another reason why cricket has been a laggard sport compared to Football is the lack of international leagues – leagues that span many borders. Imagine an Asian league with Bengal Tigers, Colombo Warriors, Lahore Pacers, Hong Kong Lions, Dubai Dodgers and Dacca Daredevils. Throw in Beijing Bouncers, Singapore Dashers and Jakarta Jaguars and you’ve covered most of Asia. Teams could trade players much like Manchester, Real Madrid, Benfica and Munich. You might have Dhoni playing for Singapore, Asif for Dubai (although I seriously doubt that) and Murali for Dacca. This is the only way we will see cricket grow competitively beyond the 10 core nations that have been competitive since the 80’s. Even that, Sri Lanka really only became competitive in the 90’s and they were the first test team in over 30 years after Pakistan and India joined the fray.

 

Which brings me to my next point – we have a hard time getting good teams at the international level. Yet somehow, ICC and nations like England and Australia find it easy to ban Zimbabwe on political grounds and shun visits to Pakistan on the grounds of instability. I don’t get it. Why is sport being intermingled with politics? And if the Mugabe regime is the one coercing the cricket team and influencing team selection, I believe every country is guilty of that. If I recall, Sri Lankan government has long flexed its muscles to prolong the careers of their favorite sons - Ranatunga back then and Jayasuriya recently. Ganguly was added back to the side against the wishes of the coach (Greg Chappell). Alex Stewart hung around the English team longer than he should have thanks to his father Micky. The inclusion of a Hindu or Christian cricketer has never been a lasting decision in any Pakistani side. Yousuf Youhanna knew this and chose cricket over his religious beliefs by converting. In doing so, he probably saved his career. There is no shortage of hypocrites in the world and England and Australia are perhaps the biggest. Would this have been an issue for them if Mugabe had been a white man enforcing every single team member to be white?

 

Frankly, I am tired of reading about the Zimbabwe issue. I think they should be allowed to play – we need cricket to spread, not to be restricted to status quo.  I hope India, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka can throw their weight behind Zimbabwe on this issue.

 

FL