Cross-border bonhomie

There are many writers, critics and fans who argue that the concept of Afro-Asian series is a non-starter and a farce. And, it’d better if it is scraped. But there is a minority who breathes against cricketing parochialism.

In an age of jading globalisation, why wall off a game which has its roots in colonization?

The second edition of the Afro-Asia series, which was held recently in Bangalore and Chennai in India, suffered a slight pre-tournament ‘crisis’ as a television company had pulled out of its agreement to telecast the matches live. The channel found no reasons to spend big money when there were no superstars like Sachin Tendulkar in action. It may be a good business decision, but it also points to the clichéd fact that cricket has become nothing but mammon’s handiwork.

But before the axe fell on the series, spread in another TV channel ready to telecast the action. But the saviour channel couldn’t bring in enough advertisers in a short span of time.
However, the games were on; devoid of hoardings around the ground and the Asians wearing endorsement-free t-shirts. A welcome sight.

But that doesn’t mean that the cricket played in the three matches was sub-standard.

Having watched two sleep-inducive hundreds from two Indian stalwarts in Bangladesh—Sachin and Sourav—it was like vernal showers to watch Asia skipper Mahela Jayawardene carve out another couple of innings of artistry.

We saw him polish a gem in the World Cup semifinal against the Kiwis, and now against the Africans under South African Justin Kemp, he extended that touch as he smoothed his bat through the African attack. For a while, one forgot about the blood stain and fixing muck on the game, and watched the action with a toddler’s joy.

It doesn’t matter whether Mahela plays for Sri Lanka or Asia. When he is in that blessed mood, even the kiwis begin to fly.

In the same vein, why bother whether MS Dhoni is bludgeoning his bat for India or Asia? The Indian keeper is not the prettiest sight at the crease, but the young man has a wise head and paces his game as the situation demands. The way he played along with Mahela in the third match when the Asians had lost five wickets for 40-odd runs shows he is more than a bang-bang boy.

And, how he changed gears in the final overs! Not only did he outscore Mahela but he also stunned the Africans with his improvisation. If he looks stiff in defence, he looks snappy in attack.

The old hat, Shaun Pollock, showed glimpses of his batting talent with a hundred, Justin Kemp swatted away the Asians, AB de Villiers’ caught and stopped whatever came anywhere near him. Mohammed Yousuf stroked home the point there is absolutely nothing in a name—talent remains the same, be it Yousuf Yohanna or Mohammed Yousuf.

At the end of the series which the Asian took 3-0, the winner was cricket as both the teams braved the sweltering heat to hit up over 300 runs. It was some entertaining cricket for those who cared to tune in or turn up.

And, that’s what the real fans want. A good game of cricket, and no one will complain if the organisers or players make money. In fact, they must; only then will the fans get to see more of these beyond-the-border camaraderie and high-fives.

The questions that the Asian Cricket Council and African Cricket Association are asked—on the timing of the series and the choice of venues—hold water, though these may not strictly be within their control.

The ICC should make sure the series is scheduled more appropriately in their Future Tour Programme, and the hosting nation must take into consideration climatic conditions, especially since the players come in from different weather zones for a brief period.

If these are the ‘major’ criticism against such a series which sees Mahela and Dhoni punching their gloves after spanking an African attack or Tikolo and Ntini perform an African dance for sending Sachin off, let’s make some efforts to organise the tournament in a proper way so that it will gain the respect it deserves.

Let’s play Asia against Africa. Europe against Asia, and Oceana against America. Let’s play some good cricket devoid of jingoism. Let Mohammad Asif and S Sreesanth bang their hips and shout hurrah for seeing the back of a Steve Tikolo.