A SLIPPERY OUTFIELD

With the World Cup coming to a country where cricket is followed just like a religion, does the system beneath able to satisfy the most possible? The other day i was at the M.Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore trying to purchase a ticket for the high profile game between India and England. This game was shifted to Bangalore which was previously scheduled to be held at the prestigious Eden Gardens, Kolkata. As a cricket lover, i feel that a ground like Eden garden wasn't ready to host a big game is a real shame. The schedules for the matches were out very well in advance and it is unfortunate that the men in charge were unable to get a ground which has witnessed some great games including the finals of the1987 edition of the World cup.The deafening noise of 100,000 fans is  a sight that only can be experienced. Its a honor for many cricketers to play in this ground. Anyways, as the game has been shifted, it is a test for the newly appointed group at the Karnataka State Cricket Association to make this game a special one. Such a game calls for thousands to crowd up at the ticket counter. But there seems to be no facilities that can cater to such a number. The tickets for the members representative are given only at one counter. It took me four hours to get myself a ticket. The line is stagnant, no clear announcements regarding which category of tickets have been sold out. All that we get are rumors regarding which category of tickets are sold out. There were a few people who left when they got to no that the tickets they could afford were over, unfortunately for them within a span of ten minutes of them leaving the same class of tickets were available.With so much technology around, they could speed up the issue of tickets by probably using a technique of scanning the member cards so that it saves time of data entry . The tickets issued to the public the next day had about 3 counters. We are talking of 1000's of people and just three counters to serve them. It is absolutely ridiculous. Recently, there was an announcement that the server for the online booking site for the Final game at Mumbai crashed because of an over load. It is not new that people want to watch a game of cricket and moreover the finals. This has always been the trend in India but there seems to be no parallel improvement in the additional facilities. 

Lets compare this with the Football World Cup. The grounds can accommodate more people and they are as enthusiastic as we are about cricket. But, did we hear anyone complain about the facilities?

There are talks going on regarding the downfall of Test and ODI Cricket in the near future. Lack of facilities is only going to cater to this downfall. The BCCI should make it easy for people to get there ticket at the venue otherwise it will disinterest people. 

It is time that the BCCI took a stand and adopt a more professional way of working. We boast about having the richest board in cricket but why are the facilities so weak? The BCCI should look at hosting the World Cup as a honour. The last time India hosted it was 15 years back, we don't know when we are going to host the next one.

Nevertheless, I had a moment to cheer, when my friend and myself got a glimpse of the Indian team getting off their bus and get into the nets. The sight of Sachin Tendulkar gave us  goosebumps.

Lets hope all twenty two men in blue gives us a competitive game to watch and that any grey clouds above the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium disappear. 

Restriction on the number of "Minnows" in an ICC event

Just before the start of the world cup 2011, there have been speculations regarding the number of minnows who should be playing at the International event. These speculations could become a reality if the lesser teams under perform. As a cricket lover, its always exciting to watch a new nation create an upset over a better skilled nation. Countries like Ireland, Netherlands, Canada are all new to the international scene. The exposure they get compared to the big teams is considerably very low. Teams like  Zimbabwe, Kenya are  going through a transition. These teams need to be given sufficient time to prove themselves at the big stage. The ICC instead of putting a lot of pressure on such teams, should encourage them. These teams have a lot of individual talent to showcase, they only have to be guided in the right path. The ICC needs to accommodate these teams into tri-series along with  two big teams. They might under perform, but it allows them to gain sufficient exposure which is going to improve there mental skills and the attitude to handle pressure at different situations.Cricket isn't an age old sport in these countries. It is relatively new, the only way more talent is going to come out is by encouraging these teams to play at the highest level. We have seen in India, post IPL there has been an abundant talent of names and they are ready to play at the international level simply because of the fact that they have had the opportunity to play amongst the best in the world and learn there tricks. Sri Lanka is one example, they weren't a big force in world cricket two decades back, playing more cricket against the better teams then, today they are a big force to reckon with. Another team that comes into mind is Bangladesh, they were also tagged as Minnows, but they have risen to the next level with convincing performances against New Zealand and other big upsets.

We all want to watch  more competitive cricket. The initial few matches of this edition of the WC which had the minnows haven't helped the cause as there have been dismal performances. The easy way out is to put a  restriction on the number of such teams, but its not going to help the overall game. If cricket is to become a popular sport all over the world, smaller teams have to be encouraged. Lets hope that there are more than a few upsets in this edition of the WC.