Was I Dreaming?

The Test Series between Australia and India this summer in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar trophy has been an intriguing one.Congratulations to India and the man who took over the captaincy Ajinkya Rahane, who showed that he is a wonderful leader.

India has shown that today they are a team with a greater resilience than many of their former Test sides. They have also shown the benefits of the Indian Premier League. Yes this may be a different form of the game to Test Match cricket, but playing alongside the big name players from around the world, watching how they prepare and how they continually achieve has rubbed off on the Indian players; just as it benefitted their hockey players in the Hockey India League.

Also helping their progress has been the proliferation of Test series between Australia, India and England, the three countries that to all intents and purposes are running the game globally.
It has been a pleasure to watch this series, and see the Indian batsmen defy the much hyped “best Australian bowling attack ever.” Proof once again that you can’t beat good technique.

However during the series there have been moments when I have thought that my life had become a soap opera.

Launched in 1978 “Dallas” was a primetime soap opera revolving around an affluent Texas oil mining family, the Ewings, and became the top ranked TV show of the 1980’s. From 1980-1984 it was never out of the top two rated television shows. The mystery surrounding who shot JR remains the second highest rated primetime telecast ever.

However this summer felt like series nine of Dallas. Off screen there were production disputes, ratings dipped whiles costs remained high. Patrick Duffy the actor who played Bobby Ewing had decided to leave the show a year earlier, and so was written out of the show. His character was killed off. By 1986 with not too many other offers coming in he was persuaded to return. So the whole of series nine we were led to believe had been a dream. It never really happened.

Listening to the commentary teams on Fox and Channel Seven I have felt that all of the cricket I have watched and enjoyed prior to the 1990’s was a dream. Watching the coverage on these two networks it would be easy to believe that cricket was never played before 1990! What is more all references to other matches seem to be restricted to the Big Bash League, which most cricket fans will tell you is fairly irrelevant when it comes to Test cricket. Clearly commercialisation gone too far, as both stations have the rights for that league as well!

Kerry O’Keefe will occasionally try and take the viewer on a journey back to an earlier time, but you can almost feel the vacant looks he must be getting from his co-workers.

Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar,- after whom the trophy is named – suffered the same fate, and the only person on Seven who seems happy talking about a time prior to the 90’s is the great respecter of the past Damien Fleming.

One of the reasons that Shane Warne and Harsha Bhogle are held in such high esteem is their knowledge of the game, not just over the past twenty years, but throughout history. So why is the viewer being made to feel this way?

Watching the play unfold and listening to the chatter you would never know that Test cricket has been played for 144 years. Those employed to inform, educate, describe and share tales of yesteryear seem to have no idea that the game was played prior to the commencement of their careers.

Luckily the ABC has had Jim Maxwell and Ian Chappell to remind us that there were great players in other eras, as well as great matches. Credit should also be given to the ABC experts Dirk Nannes and Stuart Clark who have also shown a respect and knowledge for the game prior to their own careers.

It would appear that the aim with the television stations is clearly to appeal to a younger audience that will remember these names when they were players. No doubt the hope is that they will be enthralled by their at times fatuous stories and inspired by their inability convey what is actually evolving in front of our own eyes.

Channel Nine were slated for their old boys club in their last few seasons as Australia’s Cricket broadcaster, but has anything really improved?

Yes, there are some outstanding commentators in amongst some who would be best left remembered for their playing days. Unfortunately these individuals are not on air long enough to carry the broadcast. Luckily the ABC continues to be the pick of the bunch.

A wonderful series. With some outstanding cricket from both sides, if only the quality was matched off the pitch.

One wonders what the great Richie Benaud would be thinking looking down on those aspiring to steal his mantle. He has little to fear. However as a lover of the game one feels he would be very disappointed, but far too polite to share his opinion. He was loved while he was alive, but now he is gone we realize what a treasure he was. His knowledge and ability to read a game was second to none and what a consummate craftsman he was on air.