The effects of continuous cricket have not goneunnoticed
Partab Ramchand17-Jul-2002It has been a burning issue for some time now, and it wastherefore surprising that it took so long for the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) to convene a meeting of captains toconsider the enormous amount of cricket being played. But theoutcome of the meeting – an ICC announcement rejecting thecaptains’ plea to reduce the number of matches and stating thatthe current number was “manageable” – was something of adampener.
The effects of continuous cricket have not goneunnoticed. Several of them have either retired from one form orother of the international game in recent years citing fatigue,or withdrawn from tours for personal reasons. South Africa’sJonty Rhodes retired from Test cricket last year, saying that hewould like to keep himself fresh for the 2003 World Cup.
Over the last two decades, ever since the limited-overs gamecaught the fancy of the global public, administrators have beenkeen to cash in on the craze, and the players have just had tofall in line. More and more tournaments at more and more venuesbecame the order of the day, all in the name of globalisation.Not too long ago, one could not have imagined the game beingplayed at Toronto, Morocco, Hong Kong and Nairobi. But by 2000,it was not uncommon for a country to play 10 or 12 Tests andaround 40 one-day internationals in a calendar year.Too much of anything can lead to falling standards, generaldisinterest and fitness problems, and at the start of the newmillennium, it was obvious that player burnout was becoming amajor issue. Little wonder then that, after the meeting of theTest captains at Lord’s on Monday, New Zealand skipper StephenFleming made it clear that the ICC would have to consider a majorshake-up of the calendar to prevent player burnout. Emphasisingthe fitness aspect, Fleming said that players needed more time torecover after matches. There is hardly any time these daysbetween games for players to tend to injury; one game followsanother a weekend double-header is a case in point – and teamssometimes fly straight from one competition to another.Such a situation is bound to have an adverse impact on a player’sphysique, however strong he may be. With this in mind, Flemingvoiced his concerns about the amount of time between games,touching upon the stress being put on players. “If the volume ofcricket is going to remain at this level, a bit more care must betaken with scheduling,” Fleming said quite candidly.Limited-over matches are now the main money-spinners in cricket,which is the chief reason why organisers go overboard in stagingsuch tourneys. But there is a real danger of killing the goosethat lays the golden eggs, and this point has been brought upoften in the recent past. “We appreciate that the marketing sideof the game is important and that the volume of cricket is alsoimportant, and that by reducing it we reduce the amount of incomein the game,” said Fleming. “We understand that in professionalsport there are going to be sacrifices, but we want the ICC toshare our concerns about the amount of cricket being played.”The effects of continuous cricket have not gone unnoticed.Several of them have either retired from one form or other of theinternational game in recent years citing fatigue, or withdrawnfrom tours for personal reasons. South Africa’s Jonty Rhodesretired from Test cricket last year, saying that he would like tokeep himself fresh for the 2003 World Cup. Just a few days ago,star England batsman Graham Thorpe announced his retirement fromone-day cricket because he could not continue playing bothversions of the game. Indian pace spearhead Javagal Srinath wasanother who had frequently expressed a desire to be rested fromone-day games before he finally announced his retirement fromTest cricket last month.Player burnout is a more riveting issue in Indian cricket thanelsewhere. For one thing, it is safe to assume that among allTest nations, India plays the most one-day games. Secondly,fitness standards not being as high as in other countries, Indianplayers often carry minor injuries into the field of play. Agrowing incidence of niggling fitness problems has seen a teamdoctor and a physiotherapist in attendance for the last couple ofyears, but ultimately there is little doubt that the playerswould only welcome a less demanding schedule. At the Lord’smeeting, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly voiced his concern on theissue. “I did make a point about excessive cricket being playedthese days,” he said.However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasdone well in agreeing that it would be a step in the rightdirection to reduce the number of matches. BCCI presidentJagmohan Dalmiya minced no words in saying that the currentschedule is too tight. “The ICC’s strenuous programme is makingthe situation difficult,”he said in Kolkata on Tuesday. Dalmiya,a former ICC chief himself, was of the view that Indian playerswere among those severely affected by non-stop travel and play.”The players sometimes don’t have 24 hours to rest. They have notime to recoup. But one has to fulfill commitments,” he said.Dalmiya also referred to the team’s hectic schedule in the run-upto next year’s World Cup in South Africa. India returned from atour of West Indies early in June and set off for England afortnight later to play a one-day series and four Tests, endingon September 10. The players will then jet out immediately toreach Colombo for the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled fromSeptember 12 to 29. They then face the West Indies in a homeseries from October 1 to November 24 before leaving on a tour ofNew Zealand, scheduled from December 4 to January 14. The teamwill hold its final World Cup preparations at home before leavingfor South Africa on January 31 for the mega-event, to be heldfrom February 8 to March 23.In a bid to reduce the load on the players, the BCCI recentlypersuaded the West Indies and New Zealand boards to cut down thenumber of Tests by two, adding two one-dayers to the originalschedule. Besides reducing the number of playing days, the changeshould also help prepare the team better for the World Cup.Cricketers hardly get a break these days, what with India inparticular having gone into overdrive in matches being playedvirtually round the year. The players have begun to feel thestrain, and it is about time the administrators put the fitnessproblems of the players above monetary gains while drawing upfuture schedules.