A burnout on the tyres of cricket
By Rayed Mamun – 6 June 2007
Life was never meant to be easy. If we are to get anywhere, we must work hard. Yet we are only human, and our bodies need rest, or else there could be dire consequences. Universities give holidays after semesters, and offices give annual leave. What about professional cricketers? Not only do they have no control of when their holidays are, but it seems, that they have very little holiday at all. The ICC is driving the car in which the players are merely the tyres, who, under this scheduling, will certainly suffer burnout.
In recent times, the ICC has worried more about gaining revenue from tournaments, rather than look after what matters the most, the players. After an unnecessarily long World Cup, many countries are being exposed to almost non-stop scheduling, putting players’ health at risk. We already saw Shane Warne retire from One Day Internationals to prolong his Test career. Adam Gilchrist is considering a similar option right now.
The most extreme case of hectic scheduling is India. They have just finished a farcical series in Bangladesh. Organisers knew it was the monsoon season, yet the tour went ahead, because, as we will see, there was no other time for the tour to be scheduled this year. Under the extreme heat and humidity, some of India’s batsmen had to retire hurt from cramps and dehydration.
It is not only the quality of the scheduling that’s raising questions, but the quantity as well. India will soon start a full tour of England. This will immediately be followed by the Twenty20 World Championship. Soon after, they will face full tours of Pakistan and Australia. Such is the congestion of matches, that the Australian cricket summer will finish in early March, one month later than the recent tradition of early February.
We saw during the elongated World Cup, that fans preferred quality over quantity. If this scheduling continues, players will either get injured, or will have to be rested. Fans, already bored and frustrated by the endless number of matches, will have to watch games without some of their favourite players. This is simply a lose-lose situation, unless of course you work for the ICC. The committee driving the game of cricket must stop its exploitation and must keep its tyres from burning out, before its too late, and there is no place to go.