WE ARE familiar with terms like “that’s not cricket”, “cricket is a gentleman’s game” and all that sort of thing. We are also aware that Lord’s in London is a historic venue and that MCC are the headquarters of cricket. The annals of cricket tell us that the first recorded Test match was played between England and Australia in 1877. So, England can safely be assumed to be the inventors of this game. But, as far as achievement in world events is concerned, prior to their title-triumph in the West Indies, England had almost nothing to show against their name.
The first three ODI World Cups (1975, 1979 and 1983) were all played in England and England have also reached the finals of the World Cup on three past occasions, only to finish second best all three times. Same has been the case with the Champions Trophy, where again they came tantalizingly close to winning once but were denied by Brian Lara’s West Indies. So, although they have been extremely desperate to clinch a world title all along, up until now it had eluded them.
This excruciatingly long wait to claim a world title in a game that they have been perceived to invent (or accidentally discover) has been extremely frustrating for the English. So, rather than rue their bad luck (or bad form), in the past England have been content to aver that “Ashes” is everything for them (because they have had their fair share success in the Ashes) and that world titles matter little. Well, now with this title-triumph in World T20 in the West Indies, England can be said to have a complete CV as far as cricket is concerned. Yes, they are yet to win the ODI World Cup, but at least they now have a world title against their name.
In the past, England have had some very big names as captains and Mike Brearley (for instance) was considered the shrewdest strategist and motivator. At various stages, they have had other very big players as well. David Gower had that vintage left-hander’s grace with his cover drives, Ian Botham could be devastating as an all-rounder. If you wanted to draw a game, you only had to get in touch with dogged players like Geoff Boycott and Mike Atherton. Fans waited with baited breath for the extremely talented Graeme Hick to click but he almost always flattered to deceive. Andrew Flintoff matured to become the next Botham and so on….So, they had the players all along. But, surprisingly, they did not have a world title and that had created a great vacuum in their cricket. Seen in that light and against that backdrop, England’s victory in World T20 really means a lot to them.
But not many would have imagined that England’s first major win on the international stage would come under Paul Collingwood, for he has always been an understated sort of cricketer, playing well within his limitations (but at the same time knowing how to get the best out of his players). In that sense, Collingwood has been a bit like Steve Waugh. Collingwood was always thought of as a one-day player, but he proved he could play Test cricket as well. England has had many illustrious captains prior to him, but somehow it had to be Collingwood, who would go on to lift the first world title for England.
Even now, critics are arguing that England cricket has been helped a lot by players from outside their country. Their coach (Andy Flower) is from Zimbabwe. And players like Kevin Peitersen and Craig Keiswetter are from South Africa. But, it is to England’s credit that they have thrown open their doors to people who want to come and live in their country. And, once players have moved in and settled down in a particular country, they then become legitimate citizens of that country. So, on that count, England cannot be faulted.
While England and Collingwood deserve their glory, teams like India have to introspect. After every failure at the international level, the players and Board mandarins are galvanized into action for a brief while. Then again everything goes back to the same place. India were shunted out of the 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies by Bangladesh and coach Greg Chappell was blamed (and removed). The team couldn’t do much in the last T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Now again they have come a cropper at another world event. England has had to wait for a very long time for their first world title. After winning the ODI World Cup in 1983, even India had to wait till 2007 (24 years) for their next world crown. Now, given India’s lackadaisical show in recent world events, one hopes it doesn’t take them another 24 years to win their next world title.
