Turn of events at national ground

Three years ago, in a place called Googong, not far from the capital Canberra, then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was briefing mediapersons about a scheme to benefit homeowners. Suddenly, the front door of a house opened and Morrison was interrupted by an angry homeowner, who shouted: “Can everyone get off the grass, please?”

The press contingent had been treading on the man’s newly-seeded lawn. “Sure,” Morrison responded, and told the mediapersons: “Let’s just move back from there.”

“Come on!” said the Googong grass-lover, irked that the press pack wasn’t quick enough to move out. “Hey guys, I’ve just reseeded that!” he said. Morrison, apologetic, urged the reporters to move, and the homeowner went back with a “sorry mate” and a thumbs-up.

A Prime Minister being ticked off for holding a press conference on a citizen’s lawn — that’s a bit too much, surely. Current Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on a four-day visit to India, need not have harboured any fears about being shooed off the fine grass of the ground when he went to watch the cricket in Ahmedabad — for he was a guest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the venue of the fourth and final Test of the series between the two nations.

At the Narendra Modi Stadium, Albanese may have learned a thing or two about how a democracy sucks up to its top leader, though it’s unlikely that anyone in the Australian cricket establishment would rename the Sydney Cricket Ground or the Melbourne Cricket Ground for him. Countless stadiums or grounds for various sports in India are named after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, and there are others carrying the names of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Rajiv Gandhi — we do cherish our leaders, we want to memorialise them forever by naming public places after them. How Albanese or Morrison would love it if this tradition comes to Australia along with Indian migrants!

The spirit of brotherhood between India and Australia, as reflected in the bonhomie between the two leaders, was visible in the field of cricket. The pitch was docile, flat, innocent of the vicious bite that hurt the batsmen in the first three Tests, even the home batsmen.

The defeat in the third Test in Indore emphasised two things: one, this generation of Indian batsmen is far less skilful and patient than the previous generations in tackling spin on turning tracks; two, you must never count any Australian team out, for even the weakest teams from that country are packed with fighters who won’t give up and who will fight back hard after the worst defeat. The defeat in the second Test in Delhi must have crushed the Australian spirits, for they seemed to be on the verge of a series-levelling victory after Day 2 — 61/1 in a frenetic 12 overs, for an overall lead of 62, and looking good for another 250. But their innings was ripped apart by Ravindra Jadeja, and they folded up for 113, and India won without much trouble.

To win in Indore, then, after bowling India out for 109 and 163, was a remarkable and even astounding feat, mainly due to their spinners — and Indian batsmen’s inadequate abilities on a turning wicket.

The Narendra Modi Stadium wicket is more like the Indian wickets of the past — flat early on, helping the spinners after wear and tear over two-three days of play. The Australians must be thanking Prime Minister Albanese for visiting India at just the right time — after turners in Nagpur, Delhi and Indore, this track was something from quite another planet! “I thought it was alright, the wicket was a lot better, the conditions were a lot nicer than the first few games. It was just a nicer batting wicket,” said Usman Khawaja, who scored a marathon 180 in the first innings.

Women’s T20s

The Women’s Premier League has taken off in a big way, with Harmanpreet Kaur’s heroics headlining Day 1 of the tournament in Mumbai. Purists have reservations about men’s T20 cricket, for it is pop cricket that can kill classical cricket: Techniques are damaged and the virtue of patience is lost, and this impacts how cricketers play Tests which, professional players and experts insist, is the prime format of the sport.

However, for women’s cricket, T20s could be the way forward, for they play virtually no Test cricket. In her 14-year India career, Harmanpreet has played only three Tests; Australia’s Alyssa Healy, an international for 13 years, has played only six Tests. Alyssa recently wrote she was a “bit flat” about the lack of opportunities to play Tests when she signed her first contract at 18. But now, she wrote, “Look how far T20 cricket is taking our game. I can’t believe the opportunities that now exist for us to make a living playing cricket around the world. I’m here in Mumbai for the WPL, I played in The Hundred over in the UK and a women’s tournament has just been launched in Pakistan. How good is that?”

It’s good, and it would be good for men’s cricket to subsidise women’s cricket to the greatest extent, for creating more and more female role models in sports plays a vital role in promoting women’s rights and equality in any society.