A disclaimer to start with. I am not and never have been a student of Cricket, so I claim no technical expertise of the game, but one does not need to know the nuisances of a language's grammar to speak it right, over a period of time one just knows if something is wrong without necessarily being able to explain the 'why' and 'what'.
There is definitely something amiss about this game of late. The benchmark of this game for centuries had been a 2 innings a side match. Where every ball was played to its merit. To me the sweetest tune was not a beautifully executed boundary but a straight bat defence of a ball aimed at the middle stump. Anyone can swing the bat and with a little luck pack the ball off the park, but it takes years of practice that comes of being dedicated to be able to defend a good ball. This attitude and skill has fallen prey to the 20:20 mindset.
The minimum score these days in a ODI seems to be in the vicinity of 350. That is at the rate of one more than the number of balls in an over. With this trend, the first casualty is the game and the second is the already brittle confidence of the bowlers. Is boundary the destination of every ball? Should our every action be directed at making more money? When should one enjoy life, if not as we live it? When should the player stop and smell the roses (or the ball) if not as he plays the game?
The mantra now is to by hook and crook get the most out of every ball and in pursuit of this goal, there are shots being played that are probably making the likes of Bradman turn in his grave. The bat swung above the head like a mace - Helicoptor shot - more like a blind man shooting in the dark. The sweep shot*, where a right handed player reverses the grip on the bat to play it like a left handed player and probably vice versa. The scoop shot, where the batsman, all else having failed, tries to scoop the ball like lifting a fly out of his drink and chucking it behind him, except imagine a gigantic cup, a monstrous fly and a desperate cricketer. There are other shots so ridiculous that they haven't been christened yet.
If a batsman with a good footwork and a sensible repertoire of shots plays these 'unorthodox' shots it is hilarious but for a mediocre cricketer who is bent on getting the runs no matter how, all he will be left with is the theatrics of those shots which will soon cease to be funny. The end result of the game cannot justify the sacrifice made to cornerstone aspects of the game like footwork and defence.
A 20:20 match is not cricket but an entertaining show. With the 20:20 mindset being carried over to ODI's as well, they too are turning into meaningless extravagant Bollywood productions. Where will the debacle cease? What of the sanctity of the game?
*Apparently, this is not a sweep shot but its called 'switch it'.
