Audacity of Hope

The last day of Sydney test saw two moments of sheer brilliance that got eclipsed in face of unfortunate events of Sunday.

The first one was a purely cricketing one -Tendulkar's dismissal - result of a plan brilliantly conceived and equally well executed by the duo of Adam Gilchrist and Stuart Clark.

The second one may sound trivial to many, but was hugely significant in the context of acrimonious events that had marred the test that far. Anil Kumble flicked the fourth ball of a Clark over, only to hit the forward shortleg fielder, Phil Jaques, where it hurts the most. Given the match situation, Kumble could have been excused had he turned a blind eye to the man in pain. Instead, the Indian captain walked across and with a friendly tap on Jaques' shoulders confirmed if he was indeed ok. It was a gesture, perhaps alien to most Australian cricketers, but it found an echo in Anil Kumble's post match remark on only one team playing in the true spirit of the game.

On a day when Kangaroos erased the already thin line between playing tough cricket, as is their wont, and showing gross contempt for the spirit of the game, I was also reminded of a Colin Cowdrey lecture delivered at the MCC by Sunil Gavaskar, four years ago. Said Sunny:

The MCC is the custodian of the Laws of the game, and thanks to the initiative of men like Colin Cowdrey, Ted Dexter and Tony Lewis, to name just three, they have now put down in writing the Spirit of Cricket, which for more than a hundred years was only spoken about and observed, too, until the late 1980s, and now has been put down in print so that not only Test and international cricketers know what it means, but also youngsters who are taking up the game.
But what does it tell us to have to put the Spirit of Cricket in black and white? It tells us that the old adage: "It's not cricket", which applied to just about everything in life, is no longer valid - and that's a real pity. In the modern world of commercialization of the game and the advent of satellite television and the motto of winning at all costs, sportsmanship has gone for a six.
At Sydney, the Aussies indeed tossed it for a huge six!

Amongst the many reasons that made the Australian team my favourite over the years was that they played a 'give no inch' brand of cricket. They also brought fresh ideas to the game, whether playing on the field or coaching off it. So when Ricky Ponting used a carbon graphite reinforced bat or when Adam Gilchrist stuffed a squash ball beneath his glove during the recent 2007 WC final, I thought, it was cricketing innovation at its very best. No wonder they dominated the game for well over a decade.

But being a champion team for this long also made them forget to deal with situations when chips are down. While the Australians intimidate the opposing teams with their aggressive brand of cricket, it is when the opposing team refuses to get intimidated that the Australians show their true colours, Sydney test just being the case in point. It is cricket's misfortune that not many teams have succeeded in doing so in recent past.

I won't be surprised if this Australian team under Ricky Ponting extends the current winning streak to few more matches. Even less surprising would be if they plumb lower depths in this quest.

Unlike the Democrat's Presidential nominations race, that lost its 'sense of inevitability' following Barack Obama's victory in Iowa, this series retains very much of it, going into the third test at Perth. And for the first time, I wish, this Australian team under Ricky Ponting is cut down to size in next two tests. For the sake of good of cricket, if not for India.

A tall order? Yes. Wishful thinking? Very much.

But what's hope, if not audacious?