Cricket and that discordant chime
THE discordant chime of ‘Big Benn’ during the third Test of the recent series between the West Indies and Australia ‘Down Under’ underscored the drastic shift of the game from times long past.
In fact, the well-publicised, embarrassing spat between the lanky orthodox spinner and two Australian players was the third such in recent memory — the other two being the Sarwan versus Glen McGrath incident in Antigua in 2003 and the Robert Samuels/Brian Lara affair in Australia back in 1997, when the latter came to the defence of the fledgling left-handed Jamaican opener who was being intensely harassed by the opposition during the second innings of the Test match at Perth.
Interestingly, respective Australian and West Indies teams contest the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy, named after the man who epitomised the true essence of cricket and whose sportsmanship, diplomacy, grace and poise initiated all ‘rubbers’ played between the two countries since the 1960s.
But while these episodes perhaps emphasise the intensity with which professional cricket is being played these days, they unfortunately also stress the dissipation of the gentlemanly spirit that underlined the conception of this wonderful game.
An interesting irony that girds occurrences of this nature, but which is also a distinctive feature of cricket, is that it happens to be a non-contact sport, with the only way to vent one’s emotions being with either ball or bat — in short, making one’s performance speak for you.
In Sulieman Benn’s case, things literally got physical and the three players involved became embroiled in a pushing and shoving match that threatened to get out of control, even in the presence of West Indies skipper Chris Gayle and both umpires, not to mention the meticulous lenses of the global media.
Gale later argued that from his perspective, the incident was not in any way provoked or instigated by Benn, who later picked up a two-match ODI suspension for his part in the fracas.
For me, however, the biggest disappointment was the fact that the player enacted his dramatics seemingly without regard for either captain or officials, and was clearly given a ‘free hand’ throughout the distasteful incident.
To compound matters, Benn appeared to be getting angrier by the minute and it must have been a minor miracle which prevented the situation from escalating to very serious proportions.
To my mind, Gayle should have intervened in a more active manner instead of displaying his usual ‘super cool’ demeanour in the face of a situation which required urgent intervention from one who is theoretically an agent of change.
In cricket, more than in any other sport, the captain is a respected and even revered authority figure because so much tends to hinge on his every decision and overall approach to the game.
In fact, whereas a football coach can, and oftentimes, affix the skipper’s armband on an arbitrary individual for a variety of reasons — including instilling responsibility and discipline in that player — without any expected disruption, cricket’s counterpart dares not do likewise, as from a decision-making perspective, this could spell virtual disaster for the team.
In taking a closer look at these circumstances, I recall former Australian captain Steve Waugh being dubbed a ‘student of the game’ for his awareness of statistics, history of the game and his role in its unfolding.
Against this background, Waugh would have been aware of how unnecessary it is to resort to physical confrontations — whether intentional or inadvertent — and the strategic use of sledging, which can be a psychological ploy designed to unsettle batsmen and trigger their demise.
However, for their part, West Indians don’t have to look towards any Australian as a model of behaviour: In the halcyon days of the Windies four-pronged pace attack, many a batsman would have been happy to hear even whispered sledging amid a plethora of Machiavellian deliveries whistling past the ears while the predatory fieldsmen silently awaited his termination.
Now, that is what psychological warfare, or affairs of the mind, are all about.
So perhaps what is missing from today’s game is a bit of subtlety; knowing how to play the mind game, and the confidence to work hard enough to achieve one’s objective.
From a West Indian perspective, Benn’s display of arrogance was not only ignoble, but also fits snugly into CLR James’ assertion that “What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?”