Spin Academy

TO

The Editor                                                                                                       2.06.03                                                                                   

Mysore Mail

Mysore

                                    For Kind favour of publishing in your Readers' Column

Sir,

The Indian Spin Bowlers Call  for a ban on Limited overs Matches at the Junior level at a BCCI sponsored meet(New Indian Express Dt.31.05.03) has not come a day too soon.

It will be interesting to know the reaction of the Board Authorities to this suggestion. After all BCCI, the richest Cricket Governing Body earns its millions from One day matches at the International level.

The collective decision of the Practitioners of the Art of Spin Bowling to start a Spin Academy is laudable. However all their efforts will come to naught if the current rage of instant cricket is not reigned in.

The game has undergone such a huge transformation that the paying public expect nothing other than the sight of hapless bowlers being pummeled around  the ground. The Governing bodies have added to the Bowlers misery by introducing various stipulations which have drawn the  teeth of Bowlers . Further TV and the electronic media have hyped the game to such an extent that a new breed of Cricket followers have emerged.. The traditional virtues   of the game fails to  thrill them.

Adding to the Woes of the bowler is the  vastly improved quality of batsman's equipment particularly Bats.The sight of a mishit from a batsman landing  on the stadium roof is not uncommon these days.The Good old Staid game of Cricket  has been hacked beyond recognition.

In such a situation, nurturing young spin Bowlers at the proposed Spin Academy will be like rearing goats which will eventually be thrown into a Tiger's den

Meanwhile, the knowledgeble follower of the game is left squirming,and one has to do with reminiscing the raw ferocity  of a Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith,Ray Lindwall,Frank  Tyson and the magic of Subash Gupte,Richie Benaud,Lance Gibbs, and our own Spin Quartet of EAS Prasanna,Venkatraghavan, Bedi & Chandrashekar.

The noble game of Cricket is not what it used to be : Tranquil but Competitive, Intense yet graceful.

It  is worthwhile  recollecting a letter  Lord Harris wrote about cricket in "The Times" , London dated 2.2.1931:

"----------- You do well to  love it, for it is more free from  anything sordid,anything dishonourable,than any game in the world. To play it keenly,honourably,generously,self-sacrificingly,is a moral lesson in itself and the classroom is God's air,and sunshine.Foster  it,my brothers so that  it may attract all who can find time to play it ;  protect it from anything that would sully it,so that  it may be in favour with all men -----------"

Determined effort can reverse the trend. This would mean loss of revenue,stiff opposition from money generating agencies who have used the mass appeal of Cricket  to achieve commercial ends. Will the Authorities brave the odds and do it? Only time will tell.

Karnataka State Cricket Association  has made its move by abolishing the "Slam-Bang" limited over format  in the state league matches as an experiment This is sure to provide some leeway to bowlers, particularly the spinners who can now experiment freely

Meanwhile  connoisseurs will wait with bated breath in anticipation of the re-emergence of  the subtle art of spin bowling replete with its nuances of flight,turn and variations