Phil Hughes death - A perspective

Yes it is freakish, grim...shattering; because it happened where it was never supposed to...

Suddenly everybody is jolted, halted, Gavaskar was naive enough to call for the suspension of the first test, which is 'just' 10 days away...

Is there anything left for me to write...on this!?  "Sports can seep into life, but when the reverse happens it is frightening. When real life breaks through and enters a sporting activity bringing with it death, it is unfair. Real life has no business entering a purely artificial situation and jerking us awake...." Suresh Menon wrote in The Hindu concluding with the words of John Donne, "Death be not proud".

"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so:

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death; not yet canst thou kill me.

From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be,

Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;

And soonest our best men with thee do go---

Rest of their bones and souls' delivery!

Thou'rt slave to fate, change, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die!

                                                                                                   - John Donne

Well, I have a perspective...and hence....

Such incidents stops time and makes one wonder what if we reverse back the time....just before the ball hitting Phil and what if he manages to duck under...after all, you never associate death with sport.

Well, death is a death, whether it happens on Sydney Cricket ground or on the streets of Gaza...how different is this death from the death of a small kid shot dead by a stray bullet, while walking innocently....in search of some food...some safety...

You don't associate life with the streets of Gaza and that hapless child, like you don't associate death with a Cricket ground and the .  Therefore, a natural walk by a child in the streets of Gaza is treated with contempt of having trespassed into....and hence that death becomes insignificant...irrelevant....rather cheap...

Imagine a situation where a batsman hits a glorious six and the ball hits a man on his temple and he dies on the spot...will it evoke similar sentiments...attention of the entire world...suspension of matches...!?

Is that death any different?

Cricket is a sport and definitely a pass time; but only for those who watch...spend their money and time and watch; and not for the one who is playing.  It is played by someone for money, fame, popularity...let us face it: and the death happened while on pursuit of all the above and not while fighting a war for the country. Don't glorify the death, for heaven sake! 

The moment we step out of the "safe haven" of our homes, we are stepping into uncertainty...and death is the greatest of all uncertainty which follows us like a shadow.  

Till thirty years back, batsmen were facing and fending-off barrage of bouncers from far more lethal bowlers with a mere hat and for far less stake and attention!  If you still go back, there were times when the players had to put their money take leave from their livelihood for representing their country and risking their lives and livelihood in real sense! There was even a series when a side purposefully went for head hunting in quest of....

Do you think this event will make even one Australian bowler bowl less lethally...in consideration for the few Indian batsmen who haven't learnt the art of dealing with the bouncers yet...? Never!

When Sandeep Patil was hit seriously on his head and was fortunate to recover; to live and play again; he was greeted with a bouncer by Dennis Lillee.  

It is all about winning...fame, money, and there is no place for considerations.

This incident is not going to stop people from allowing their children to take up cricket...for the money, fame will loom larger than this solitary death!

Call it a death, a sad event, unfortunate, untimely and be done with it. 

Like every other death, this one will also bring us back to this earth and the reality...for the moment and soon death and Phil Hughes will fade from the minds and the sixes and fours will adore the pages...

Bent by 15 degrees!

Ass I was ‘travelling’ into my intended “Corridors of uncertainty” I was forced to take a detour by “15 degrees” and it opened corridors of uncertainty, wide and conspicuous!

Did I say ass? ….well forget the typo and just let me continue…

“Law is an ass” goes the first law!   By this statement of Charles Dickens, (which is improvised from its original usage by George Chapman dating back to 1600’s), what is actually meant is the reputation that law gained over centuries for its purported stupidity, which Mr.Donkey is ‘known’ for! 

But if you actually observe man, especially when ‘it’ is alone and the donkey when ‘he’ is alone, I have little doubt that you will detest the analogy.  Donkey is very consistent, unmoved and silent; whilst I don’t have to tell you about man who is known to you better in first person singular!  By man I include both genders – I don’t discriminate!

So, please don’t ever call donkey an Ass or even Donkey!

Well, who am I to question & correct the validity of Charles Dickens statement; in any case it has survived centuries and even the “law” cannot “stay it”!

This aphorism has been flashing over my mind's screen; not by observing an ass – casually referred to as, donkey; but man – occasionally referred to as, an ass! After all "what is in the name" as the great bard expressed!

Coming to 15 degrees, which for a change refers to a ‘rule’ in the game of cricket which remains in cold storage with occasional heating up, suiting convenience.

Briefly, a bowler is considered as chucking the ball, when he does not swing his arm full, while bowling a ball – with a maximum tolerable limit of 15 degrees arch in his elbow.

And we need to enter into the second law for further deliberations on this subject

The second law: Law is not only an ass but also has lot of holes in it!

Now, by the two separate words “ass” and “hole”, am I making any sense!? If yes, it is unintentional!  What I essentially mean here is, that, how do you measure this 15 degrees aberration and what do you do with it?  Till the advent of television, it was only our vision which detected or failed to detect and the umpire is the one who initiates it.  He has to see whether the bowler oversteps the popping crease, then observe the pitching of the ball, and the impact position on the pads (if it hits) and assess the height and adjudge whether a ball is “no ball” or a batsman is out “LBW” and all this in less than half a second!

With the advent of television and technology, the actions are analysed and the degrees determined – but by then a bowler like Saeed Ajmal, who is the latest in this infamy list, has already done sufficient ‘damage’ by taking hundreds of wickets.  In any case, he will appeal and if it fails, will go and ‘correct’ his action and come back and continue chucking….sorry bowling!  

And the point is the best bowlers in the world (with the bare exception of great Muralidharan who had a malformed elbow) proved effective only by their ‘clean action’!  So where is the advantage of ‘chucking’ and disadvantage of bowling ‘clean’!?

Why have a rule which has holes and contentions?  

So, 'rule' (the law) becomes an ass, because it is still & quiet and raises its head and voice only occasionally. 

By observing this donkey standing, can we be sure whether it is sleeping, meditating or procrastinating!?  

This reminds me of the statement by Churchill, which goes, “the era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close”!  Not sure what he really meant by this audacious assertion!?

Rather it was just beginning!!  Can anyone vouch that 'law' and 'ass' acted fast proactively!?  Forget half measures in these times when the department concerned with road laying lays the road and immediately the corporation people come and digs for pipe laying, returning the road to its original state!  Cricket associations can consider utilising the services of corporation personnel for laying the pitch - they can rest assured that it will be a square turner!

Coming to 15 degrees; just make the rule simple that the arm should raise over the shoulder and head before delivering the ball.

'Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties' goes the oft repeated trite statement and we take pride in repeating this and make no effort to ward off unwarranted uncertainties.

Look at this rule of cricket: "if the ball pitches outside the line of leg stump and then hits the pad, then a batsman cannot be ruled out even if the ball is hitting the middle stump!"  When Shane Warne can bowl Gatting out by pitching the ball well outside the leg stump and turning it squarely to hit the stump, why not Gatting be rule out if his pad happens to be in-between the ball and the stump?  It defies logic, despite its rationale. On top of it, the line which is mentioned in the rule is an imaginary one!!

Generally, the law makers lurk stealthily and allow the law breaker to break the law and catch – if needed!  In India, you can see the traffic policemen waiting on the wrong end of a “no entry” road and catch someone who drives through and reaches the other end.  He is not worried about the repercussions of the crime of driving down the prohibited way – not intending to prevent but prosecute.

Rules and laws are meant to be learnt before and abide by it. Likewise, the governing bodies are constituted to prevent that which is unruly or illegal and not lurk and catch in the aftermath! 

Why don’t the governing body of sports test all the players before the race instead of catching them after the race – after winning 7 tours or winning two Olympic medals!

Why allow production of cigarettes and then ban smoking in common place and put a statutory warning and keep allowing people to suffer – I mean the non-smokers!

Why sell liquor through authorized bars when someone comes driving in for a drink and then catch him for drunken driving?

Why allow poachers to get into the forest and kill the elephant and rhinos and catch them when they smuggle the tusk and tuft?

Will anybody learn the rules of the game to circumvent it?  Primarily a sportsperson learns a game to excel in his chosen arena and showcase his talent. So does a policeman who primarily wanted to adhere strictly to law and make the erring citizen law abiding!  No criminal is a born criminal - only the holes in the law provides and shows him the avenues.

But as the cat turns wild with the first taste of blood, the first inadvertent step outside the boundary loosens the resolve and if it goes unchecked, becomes a habit!  And you know, “habits die hard” (there is no dearth for such aphorisms in this world!). 

The law is not meant to be bent, and for this, it needs to be made out of steel to enforce its objective, after deep contemplation and prudence.  Law is for prevention of untoward in the hands of the enforcing authorities and only then it assumes a punitive function in the judicature.

If you ask me, Law should be made like an “ass” – rigid and obstinate and man should not get tempted to go through its “hole” and make himself an….!

The act of creation!

"The act of creation is not an issue that can be satisfactorily solved by the tools and techniques which present-day (1964!) psychologists commonly employ - mental testing, experimental research, planned observations on men and animals. What is really needed is a systematic study carried out by one of those rare individuals who himself happens to possess this peculiar gift of creativity."

I intended to write this desertion on "the act of creation" and commence it with a powerful assertion by the creator of this very caption - Arthur Koestler and in-spite of his last sentence... but with a disclaimer at the outset to clarify that 'I am not that haughty & preposterous to assume one that he described...!'

...but...

...and because I happen to love, to read, to listen, to watch and to attempt all that is classified under the broad heading "aesthetic"...

...and because I happen to see often some of the 'modern day technique' which has mauled this very thing that is classified under aesthetic, with a deep sense of poignance.  I do not limit this to Cricket alone.

Gosh, these days men appreciate and men are appreciated for "acts of destruction" - by which term I propose to mean the killing of the "act of creation" or depraving of that very word "aesthetic" under the garb of "productivity".

Cricket was never this noisy, clumsy, bragging.  Runs at any cost, wickets at any cost, money at any cost...

The speed and the rate at which the runs are being scored has increased manifold, yes. But is that all... can this be classified under the act of creation?  The shrunk tree under the bonsai technique would fit in your drawing room table, but will that satisfying the intended purpose of a tree, which is to yield shade, rain, oxygen, consume and clean us of dirt & carbon dioxide - for the moment we shall forget about the fruit that it yields!

Be it the ugly reverse scoop which Shikar Dhawan played for a boundary behind the wickets yesterday and the repeated unyielding ugly reverse sweeps of those Englishmen: both these acts failed to satisfy the mind which is craving for beauty. Like the bonsai tree they may adore the statisticians pages but not the minds which are steeped in aesthetics.  Alas, men of class, the likes of that legend called the Viswanath, the Azhars, & the Laxmans are disappearing fast.

Men of class created classics be it bowling, batting, fielding, umpiring or commentating.  Who can forget that Johnty Rhodes who redefined fielding and showcased it as one of the most exquisite art!?

There were times when the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, G.R.Viswanath, David Gower, Mohinder Amarnath, Zaheer Abbas, Majith Khan, the Chappels, Geoffrey Boycott, Graham Pollock, Dulip Mendis, Roy Dias, Javed Miandad, Muddassar Nazar, and the likes, stayed on the crease for hours, sessions, even days to dodge and defy the bowlers relentlessly and put a very heavy price on their wickets, whilst facing the fiercest of bowling attacks!  Then, even their deft defence looked beautiful, forget about their innumerable beautiful range of shots! And that too without the safety of modern day protection gadgets like helmets, arm guard, chin guard, thigh guard...god knows which part is left uncovered in the modern days! 

The quicks of yesteryears must certainly have clocked 100 miles plus.  Those were the times when the fast bowlers created music with an instrument called "cricket ball"!

The big fellas Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts, Malcom Marshal (diminutive in physical height though!), Bob Willis, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, Imran Khan, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh were all fiercely graceful!  They at times even applauded genuinely if best of their deliveries were played exquisitely but, ensured that their next ball did all the talking and not indulge in sledging like the modern day bowlers.

Not that there were no verbal exchanges during those times - cricket is termed as 'gentleman's game, by mistake(!) - but, there was more action and less talking. They talked, but little, after acting upon and made their talking too sound exquisite!

Take this one for an example; Viv Richards playing in county faced Greg Thomas and missed several balls in a row. Greg Thomas came near Richards and said: "It's red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering." Richards not uttering any word hammered the next delivery out of the cricket grounds and into a nearby river and said "Greg, you know what it looks like, now go and find it"!

Actions speak more powerfully and remain etched in the batsmen's  mind! 

   

With all the gadgets which ensured safety of every part of the body and with the so called modernised techniques, the present day batsmen fail to stay even for a session...to ward of the impending and imposing defeat and the ignominy (god knows if it is felt or not!), because, they fail to realise that these are mind games!  "It is not that mountain over there that you surmount, but your own mind" said Edmund Hilary after conquering the last hurdle along with Tenzing Norgay, which defied human minds till then.

Man can never device a technology to conquer human minds, forget fathoming it!  And the best of human minds can never be satisfied by the technology, aesthetically.

You need to be possessed with that sense of aestheticism, that craving for beauty to excel; then a mere stance would exude beauty, you don't even require a cricket bat!!

(David Gower in forward defence with a scotch bottle!)

Incidentally, Gower's put the first ball he faced in his career delectably to the fence thus

(Gower's pull of the first ball that he faced in his career)

Look at the elegance of that pull, that economy of movement and the balance on his left leg (being a southpaw that he was).  Generally, whatever the lefties play were beautiful (Alan Border being the lone exception) and Gower made it more beautiful!

I love artists! Gower and Vishwanath are two of my most favourite cricketers of all times. Azhar, Sachin,  Aravinda & Laxman come after and not to demean other greats who adored this game!

I used to have a big photograph of GRV's 'leg glance' - one of the many shots that he made his own - which you can keep glancing for hours and years and still be never tired off!

These artist on the 22 yards are a rare breed of cricketers who arrive and depart unannounced; but in the while they adored the 22 yards for whatever duration in a given innings and for whatever duration in their career, they would have enriched you aesthetically and made you craving madly for such delights...

...unless of-course...!

Unfortunately, we did not have very many visual clippings of those foregone era. Unfortunately, during late 1970's and early 1980's when I devoured cricket as a school boy, the matches were not telecast. 

But, we did get treated by the verbal commentators of BBC's "test match special" & ABC -  by the likes of Brian Johnston, Tony Cozier, Richie Benaud, Ian Chappel, Tony Greg, Ray Illingworth, Bill Lawry, Tony Lewis, Christopher Markin Jenkins, Fred Trueman...the list is long and the memory is short!  Who can forget that 'ear-rings craver' Henry Blofeld!

These great connoisseurs of the game verbalised each and every moment of cricket as it unfurled in front of their aesthetic and discerning eyes and transformed it into an aural treat for our ears which was glued and pressed on to that now fast disappearing device called "Radio", sitting in some remote corner of the world!  The description was so vivid that the match, the pitch, the players, the scene around could be visualised by us actually in our minds eye - an experience which will render even the modern day HD TV clips poorer! 

Each and every muscle a cricketer moved did not escape the rowing eyes of these great creators called commentators!  

The waning and the waxing nature of the "short wave" broadcast added to the delight of the description of these commentators and made us ecstatic!  As the bowler runs down to bowl, the commentators description would be sound enough for us to see the bowler run and as he nears the stumps and bowls, the shortwave sound will wane at times and spring aloud with the description of what happened next! 

Bill Lawry made his words "going, going, going, and gone" just travel along with the ball which left the batsman's bat on its trajectory towards the stands!

Not sure if BBC would be having the recordings of those great commentaries and if yes, if they release them it would be an instant hit!

Some of the great comments that I enjoyed reading in the pages of internet was that of the legendary Brian Johnston's of "BBC":

"Ray Illingworth has just relieved himself at the Pavilion End."

Brian handing over to another commentator:  "It's close of play here but they go on until seven o'clock at Edgbaston.  So over now for some balls from Rex Alston."

"And Dickie Bird's standing there with his neck between his shoulders."

and the best of all:

During England v New Zealand in 1969 Glenn Turner was hit in the groin on the fifth ball of the over and the match and commentary was interrupted till Glenn was treated.  When the play resumed, Johnston commenced commentary: "It looks as if he's going to try and continue, although he still looks very shaken and pale.  Very plucky of him.  Yes, he's definitely going to have a try - One ball left"!!

Now in 2014, I can carry the TV even to a desert or toilet - in an app on my smartphone...am I happy!? 

There is cricket every second and get to see it played in the remotest corners of this globe...am I happy!?

Well, I keep getting this deja-vu, a scene a version of which I read during my school days and which I actually experience many times: travelling by a train and as the train goes past a cricket ground where a bowler is running down to bowl...and the train takes a turn and with it our sight off the cricket ground...leaving us wonder what happened to that "un-bowled ball", un-bowled in our mind's eye!

I feel a similar poignance now at the fast disappearing endangered species of this art...when I see less and less of those true artistic creation and instead fed with more and more of garbage called "runs" and "wickets" which do not only make and mean cricket.

But, these are times when even the drinking water is bottled and sold and we pay and get...yet we may not be drinking it pure...

Times are changing and with it some part of us is dying everyday... every passing moment and so does the great art...!

Please wait for my next title: "Corridors of uncertainty"!

Till then....

         

Leadership in testing times!

The diaspora of english speaking men who came and made India their second home, spread the pores of 'Cricket'; which until then referred only to a 'grass hoping insect'; which spread to every nook and corner of this country, to some areas where even their 'universal' language failed!  Long after they left, this game has stayed and spread more infectiously than a weed would, and men here survive in spite of suffocation of its overdose. 

"The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity", said George Bernard Shaw!  Did he say 'eternity'!?  Ah! he was talking about that test matches that used to be played over 5 days! The current Indian team managed to redefine and shrink 'this eternity'. 

The magic of cricket makes people forget and forgive the literal felling and falling of heads by wicked's almost at will, but never the falling of wickets in cricket and demand felling of heads - especially those at the helm!

And hence, the heads of few have come in for stake and stalk after the dismal show in test matches that was played recently between India and England in the birth place of this 'sacred' sport! The 'methods' are analysed and plausible corrections in the technique of few players and the capabilities of few others are also analysed thread bare and made public through various medium.  The primary concern, however, revolved around the role of the leader.

What is the role of a leader?  How much of this debacle is contributed by the leadership?

I do not intend to get into the semantics of the term 'leadership', it would defy even the space and scope of volumes and volumes which already adore the shelves and struggle to enter the minds!  Rather, I shall explore it under the current context and concern of this Indian team.

Is a leader as good as the team or is the team as good as a leader!? The question posed is as trite and as intriguing as "whether the egg came first or the chick"!?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems more intriguing than the above propositions! 

A recent book by HBR dealt with this issue multi-prong of which I pick the following imperatives:

- Picking the right people

- Building the right culture

- Finding a strategy that works

"Right set of people" make up for a good team and to this end, the statement "the leader is as good as a team" proves true.  Well, will a mere constitution of right set of people ensure success? Few years back, we had the best of people in business touring England and they met with a similar fate - importantly, the leader was same both then and now! Also, some of the present breed of players are considered heirs for the realms left open by those foregone greats, and even in their short tenure thus far, have proved their capabilities, significantly in alien conditions!  And in any case, a leader who brought glory to the nation in the past, is expected to steer and spearhead a given team, and optimally utilise the potential of the given resources.  

"Building the right culture": "Culture", a very broad word which is the bedrock of a society, and a commonly used one in the corridors of corporates and governance, has also managed to find its entry into the arena of sports!  Here, one must acknowledge that a "culture" is something which is not (and cannot be) thrust into an individual. It is more of a feeling of belongingness that an individual gets when he conforms willingly to a set of undefined rules!  There are instances where certain aberrations creep in temporarily and vitiate the prevailing culture. Or there are cases where a certain individual who managed to 'change' the prevailing culture.  But, 'right culture' certainly is a prerequisite for a significant performance, more so in a team environment. At times, when someone is failing, the shouldering of the responsibility by others till the failing individual rises is a reflection of the prevailing culture!

"Finding a strategy" needs no further emphasis or explanation, but finding that strategy 'which works' is a very tricky proposition!  It is precisely here that a leader gets exposed as right strategy also includes deployment of right people and right culture!  If the strategy backfires, it exposes the weakness of an individual - even if he happens to be the right person! An individual, thus exposed would also start emanating wrong signals which will vitiate the prevailing culture, infectiously.   

The infectious negativeness and a serious dent in the self belief of Kohli and Pujara caught and spread to Vijay and Rahane too, who where so far excelling in the same hostile turf! Suddenly, everyone started failing and the slide turned into an avalanche! 

Sometimes, in the face of such a slide, the mind just shuts adamantly and refuses to open up.  The drooping eyelids of Kohli, Pujara et-al did not have the power to penetrate the shut wall of their minds. In broad daylight, these players very found groping in their self imposed darkness, unable to see what is happening. The 'seeing' was like, as Alexandra Horowitz expressed, "...we see, but we do not see; we use our eyes, but our gaze is glancing, frivolously considering its object. We see the signs, but not their meanings. We are not blinded, but we have blinders."

It is not uncommon to fail - both individually and collectively. But, to fail consistently and in such cascading manner is something very serious.  It is here that the role of a true leader gets defined: he needs urgently to find the meaning and communicate - to open channels for the individual who is failing, to stem his failure, and enable him to redeem himself  and more importantly ensure that the 'disease' doesn't spread to the uninfected!   

These players are no longer in the school of cricket, some of them have tapped the doors of excellence and hence they just need to be shaken awake from their self induced slumber and the nonsense of imparting few techniques should stop. The road to top is not for herds and one has to travel alone and be ready for stepping on thorns, barriers and at times face blind alley. It is here and going through all the above which makes them evolve, thrive and consummate.

Amidst all this, the leader will only be a catalyst and nothing more, but being a catalyst is not remaining silent - silence is a virtue in controlled doses and not always!  And he should be performing both as a leader and in his domain. At times, a leader may become adamant, uninspiring and simply may have exhausted his 'store of ideas'; it is then time for him to leave the stage or if need be shown the door.

Mike Brearley - the Brit who is the only cricketer who is specifically known for his leadership qualities said, "The captain, like the parent and the psychoanalyst, is bound to be the recipient of emotional demands and pressures from those he is responsible for. A good leader or manager is interested in what makes people tick, particularly when they seem to be difficult or withdrawn or under-achieving."

Whatever we may say and analyse, in sports, everything boils down to defeating one four letter word - "fail" and achieve one simple three lettered word - "win". It pains to lose, as simple as that, everything else is irrelevant. To the self posed question: "Why I failed",  Abinav Bindra (a shooter who won the first ever gold medal for India in Olympics) answered: "I was not desperate enough to win."  Even though one might keep saying philosophically that taking part and being in the moment is the primary aspect of any sport, when a team or an individual fails, no one gets elated and everything else takes backseat! 

Sometimes, the chord to this will to win may get severed in an individual. It is then the responsibility of those at helm to restore this vital link - simply put. Forget the methods which are plentiful.

Until then...