Nothing extra premium about the IOC Cup!

It’s absolutely fabulous. Indian cricket’s summer holidays are over and school has started. Best of all, we the people, can be the examiners all over again. The marks so far - Indian cricket failed in the first game against Lanka, with a surprising A for effort. Against the West Indies they passed with distinction, though not without the West Indies earning an F for their catching. Now, playing a double header in such gruelling conditions isn’t easy. (sound like a patronising firang journo?) Don’t forget, Dambulla is in the muggy paradise of the world. Which explains the full-sleeved ‘keep you cool in summer ‘n warm in winter’ inners Jammie and ZK were wearing. Make that an A for observation. Another big talking point has been stunted light towers with….enough said, or it’s going to be an F for excitement.

Welcome to the IOC Cup. Warned you, there’s nothing premium about it. Even before a ball was bowled, the writing was on the wall. He was made captain, after all. Jokes apart, it was no secret that Sachin, Saurav, Lara, Gayle, Sarwan and the remaining West Indies top draw would be out of action. India was going to play two debutants, neither with the flair or haircuts to be signed by the Cola majors yet. West Indies had mainly new faces, apart from captain courageous and the rookie fast bowlers. Sri Lanka however, was playing to full strength, though apart from Jayasuriya, Vaas, Sangakara and Murali, the Island XI lacks the punch of a world-class team.

Before the game, the wily Chaminda Vaas was ruled out because of injury. Then on Saturday morn’, Laxman had a back spasm. The game barely got underway and Jayasuriya (by far the biggest draw for the locals) dislocated his arm. Meanwhile, Saurav got a reprieve and should be back for the next game. This, if nothing else, might determine the course of Indian sports’ journalism in the next week or so. If he fails, it’ll be is Saurav finished, all over again…if he scores, it’ll be is Saurav back and, ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’…if for some reason, he doesn’t play, it’ll be can Saurav make a comeback from here? Now does that make the IOC Cup boring or what?

What’s more, these three sensational teams decided against the new ICC rules for one-day games – not that it’s the end of the world, but I do feel, super-subs and power plays might have added much needed zing to this drab tournament. But that was not to be. So what does the IOC Cup have going for it? Most importantly, rain should not be a factor in these games. We’re playing in the driest (no pun intended) part of the Emerald Isle. But then, playing in a smaller stadium also rules out the frenzied crowds of Colombo. As for comments, a studious and almost grumpy Javagal Srinath can be seen in the Pepsi drinks break. So instead of the myriad commercials, we are now focused on an Oye Bubbly endorsement, with good ol’ Sri on the virtues of captaincy. Doesn’t quite make the grade, does it?

But fear not, when all else fails, there’s always technology to save the day…Enter Dart Fish. Which makes one wonder, is this cricket or a Matrix movie special? The technology itself is quite spectacular – picture six Kaifs running a batsman out – one frame after the other, from Kaif picking the ball to another taking aim and yet another hurling the ball. And best of all, you get to view all the six Kaifs simultaneously. It’s another thing, that Kaif hasn’t affected a run out in a bit, and Suresh Raina has had two in as many games. But, still no picture of Raina in the papers. Instead, you’ll see ZK in one of those wonder vests.

Also, every now and then on your TVs, there’s a breathtaking view of the floodlit stadium or a panoramic shot of Dambulla. Eat your heart out, because the cricket is average…think Rameez Raja saying average in heavily accented Punjabi English, and it’ll bring a smile, because the cricket definitely will not.

Not least of the culprits is the pitch. With abysmal scores in both games (205 and 178), the very raison d'être of one-day cricket is being questioned at Dambulla. This at a time, when the 20 twenty games in England are seeing similar scores of 200 and more in twenty overs. And no, it’s not all county grounds – think Lord's and The Oval. Nor is it all county players – there’s S.A. captain Graeme Smith, Andrew Symmonds, Stuart Law, James Anderson, Caddick, Cork, in addition to Harmison, Flintoff, and Trescothic when avaiable. It’s 6s galore – where anything goes. What’s brilliant is that 20 twenty epitomizes the uncertainty of the one day game. Something that is sadly missing at the IOC Cup. That is if you don’t count who’s the next player going down.