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THE ASHES: Will be back after a break!

I read in a cricket journal recently, that the game of cricket is perhaps the most individual of all team sports.

Pratik Dogra
I read in a cricket journal recently, that the game of cricket is perhaps the most individual of all team sports. After all, how many times have we seen one dazzling innings from Sachin Tendulkar or a Chris Gayle, a fiery spell of bowling from Shoaib Akhtar or a Shane Warne or a flash of brilliance from Jonty Rhodes in the field cast an overbearing shadow on the result of a game. Indeed cricket is the only team sport that allows individuals to turn contests on their heads. Not just any individual…but special men. Men bestowed with extraordinary gifts in terms of talents. And when these talented geniuses do what they must, they develop an aura. It is this aura that draws people to a sport and then converts the audience into a fan….and such a fan, that nationality, ethnical backgrounds and even history, cease to matter.Or how else does one explain the whole of Kolkata coming to a standstill for a month every four years when the football World Cup takes place, cheering for `their’ beloved Brazils and Argentinas! In that regard, to a neutral, the ongoing Ashes seem a poor man’s one! With all due respect to Andrew Strauss and his men, who wrapped up a fantastic victory at the Lord’s, the current Ashes seems a poor cousin, quality-wise, compared to its illustrious predecessors, especially the epic 2005 edition. But then, that’s hardly surprising. Any magnum opus would cease to be one, if it were to be made bereft of power-packed performers like Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, and Matthew Hoggard due to retirements, loss of form or injuries. I reiterate my intent not to demean any of the fabulously talented youngsters on either side. The likes of Ravi Bopara, Brad Haddin, Alistair Cook, Matt Prior and Peter Siddle have great potential, and the quality they possess is second to none in the world. But what the series lacks is star power…barring Andrew Flintoff, Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen. I remember cheering for Warnie as he continued to baffle England’s batsmen, Ashes after Ashes. With the same enthusiasm, I applauded Pietersen every time he stepped down the track to Warne and deposited him in the stands. Ponting’s stroke-play left me in awe. But everytime Flintoff got the better of the Australian captain, I felt victorious! Steve Harmison steaming into Hayden. At stake, was The Ashes…..or Brett Lee trying to break through gritty Paul Collingwood’s determination. Every over was a potential turning point. After every session, the momentum swayed. In the end, England broke their drought and won the Ashes. I enjoyed watching the exaggerated celebrations the victors indulged in. I mourned with the Aussies and participated in their post-mortem. As a cricket fan, I had been subjected to a cocktail of high-class, high-voltage and riveting cricketing action for a month and was savouring its hangover. The present Ashes seems more like a filler in between big budgeted bonanzas. More of a preparatory ground for future instalments of the Ashes... England have a chance to regain the Ashes, and in some measure, avenge the 5-0 humiliation they had to suffer Down Under two years ago. Or maybe Australia might recover and prove in the course of the series that they are still better than their colonial masters. Both the teams are in a rebuilding phases. The Young Turks are finding their foothold in the international arena. They need some time…and they can definitely step into the shoes of their illustrious predecessors. Four years from now, when the Australians land on the English shores, that would be the Ashes to watch-out for!