Catch 22

Intriguingly so far it seems that only the Sri Lankan cricketers have taken the maximum use of the tuition classes given by their coach Tom Moody and right now one of the top contenders for a berth among the Super Fours of the tournament. The other hiredhands among the other top rankers have failed while the fate of Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher who is in charge of the English camp will be known only after their mountainous task of beating the top contenders Australia this evening.

Shell-Shock
Early in the tournament the whole world plunged into shell-shock with the untimely death of the incumbent Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer who was allegedly brutally assassinated. Woolmer’s murder came close on the heels of the first round exit of the Pakistan team when they crashed to two unexpected defeats against the West Indies in the tournament opener and then followed it up with a loss against the little known Irish Xl.

The cricketing chart toppers and the head-line busters did not stop there. A few days later lowly placed Bangladesh hitched-a-hike into the super eights when Sri Lanka convincingly beat the much hyped Indian outfit, after having beaten the latter in an earlier encounter. However that was proved only as a flash in the pan when Bangladesh failed to make even the slightest impact once they came to the ‘big time’ gun fight and are presently lying at the bottom of the table tagged as also ran.

However the World Cup debacle resulted in a mini riot in India with some fans dying of heart attacks while other angered fans vented their frustration even on the look-a-likes of their favourite cricketing idols who are almost demi-gods in this huge cricket crazy continent. This followed with the pointing of fingers and the daggers being drawn out in the hub of Indian cricket. This development culminated with the resignation of coach Greg Chappell, who seems to have started his campaign holding the wrong end of the stick. I wonder what would have happened if the Indian cricket hierarchy decided vice-versa when they had the fateful choice between Moody and Chappell a while ago.

Going into Pakistan it does seem that they will go for a coach for the time being and it is almost certain that it is not going to be another foreigner. Time is a great healer and it is only that healer that could douse the present Pakistan Blues. However just crossing the border the picture gets a bit more interesting. In the first place, the Bangladesh coach who seem to have brought in some changes in the attitude of the Bangladesh cricketers has expressed his willingness to take a hike across the border. At the same time there is a school, of thought in India that a home grown coach could serve the nations cricketing needs more than a hired hand. A champion in this cause is none other than the World Cup winning Indian champion team leader Kapil Dev.

Sunil is the Best
Kapil recently went on record saying. "Sunil is the best person. When I played, I used to take his advice a lot of times. I personally feel people like him should come forward and say, `ok, now, this is the time, we will take responsibility, we can’t grow worse than this. If I have a Sunil, I won`t call a foreigner. When I meet him I will tell him, `Sunil, please, India needs you, come and take the job."

This is a true sentiment of a cricketer who reads the game as well as any one else and is respected not only for for his abilities, but for his views too.

In Australia their home grown coach John Buchanan is king and at the end of this world cup he is going to abdicate, but, with full honours still intact, unless they crash out at the super-four stage or at the final. Just a few miles across the Australian sea, Former New Zealand spinner John Bracewell has made the flightless Kiwis fly high. From the position of a pack of no-hopes a while ago the New Zealand team has come a long way and the thumping they gave the Australians in a test of wits during their Hadlee-Chapell series will be long remembered by all cricket lovers for years to come. So far the New Zealand team has had a good run in the CWC and is one of the main contenders for a spot in the super-fours. On the other hand, South Africa so far have come unscathed besides their very close call against Sri Lanka, and have the dubious tag being ‘chokers’ in spite of their talent and experience.

Blessing in Disguise
Now it seem in the long run that it may have been a blessing in disguise that Tom Moody lost out to Greg Chappell in their run to the post as the high profile coach of Indian Cricket. Like I said before Chappell started driving this heavy container on the reverse gear and did not hit a forward gear till they fell deep into oblivion.

Like Buchanan in his own country, Moody in Sri Lanka is king. He is the only hired hand who is riding high. Once again it is intriguing to learn if it is his own ingenuity or the ability of the Lankan cricketers to absorb different thinking at different times that have gelled them into a consistent lot in the past few years. However the national squad thinks very highly about the abilities of Mr. Tom Moody and they think that is the thing that matters most for Sri Lanka cricket.

However will Tom Moody's family influence whether he stays with Sri Lanka, heads home to Australia or returns to England to work after the World Cup?. It seem that Moody has a list of positions to consider by the end of April. He has the chance of staying on with the Sri Lanka team for yet another term (If the Sri Lanka Cricket gets about the business correctly). Then he is being lured by his former colleague Justin Langer to come over to be in charge of cricket in Western Australia and at the same time his name is also bartered as the next to replace the beleaguered Duncan Fletcher as the coach of the English National team – another very high profile job.

So far the Lankans have made good with Moody’s contribution towards their cause and now it is upto the administrators to decide on the rerun of his contract, because the Moody factor has worked for Sri Lanka while the others bartered their skills on foreign lands have fallen by the way side.