CRICKET IS LOSING ITS GOOD TOUCH- 1991 Sunday News

It is supposed that the lowest point of our cricket has been reached despite the fact that the Quadrangular was won for the second year running. Imagine the state of cricket elsewhere in East and Central Africa leaving aside Kenya and Zimbabwe!

Is there ever a more pathetic sight than the league game finishing before even lunch? At this level it is wretched beyond belief. It is a frightful situation and cricket eventually may wither away.

Pity the bemused spectators who enter the ground only to find the game over or in its last stages. Gone are the days when the game would hang in balance till the last over is bowled. Those were the days of the fabulous Vasant Tapu whose arrival at the wicket meant thrill and excitement among spectators as the occasion awaited sixes. There was also the stylish Taher Amijee who always displayed elegance and brought honors to his team. Of course there was also Shiraz Sumar, the one and only, who defied each and every team.

The oldies at the ground linger recounting the good old days of Mamda Kassam, Premji Vaghela, Abdulkadir Makra and FHR. Today The deligent KT Karim watching the dreadful proceedings from one corner of the ground provides nostalgia alright but also a grievous irony.

Today the game is virtually over in the morning hours as its outcome is very much foreseeable. The crowd is bored and supporters embarrassed swearing repulsively, and even deciding to abandon the afternoon attendance. If one spectator goes out his associates also go away and the rest follow into football, beaches or video watching. The one team monopoly and lack of competency on the part of others has made cricket monotonous and the once packed grounds are now only sparsely filled with spectators.

What cricket really needs is the support of the general public on a regular bases. It is rare to have noble souls like Said Mohamed who would cover a distance to see even the ‘B’ division matches and encourage cricketers. He even offers his afternoon prayers at the ground that provides cricket with a sacred touch. There is also the dedicated Alkarim Thaver who feeds the scoreboard indefatigably and makes cricket a lively spectacle.

But our cricket is really declining and its finer art missing. While fluent stroke play is occasional, good bowling is even rare. We have failed to produce one genuine fast bowler after the exit of Amir Gulamhusain. The absurdity that bedevils our cricket regrettably emanates from our ‘care hell’ approach. The poor preparation of the ground, the postponement of matches coupled with repeated changes in fixtures and above all the lack of seriousness is very much depressing.

The administrators may be doing honorary job but the task of regulating rules, amending byelaws, preparing fixtures, selecting the National team or arranging visits and resolving technical disputes are all secondary. The prime function need be promoting the game of cricket.

The real effective form of talent spotting comes through school level cricket. Also special talent requires special nurturing. In the past there used to be ‘Isherwood’ tournament at school level and all the schools competed with great enthusiasm. The prominent cricketer CD Patel who also happened to be a schoolteacher took lot of pains grooming boys and even made inspection spree at night prior to the match restricting participants from loitering around.

What we need today therefore is Isherwood type tournament and another CD Patel in the form of someone like Amir Yusuf who can be made to visit schools and train the boys. Also the indigenous boys must be motivated into the game as they form the most natural athletes.

If the tiny islands of Barbados and Antigua with a population of few hundred thousands can overcome the highly populated India and Pakistan in the field of cricket then Tanzania’s indigenous population can also be drawn to the game, even to a little extent.

Cricket talent may also exist in smaller interior towns. If one Hameed Sheriff from Arusha without much practice can come over here and exhibit his artistry then there may be more like him who remain unexploited.

No doubt our dwindling shilling makes the cricket kit and equipment more expensive. This makes cricket’s accessibility to schools and interior towns all the more complicating. For that matter another main function of the administrator is to raise funds. Why commercial and sponsorship cricket can not be experimented in Tanzania if it flourishes in neighbouring Kenya?

To boost cricket, the youngsters have to be initiated. The promising Burhani boys displayed inconsistent performance due to lack of strategy and initiation. Perhaps the inclusion of stalwarts like Adam Akberali may induce them to perform better.

Sadly Upanga after the irreparable loss of Subhash Parmar have failed to steady themselves. They boast of dynamic youngsters but keep shuffling their players.

Dar Brotherhood had a disastrous season, may be due to overconfidence or petty rifts. They lost even to Kinondoni, Daressalaam Gymkhana and Ekta.

Ratish Kamania took the charge of Kinondoni team and spurred his youthful side to a couple of resounding victories.

Daressalaam Gymkhana had their ups and downs. The father and son pair of Kulbir and Devpal Gupta featured admirably. The youthful Deepak Doshi also impressed.

  Amir Sameja and Ahmed Osman’s patronage, and their ‘never say die’ attitude steered on Ekta despite the exodus of their star players. In Maqbul Jaffer they have discovered a sound player.

We are in the nineties and Union Sports since seventies still dominate the scene. Perhaps the influx of the Pakistanis into AK Club may put a halt to Union’s march. After a wavy league season AK Club stride hopefully into knockout and may pull off a wishful surprise.