Opinion: Vision Twenty20 of India

By M H Ahssan

With its opening match against Bangladesh, India embarks on its World Twenty20 campaign. If it does get to defend its crown – won in South Africa in September 2007 – at a flood-lit Lord’s cricket ground on June 21, 2009, time kept at the ground’s WG Grace Gate would have turned a full circle. The transformation of Lord’s, from a conservative cricket bastion that so far resisted the powerful juggernaut of global commercialism, is perhaps finally complete. But some might argue that the finishing touches will be put only when Lord’s plays host to the World T20 final amidst much fanfare and excitement.

The transformation began in earnest a decade ago when the Investec Media Centre made its way into Lord’s – despite considerable criticism from a section of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members – for the 1999 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup. A rectangular glass structure, which stands in stark contrast to the members’ enclosure, still considered one of the most beautiful members’ pavilions in world cricket, was an indication that Lord’s was being forced to change under the influence of globalisation and commercialism. Women’s entry into the MCC membership roster and subsequently into the long room after a long, arduous struggle was yet another step forward.

The tradition versus modernity debate has continued in world cricket’s mecca ever since. Despite most stadiums of prominence moving on to install floodlights, considered a necessity in most ball parks around the world, Lord’s held on. The resistance was intriguing since MCC knew that floodlights would inevitably bring in their wake increased opportunities for raising revenue, money that it desperately needed to undertake a series of developmental activities. Opposition from a section of MCC members and a section of residents of the adjoining St John’s Wood area, one of Central London’s most coveted residential neighbourhoods, strengthened the hands of the traditionalists till World T20 came knocking at the door.

To meet the demands of cricket’s newest genie and ensure that crowds came flocking back to the stadium, the iron grip of tradition had to be loosened and light towers installed. For the first time in its 200-plus-year history, Lord’s will see cricket played consistently past 9 p.m. local time, which for some MCC members is way past dinner time.

The other radical departure, perhaps even more stark compared to the installation of floodlights, is already being made at the MCC museum, the venue for all post-match press conferences. The first floor of this beautifully maintained museum is the site of a well-planned exhibition for the forthcoming Ashes series. The Ashes, which come to Lord’s in mid-July, are still the high point of the British cricket calendar. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that for the MCC’s traditionalists, the Ashes are still sacred.

That is where astonishment creeps in. On the very same floor of the Ashes exhibition, a section has been reserved for the Indian Premier League (IPL). The exhibition includes jerseys and other autographed memorabilia from a series of IPL teams and their stars. There’s also a dedicated IPL photo display, with blowups of more than 50 stand-out moments from IPL season one. Certainly one of the wonders of the contemporary English cricket scene, the coexistence of IPL and the Ashes at the Lord’s museum would make WG Grace, quietly observing the move to new age cricket from his place at one end of the coronation gardens, turn in his grave.

Lord’s and the MCC museum aren’t exceptions. T20, as far as British cricket is concerned, is a survival mechanism. It brought the new infusion of life that county cricket so badly needed in 2003 when most county games were watched by less than a few hundred spectators. Yet, with time, T20 seems to be losing its grip on the British cricket psyche. Unless cricket’s newest format is warmly embraced across the country and given its due alongside the Test and one-day 50-over formats, the British sport may soon lose out to new and emerging cricket markets across the world.

With IPL making giant strides with every passing season, chances of England laying claim to their erstwhile status in world cricket already appear dim. Half full grounds are an unfortunate reality of the British game and even the season opening Test against the West Indies a month ago did not see more than 8,000 tickets sold at Lord’s. While the figure will be different for the Ashes – tickets have been sold out for the Lord’s Test starting July 16 – this one-off event isn’t capable of giving cricket the necessary boost it requires in the UK.

Unless the British accord respectability to the game’s shortest format, it will be impossible for them to rival IPL with their own version of a premier league all set to start in late-2010. It is especially for this reason more than anything else that the World T20 occupies a position of paramount importance in England’s cricketing horizon. Whether or not Collingwood and his team make it to the final, a full Lord’s cheering every run scored and every wicket taken on June 21 will give English cricket a much-needed lifeline.