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July 13, 2011Posted by Samir Chopra on 07/13/2011 in Television
Satellite television and the neutral cricket encounter
The neutral cricketing encounter is no longer a novelty for the public in India, thanks to satellite television
© APLiving in the US has always meant looking homeward for cricket. Thanks to a steady improvement in my cricket watching lot here due to broadband streaming, matters are not quite as desperate as they used to be till a few years ago, when every trip to India was to be evaluated on the basis of just how much live cricket it had afforded. Every time I return to India to find a true cornucopia of cricket on multiple channels (some now in ‘High Definition’), I am reminded again, of just what a long way we’ve come, baby. And nothing quite marks that journey like the presence of the ‘neutral’ cricketing encounter on Indian television sets.
In 1993, soon after journeying to India for an extended vacation, I found, while perusing the newspaper with my morning cuppa, a listing that scarcely seemed credible: a live telecast of a Pakistan-West Indies encounter. I stared at the unambiguous lettering with some disbelief.
A few days later, I was watching Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis bowling live to Desmond Haynes and Brian Lara at Port of Spain in the first Test of the 1993 series. To say that this was a cricketing feast would be a severe understatement. For as long as I had lived in India, the live telecast from overseas had been a rare treat. The India-Pakistan 1978 series had been the first one in my living memory. After that, it had been the semi-finals and finals of the 1983 World Cup, the one-day internationals from Sharjah, Australia and England during 1985-86.
Other than the Pakistan Tests of 1978, I had never seen a Test involving India, played overseas, being broadcast live back to India, until I left for the US in 1987. And I had certainly never seen any ‘neutral’ cricket encounter, certainly not a Test, being beamed back live.
But here it was, a golden benefaction, a sprinkling of manna upon the unworthy. I could finally see Akram and Younis bowling in tandem to Haynes, Lara, Richardson and Hooper; Port of Spain was no longer just a name or a picture in a book, it became a real place, populated by cricketing nations, whose exploits I had resigned myself to reading about, whose skills I had thought I would only see exercised against India.
And then a little later that summer, second servings of dessert were handed out. The Ashes was on. And yet again, for those of us raised on the mythology of the Anglo-Australian encounter as the pinnacle of cricket, to think two-hour highlights would be made available on the morning immediately after the day’s play was to ascend into the realm of the scarcely believable.
Satellite television made available the neutral cricketing encounter, one that allowed a particular kind of detached cricket consumption (not too detached, mind you, for one still had favourites), one perhaps more permissive of rational evaluation of cricketing skills and abilities. At times it came as a relief to be not subjected to the tensions of watching India play; at yet others, one was grateful for the opportunity it afforded to see a different mix of cricket skills (perhaps two pace-dominated teams going at each other), sometimes in environments I wouldn’t have expected (Akram on Indian and Pakistani pitches was fine, but what did he look like bowling in England, Australia or the West Indies?). The cliché about having one’s cricketing horizons broadened was applicable here, methinks.
For those that grew up with satellite television in India, the neutral cricketing encounter is no novelty. That’s as it should be. The cricket field affords plenty of space for the display of aspirations and skill; to have one’s exposure to the varieties of those aspirations and skills narrowed by our national boundaries severely limits the educational possibilities of the game. It also exposes to the contours of the many, storied, cricketing rivalries that make up the cricketing world – Pakistan-England, Australia-New Zealand, England-West Indies – each with a unique history, populated by characters whose feats take on a different hue against the backdrop that the rivalry provides.
The ‘neutral’ cricket encounter permits a travel to a land beyond one’s one own narrow, possibly parochial horizons. Saturation by cricket on the satellite channel is a complaint we can afford to make now, but we’d do well to remember just how limited our view of the cricket world once was, even with the imaginative possibilities of the radio and the library at our disposal.
Posted by: Geoff Plumridge at July 13, 2011 2:04 PM
The ashes as a pinacle is no myth mate. You other johnny come latelys can only dream of heritage like that. When Billy Midwinter bowled Australia to victory most Indians had never heard of cricket. WE built this international game and the rest of you people only rode on our coat-tails. Remember your place in the history of the game.
Posted by: Kriskingle at July 13, 2011 5:05 PM
I guess you have not yet seen the downside of cricket via satellite television. While the presence of a dedicated 24-hour channel for cricket is a boon for cricket-crazy insomniacs like me, to be caught watching live telecasts of Australian domestic or County cricket matches, four day matches that too, is mortifying indeed!!!
Posted by: Bala Yugandar at July 13, 2011 8:09 PM
Samir:
I remember on how I used to scrounge for lil highlights/any footage from overseas with or without India playing. 80's were windies golden period and I longed to see their pacemen cause mayhem. I felt incredibly grateful when 'Sunil Gavaskar Presents' showed some snippets from Windies-Aus series in 85 though Aussies were in tatters and Kim Hughes in tears. One of my unfulfilled desire is footage from 82-83 Ind-WI series in Windies....basically Jimmy series and his 598 runs against Macko/Holding/Garner/Roberts/Winston Davis. Viv blasting 64 from 30 balls in the last session of Sabina park literally snatching victory from almost a drawn test. Kapil's thrill a min 100 in port of spain, Sunny's inevitable ton in Georgetown, Vengasarkar's 98 in Antigua, Jimmy's ultra heroic 90's in Barbados(after taking a painful blow from Macko) and Berbice one day victory that sowed the seeds of Worlc Cup triumph....the list goes on on. You missed 82 series in Pak that was broadcast live to Indi
Posted by: John Duchaussee at July 14, 2011 12:49 AM
I know exactly what you have written about in this article. We in the West Indies have only in the last couple of years been able to see satellite transmissions of neutral test matches. It seems quite odd to view these games with a certain level of detachment which was not possible when looking at WI games in the 80's and missing the anxiety and frustration of looking at our current team. So i am awake at some ungodly hours looking at cricket on the subcontinent and Australia. My wife keeps asking me if I am being paid to look at these games and not telling her. Haha. I told her I am paid in advance so I have to fulfill my obligations.
Posted by: Gizza at July 14, 2011 2:33 AM
Great article. Most Australians are accustomed to neutral encounters in ODI's at least because of the tri-series. You tend to watch it for the quality of cricket more than if your team is winning. Quite an interesting feel.
Posted by: Vikram R at July 14, 2011 9:33 AM
@Geoff Plumridge. Read the article properly before making your point. For those who are not from Australia or England, and grew up without TV access to the Ashes series', they "were raised on the mythology of the Anglo-Australian encounter as the pinnacle of cricket", as the author rightly states. Now with live telecasts everyone can see what it is all about and make their own judgement.
Your place in the history of the game is assured, as you say. But your place in the current game is only assured by riding on the coat-tails of the johnny come latelys.
Posted by: youngkeepersdad at July 14, 2011 9:43 AM
I became a cricket neutral when my son got serious about the game. He'd never have learnt half as much if he'd been too busy caring about the result. Mind you, the small fact that during that time Australian performances have got steadily worse hasn't made it hard to ditch the barracking. What has made it difficult is a lack of pay tv.....
Posted by: Nelson Rodrigues at July 14, 2011 1:43 PM
Yes, in the early 90's, STAR TV had just started with STAR, Prime Sports, MTV etc. few channels. Prime Sports started broadcsting, highlights of the '92 India-Aus Tests, hours before Doordarshan would show it at prime time. Later, on it started Ashes, Wi-Pak series, Sharjah matches live. With ESPN, broadcasting matches, independently, there was some kind of cometition. Later on as we know now, Prime became Star Sports & ESPN joining in.
Yes, the 1978 India-Pak series in Black & white , The 1983 WC - Doordarshan used to show only India matches partly live. Still, it took ages for DD to improve the quality & presentation of cricket & other sports in India. the 1992-93 India-England series cricket telecast was awared to TWI & for the 1st time, in India got to see top quality broadcast & presentation.
Posted by: longmemory at July 14, 2011 1:51 PM
Nice piece, as always, Samir. When I first watched high level cricket as a 'neutral' not only could I enjoy the game with a degree of detachment that was impossible when India was playing, it also made me appreciate the fact that other teams and players wilted under pressure as well. It made me realize that as passionate fans we are often very hard on our own team and unable to empathize how pressure affects performance. Its made a bit more balanced, I would like to think, in my tendency to critique our own players - and also to appreciate quality cricket, whoever is playing it.
Posted by: Subu Sastry at July 15, 2011 3:13 AM
Samir
I always look forward to read your blogs as it always has some nostalgic memories from 80s and 90s. I can perfectly relate this blog as I used to crave for watching Live cricket played outside India. Radio commentary of Ind tour of Eng 1986 and Aus 1985 (your famous lost opportunity test at MCG in 85) are some memories but like you said first neutral test match that was shown live was April 1993 WI Pak on Star Sports. It was amazing to watch the first couple days IST 7 PM start, both teams being all out less than 150 on board, Wasim Waqar, Ambrose,Bishop, Walsh taking stuff out off batsmen. You left India in 1987 but I had the privilege of being in India till 2000 before I came to US and by then LIVE telecast on TV had reached full maturity. But every now and then I keep recollecting those memories of 80s when I used to watch Sunil Gavaskar presents, Prannoy Roy World This week for couple clips on cricket played outside Ind, Krish Srikkanth presents etc etc
Posted by: Satadru Sen at July 15, 2011 4:06 AM
Geoff Plumridge: You're actually Gideon Haigh, aren't you?
Posted by: Peter Steep at July 18, 2011 1:40 PM
The beat goes on. Why does every opinion piece on CricInfo, regardless of the topic, result in the us against the world mentality of the Indian cricket fan. Will it ever be possible for the Indians to enjoy the spirit of an article on its own merits? Samir has written a nice piece on his perspective of cricket on television, and it turns into a slanging match between Indians and everyone else. And why would anyone have anything against Gideon Haigh? I can't think of a more thoughtful writer on the game.
Posted by: David at July 19, 2011 4:23 AM
Lovely article. I experience similar feelings, the lack of 'pressure' for lack of a better word, when watching neutral encounters. The gradual increase in coverage of non-Australian internationals here in Australia since the mid-90s has been a boon.
@Geoff Plumridge, perhaps you should look up the definition of 'mythology' before you embarrass yourself with such an outburst.
Posted by: Mohit at April 3, 2012 4:54 AM
Yeah, some one has to win some notable award in other sport. Only then media/people will get atenttion. It was same with case of Sania Mirza/Anand. But luckily, people now are slowly getting interest in other sports too.
Samir Chopra lives in Brooklyn and teaches Philosophy at the City University of New York. He runs the blogs samirchopra.com and Eye on Cricket and is writing a book on the changing face of modern cricket. Prior to The Pitch, he blogged on Different Strokes at Cricinfo. He can be found on Twitter at @EyeonthePitch
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