They were two magnificent cricket matches, but also very much needed life lessons and, if they haven’t already, other sports can learn from and what governments are prioritising as “sports entertainment”.
As someone who played school cricket, and a cousin who captained the Hong Kong team, cricket is in my Burgher blood- but it’s never impacted me as much as the last two Test matches between India and Australia.
Perhaps it’s only me, but the action and drama taking place on the pitch, and all the noise in that strange place known as social media, showed the dangers of people getting too ahead of themselves and how quickly people forget.
Suddenly, the cricketer known as “King” Kohli was being dismissed as a has-been and “bully” for a altercation with the 19 year old Sam Konstas who, despite a very good debut for Australia in Test cricket, some thought he was trying too hard to be The Entertainer of the series.
Again, these were life lessons and how quickly bad news travels and why nothing can be taken for granted.
Those two Test matches showed how today’s world is at a razor’s edge, especially online, for there to be any excuse to take sides and come out swinging.
The actual cricket was brilliant- the captaincy of Pat Cummins, the unorthodox brilliance of Rischard Pant, the rags to riches stories of youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy, the everything and more of Scottie Boland, and the ferocity of pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
This New Cricket was worlds away from the days of watching Geoffrey Boycott and Colin Cowdrey at bat, or even the cavalier approach to cricket introduced by the great teams from the West Indies.
As for the athletism of the cricketers today, they are not exactly like “Beefy” Botham and his brothers in arms.
Players like Cummins, Kohli, and others are lean, mean fighting machines with millions of followers on every online platform.
Sure, there were heated moments, but these happen when there’s fierce competition- and passion and pride at stake in being the winning team.
What one should also not lose sight of is something very special like the McGrath Foundation started by cricketer Glenn and his late wife Jane which has done and given so much to so many cancer survivors and selfless caregivers.
Understanding all this and with the coverage of the cricket making the time during a lunch or tea break to showcase what cricket gives back to society is priceless.
It also begs the question why something like horse racing around the world cannot come together to support an organisation like UNICEF or, better yet, create a global charity of its own to give the pastime a more positive image instead of pandering to the usual suspects of self interest not bought by anyone- especially the mainstream media.
What every sport should always set out to do is to excite and entertain, yes, but to also INSPIRE and offer the world what it really needs these days: HOPE.
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