WELL, it's limited overs for the immediate future, running into the World Cup next month. And already the drop in tension is palpable. Nobody is going to get up in the middle of the night to watch England against the Aussies. We might linger late in the Thunder Bar but this time that has little to do with catching the cricket Down Under, it's ... er no, let's not pursue that line. It's to do with South African/Ukrainian cultural exchange. And although we will be fascinated by the South Africa/India ODIs, the real thing is already over. We drew the Test series and that's that. Honours shared. What happens in the ODIs just doesn't matter. It's like playing draughts after the world chess tournament.
And in case I sound like just another ballie blowing hard in The Pub With No Name, let me tell you I'm in good company. Roger Alton, of the London Times, expresses identical sentiments writing in the Spectator. In fact he's very dismissive of the Cricket World Cup. Here's what he had to say (writing before the Ashes series and our own against India had been completed).
"It seems churlish to be having a bitch just when two enthralling Test series are being played out in Australia and South Africa. And how enthralling they are too, by the way, the SA-India series being if anything better than the Ashes. The sight of South African bowlers really having a go at Indian batsmen is the most pulsating drama in world cricket (Hoor, hoor, Ou Boet!) ... Both these great series, with their largely packed grounds, have been a fantastic advert for the five-day game: not surprisingly, the first two Tests this summer between England and India at Lord's and Trent Bridge are already sold out ...
"In case you hadn't noticed, the Cricket World Cup is about to unwind itself before a less than adoring audience. The sport's governing body, the ICC, has always had an unerring eye for the best way to bore the daylights out of us, while trying to rake in as much cash as possible, and this is a real cracker ... I have never quite got the point of the Cricket World Cup. Football, rugby, yes of course: they represent the culmination of something and generally tell you who is the best in the world. Cricket's version is just another round of limited-over matches, among many, and on the day anything, as we all know, can happen ... It will take 42 games to reduce 14 teams to eight. Can't wait."
Well, there's something to chew on. I myself am not hostile to limited-overs cricket, it's Twenty20 that curdles the blood. One-dayers are not quite the real thing but they can provide some good cricket and excitement – yet they almost as often go very flat. They don't provide the opportunity for recovery from calamity, the way Test cricket does. No seesaw.
But ODIs do keep us occupied and entertained as we wait for the first hints of autumn and the rugby season. They do keep us out of the strip joints and the less reputable hostelries. They serve a purpose.
Roger Alton sounds a regular fellow. If ever he's in Durban he should join us at The Pub With No Name. We'll take him on a full cultural tour, including the Thunder Bar.
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