"News" Report about India after the World Cup…

I came across this report (it is in Hindi) by IBN7, the Indian news channel in the aftermath of India’s ouster in the world cup. The irony here is clearly lost on IBN7 and the BCCI boss – the commentary is about standards – that cricketers did not show the requisite discipline and sincerity – they went out at night instead of staying “focussing” on the cricket ahead of them.

Yet, Narvekar is quick to offer advice to Sachin Tendulkar (15000 ODI runs, 10,000 Test runs, 78 international hundreds, and more genuine effort and sincerity in his little finger than the whole of the BCCI put together) about his endorsements being the result of performance on the field. As that link shows, Narvekar was arrested (! no less!!) in a ticket selling scam at Goa.

Thanks to Youtube, it is possible to call both Narvekar and the “news” channel to account. Their report can be seen and reviewed dispassionately. We have seen a glimpse of Mr. Narvekars record on integrity, sincerity and all those other qualities which our cricketers supposedly left behind during their caribbean sojourn. Now lets have a look at the news channel…. watch the video

Purely from the point of view of correctness and accuracy (not even going into value judgements about sincerity) – that video reveals that IBN7 (im not sure of their affiliation, but there is a channel called CNN IBN which is run by Rajdeep Sardesai, son of the late Dilip Sardesai) has absolutely no regard for being accurate and brazenly uses hazy video footage from night clubs which reveals in Indian cricketers. Indeed, it is probably not even from the caribbean. Expecting a counter view point (to Narvekars) is expecting too much, but the language is that of a sleazy political advertisement and not of a news report.

The gist of the report is that a few cricketers (who conveniently remain unnamed) went out the night before the Sri Lanka match (and possibly also the Bangladesh match). Now, this is a matter of team policy. What was the curfew hour imposed by the management on the players? Who was enforcing the curfew? Was the curfew broken? This is vital information – because IBN7 isn’t the first agency to discover that players go out and have lives of their own (over and above the ones people like IBN7 prey on). One would have expected that this would be a important part of such a story.

In the end, the story offers mere hearsay. It doesn’t even say when Mr. Narvekar went to the caribbean, and in what capacity. As an example of journalism, it is sloppy, and as a source, Mr. Narvekar is dubious. I feel sorry for cricket fans in India who had to put up with this nonsense in the period after the World Cup. As for the players – well, if they really wanted to go to the effort of defending themselves, they could find a good lawyer and sue each of these channels until those channels ceased to exist. They would win too….

But these battles are matters of public opinion and the public mood. IBN7 which ought to have been informing public opinion and thereby helping describe the public mood, instead chose to inflame public opinion and let themselves down in the process.

Thanks to youtube, their story will stay on record here at cricketing view….

Cricket Coverage Covered – Perceptions discussed…..

Sambit Bal at Men in White on Cricinfo Blogs

Finally, there seems to be a discussion of events cricketing – some one has taken a step back and decided to take stock. Im not sure if “It’s only a game” is an approach which will go very far. It just sounds like a mere negation – and anti-hype if you will. It doesn’t inform the debate. It adds nothing further to the debate.

The crux of the matter is this – when Sachin Tendulkar fails in at an important phase in an important game for India, those who report about cricket, must be capable of offering a nuanced, detailed description of the event – not laced with condescension, i-told-you-so’s, anger, despair or revulsion, but soaked in the Cricket of the event. What exactly happened? What did the bowler deliver? Did the ball do as the bowler intended? How did Tendulkar read it? Where did he misread it? Was the field set to expect such a mistake? Was it against the run of play?

There is much to write about. The whole description can be completed in one succinct sentence. If you look at the comments to that post, you will find that almost everyone agrees with the “it’s only a game line”. I don’t think this reaction is limited to Cricinfo readers. If it is only a game, then let’s talk about the game – about actual events on the field.

If those descriptions and those reports come forth often enough, we will have a better informed viewership – which will look for these things when they watch. The difference between watching a Ranji Match or a Tour match at Brabourne Stadium and watching an ODI game at Wankhede is that when you’re at the Ranji match, you feel like youre watching cricket, with other people watching cricket – where a classic square cut for four is applauded differently from streaky edge past second slip. Where anything which results in anything other than a dot ball is not greeted with the same monotonous roar. At the ODI game, its like being in an orgy. There is no passion there – theres is merely a frenzy of ignorance – if viewers can’t distinguish between a streaky edge and a crunching square cut, then where is the passion? What “passion” are we talking about?

We make fun of Mandira Bedi (or atleast i did) – and yet she who sits in as the lay person suggests that “the adverse reaction may actually have goaded the side to doing better” (this happened in 2003 – where the biggest myth of all – one which was propogated by all and sundry was that India “started slowly”. In actual fact, they were outclassed by the Australians – both and the beginning and the end of the tournament, and beat every one else).

If India win tomorrow, it will have nothing to do with any adverse reaction. How dare there been an “adverse” reaction? How dare people condone attacks on people’s homes? If you really think about it, there is no difference at all in the thinking of people who point to the players income at the drop of a hat, and those who attack Dhoni’s house. Both are driven by the feeling of being shortchanged and cheated. The former include a large majority of sophisticated viewers who follow the game on cricinfo in India – most of whom have a computer on their desk in their work place. Sure these people wouldn’t ever dream of attacking anyone’s home, simply because they are far too civilized to do so (or, if you think about it in another way, they are willing to put up with being cheated more easily than the vandals…. ).

As far a cricket is concerned however, there is no distinction between “oh they are interested in their bank balance” and “burn their houses!!”. “Passion” yet again, is propogated by the reporting and in turn propogates it. (yes im probably stuck on that essay by Orwell, but that idea seems more than sufficient to explain events)

Cricketing View

More on Cricket coverage…..

My post yesterday was about the language prevalent in cricket writing. Mukul Kesavan writing at Men in White on Cricinfo blogs profiles two stories which appeared on TV – public vandalism after the Bangladesh match and Bob Woolmer’s demise.

TV is far more powerful than newspapers and news magazines could ever be. “Channeling public opinion” takes place in newspapers as well. It seems to me to be classic justification which is used in Bollywood formula films – “But this is what the public wants to see”. At least the point of a film is to entertain. News must surely have a broader purpose.

I just hope that this does not come to a boil in the most unfortunate way – thanks to one moment of madness which gets out of hand.

Cricketing View