New balls, please

As fates of nations are decided in the final rounds of group games, spare a thought for the 500-odd people who actually do not follow football. Even during the World Cup. Actually make that a 1000-odd people.

I’m always impressed by sport administrators who organise tournaments that clash with the World Cup.
It shows a courage rare in today’s sponsor-driven world. I can only imagine the sponsor meeting where the guy forking up a million quid says, “Yeah, that’s a great time to do the tournament. Imagine competing with the World Cup. Just what my brand needs.”

Cricket administrators, especially in Asia, believe in the inherent omnipotence of the game in that part of the world. So much so that the Asian Cricket Council operates almost independently of the Dubai-based and global governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). When I quizzed an ICC executive on the Asia Cup clashing with the World Cup, he shouldered arms and let the ball fly into the gloves of the Asian council. The sad thing about organising tourneys when something as all-encompassing as the football World Cup is going on is, should there be any remarkable occurrences, they all get drowned out by the sound of the vuvuzelas.

Crick it!

Pakistan saw the comeback of wild boys Shoaib Akthar and Mohammed Asif. On form, I doubt there is a more formidable pace pairing in world cricket today. Yet, their return to internationals almost slipped under the radar.

Then, there was the momentous occasion of an India-Pakistan clash. Normally, this brings life in the sub-continent (and in some parts of the UAE) to a grinding halt. This time, the match went down to the last three balls and Harbhajan Singh hit a six to win it, after being taunted by Shoaib Akhthar. That combination alone would have drawn out epic headlines and acres of news coverage, not to mention scenes of wild celebration in India. The joy seemed muted and even the normally cricket-incestuous Indian press had to jostle for space with the football.

New balls, please

Wimbledon don’t have a choice but to clash once every four years with the World Cup, given the timing and fixed scheduling of both. The all-white gear, strawberries and cream and that telling call of ‘new balls please’, may in fact offer football-weary viewers a nice break from the 4-4-2 action in South Africa. Given that England and France may be back home before the end of the month, who knows, Wimbledon may well benefit from these ignominious failures. Any hope Roger Federer had of wrapping up his first-round match quickly to catch the progress of his Swiss team was put on ice by Colombia's Alejandro Falla.
As for the women, I will tune in to Wimbledon just to see what Venus wears.

Scrummage for coverage

I was converted to rugby by Jonah Lomu. That is the power and appeal of the sport. Sitting in India, never having seen a rugby game ‘live’, just watching Lomu tear down the line to a touchdown made me a believer.
Which is why I am a bit sad that buried under the World Cup hype were some very important and interesting rugby Tests.

England beat Australia, which is always a monumental achievement (so the rugger diehards tell me). New Zealand crushed Wales, who until last year seemed the great new hope to challenge the established order. And South Africa mauled France. In a manner they hope to replicate on the football field on Tuesday evening. Yet, in the wider consciousness, and certainly for new converts to the sport like me, it was hard to get a sense of the scale and impact of those results.

It’s hard to get the scale and impact of anything other than football these days. The Lakers beat the Celtics in an NBA championship that went down to the wire, but it just didn’t feel a big deal.I only hope Usain Bolt doesn’t run the 100 metres before July 11, because even the fastest man can’t beat the World Cup.
 

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