Child’s Play

The SGFI — which is run by an interim body pending court-ordered elections next month — is in charge of sport in schools across the country; its tournaments are mostly conducted at the state levels by either the Director of Sport or by the Director of Education, and by the DSOs at the district level.

It hasn’t done a bad job; indeed, it was the SGFI’s Under-15 team — including Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Mohammed Kaif — that won the World Cup in 1996.

But four years later, the team defending — unsuccessfully — the World Cup was representing the BCCI! A fact still resented by SGFI president CL Negi: ‘‘We had a month-long training camp in progress. Our boys were ready, but they (BCCI) did not bother to inform us about the invite. After all we were the official defending champions.’’

It seems like a mighty waste of resources, effort and money. Especially when you think of South Africa. Why South Africa? Well, they had to start from scratch a decade ago after losing 20 years of cricket because of apartheid.

They saw the future lay not in promoting the top but in developing the base — today, schools cricket is the lifeblood of the game in South Africa. And though cricket at that level is not played directly under the auspices of the United Cricket Board but under the United Schools Sports Association, the UCB it provides assistance and support.

The Bakers Mini cricket scheme, in place for some time now, is the very first step on the ladder, teaching children the basics by using a softer ball. From there, they graduate to their schools teams at the Under 9, 10, 11, 13,15 and open age groups, up to under 19.

Brian Basson, general manager of UCB, speaks highly of the junior cricket in his country. ‘‘We have provincial teams in under-13, 15 and 17 age groups. Their performances take them to the national teams in their categories and then to the national academy, where they receive specialised coaching. Among others, the academy has produced Kallis and Dippenaar.’’

And before you think that South Africa has benefited from a Western mindset, look at the set-up in Sri Lanka. Most of their current stars, including Jayawardene and Atapattu, have come up from junior cricket.

‘‘The 1996 World Cup victory gave a big boost to the game in the island, especially at the junior level’’, says Warnakulasuriya Sumithra Dharmasiri, coach of the Sri Lankan team participating in the Commonwealth championship here. ‘‘Of course, there was a slump in the national team’s performance soon after as a number of senior cricketers retired but, with emphasis on youth, our team is coming up once again.’’

So why the dual existence in India? Negi says he’d proposed to the BCCI that his organisation run school cricket and the BCCI looks after the under-19s and above. It’s been a year, but he’s received no reply from the BCCI.

‘‘We have a system in place. We have units in far-flung areas. In comparison, the BCCI has no hierarchy and doesn’t know what the grassroots are like. It is only fair that we do the running and they can always step in with the money.’’

BCCI treasurer Jyoti Bajpai, who in his earlier position as joint secretary looked after junior cricket, agrees that the game will get a fillip if the BCCI steps in at schools. ‘‘This will be one more avenue of finding talent. After all Sachin, Kaif have all come from there.’’

What Bajpai would not say, however, is whether the BCCI will take the initiative to talk to the SGFI and bring everything under one roof. The issue was raised at the last working committee meeting, says a top BCCI office-bearer official, but there were a number of problems associated with BCCI agreeing to anything.

‘‘For starters, school cricket is full of selectorial malpractices, we cannot just come up with an offer. There has to be proper discussions and only then can we approach them.’’

Indeed, one longstanding criticism has been that the SGFI is too north-centric, that most players are chosen from those areas. SGFI’s Negi agrees with this criticism and says it is because of the problems with verifying players’ ages in the North. ‘‘Most players in the north do not show their proper age. So in all age-groups they turn out be better than the rest; it is only fair that we choose the best.’’

But who are the best? Those batting for the SGFI or those for the BCCI? Negi is adamant that he has the talent, ‘‘we are better, so support us.’’ An argument dismissed by the BCCI. Both sides though agree only on one point: There will be no movement forward on the issue and so there will be more of the same.

Meanwhile, there’s always the next Test series to bring in the big bucks.

(S Santhanam contributed to this article)

When cricket is more than just a game

S SANTHANAM

Headed by Sir Garfield Sobers, the organising committee reads like a who’s who of international cricket administration: Commonwealth Secretary-General Donald McKinnon , Brian Basson (General Manager, United Cricket Board of South Africa), Suresh Kalmadi, Kirti Azad. Not bad for a tournament making its debut.

The inaugural Commonwealth under-19 cricket championships, now in progress at four different venues in northern India, comprises teams selected by the respective schools associations of eight of the Commonwealth countries — Two from India, one each from Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Kenya and Singapore. And, before you begin questioning the teams’ credentials, know that one is coached by Joel Garner, another by Mudassar Nazar.

‘‘Our main aim is to bring all the 54 Commonwealth nations under one big umbrella in the field of junior sports’’, says Basson, the tournament’s technical director. ‘‘Cricket for under-19 boys is only a beginning; we want to sow a sapling that grows for the all-round benefit of youth. We could soon start similar projects for football, basketball, hockey, athletics.’’

Given that it is a Commonwealth initiative, the emphasis is not wholly on cricket. ‘‘Trust-building among Commonwealth teams is one of the primary objectives. Unlike Test-playing nations, all our teams are staying in the same hotel, having lunch and dinner together. That not only helps them to know each other better but also different cultures and habits,’’ Basson said.

The tournament got off to an inauspicious start when a couple of teams couldn’t reach Lucknow — one of the venues — in time because the weather interfered with flights and trains. But it’s only the first step in a long journey, where the destination is not just the cricket pitch.