Pitch for cricket

The eloquence of a sportsperson is of a different order a combination of sinew,strength and skill,delivered on the court,ring and ground. But then some step outside of these amphitheatres and show how elegant practitioners of a sport can also be its most brilliant expositors. After former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara spoke truth to the establishment at the Colin Cowdrey Lecture at MCC this summer,now Rahul Dravid reveals that it is not just his bat that speaks straight.

At the Bradman Oration,which Dravid delivered with the same measured aesthetic that his cover drives are famous for,he brought out Indian cricket as a remarkable crucible for talents from across regions,cultures and classes. He had some wise words about the future of cricket and he put the fan at the heart of the story. If she did not find a reason to turn up match after match,then the big citadels of television rights and sponsorship that have sprung up around the game would collapse. The absent fan is someone every sport establishment should worry about.

For a sport that is unusually and now extensively played across three formats,cricket urgently needs to redraw its calendar. Many have spoken about a rejigging of the schedule,but have stopped short of giving a blueprint. Dravid has stepped up and called for an end to this merry-go-round,for moderation in the number of matches

being played. His timetable is,and will invariably be,marked by his preferences,but it keeps the art and business of cricket at its heart. There are lessons in it for crickets administrators,who would do well to get a handle on it.