Opinion Cricket without cheat codes

But as Shane Watson tried to hold back the tears on Monday night,it was clear that what his team had managed to pull off wasn’t just another one-day title in their long list of triumphs. They remained undefeated during the Champions Trophy,but this had been a whole new experience for a team who are no longer the dominant force in world cricket.

When Watson discussed his resurgence as a match-winner,captain Ricky Ponting,sitting next to him,couldn’t help but bring up Australia’s record as a big-game hunter. “How many games have we lost in the last couple of World Cups and Champions Trophies? One game,” he said.

This victory,however,wasn’t about an Australia in which Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist opened the batting,and Glenn McGrath opened the bowling. It was about an Australia made up of Tim Paine and Callum Ferguson,James Hopes and Cameron White,Peter Siddle and Nathan Hauritz; about an Australia still coming to terms with the gap left by a spate of superstar retirements.

Unlike the Australia of old,this team did not have players made for every situation; they had to discover them over the course of the fortnight.

In the first match against West Indies,Mitchell Johnson reasserted himself as an all-rounder to rescue them from 171-7 with a fiery 73. Against India,Tim Paine led the way after Watson fell early,and set the stage for Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey to carry the burden. It was down to Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz to weather the storm against a relentless Pakistan bowling attack. And finally,the “real” Shane Watson flexed his muscles — first with Ponting as his guide against England,and then as Cameron White’s mentor in the final against New Zealand.

Ponting believes his young players have laid the foundation for the next Australian team to be built on,and though it’s still early days,a Champions Trophy title during the rebuilding process is a sign that the finish line may be closer than many experts had anticipated.

Surprisingly (since they win everything anyway) the victory for Australia was,for several reasons,also a triumph of sorts for one-day cricket,which had been desperate before the start of the tournament for a sign that would prove its viability in the long run.

First,the ICC got the format just right — perhaps simply because they had already tried every other permutation. There was enough time for teams to recover from a loss,like New Zealand,and not enough to wake up too late in the day,like India.

Second,the wickets had something in them to retain the charm of bent backs and vertical seam positions. The tournament,therefore,was not a video-game simulation in which the ball went soaring into the stands four times an over. Cricket without cheat codes is so much more fun.

Finally,and most importantly,for once one-day cricket managed to retain its unpredictability right through the event. There was a premium on performance on the day — on reinventing and recovering. The mathematical code that ODIs have been reduced to wasn’t cracked with a scientific calculator; the problems were worked out meticulously,with lots of rough work outside the margins of the answer sheet.

One-day cricket is at its best when it’s down and dirty,and there is every chance the format will get more of a boost when Australia come here this month for seven matches. This is India,so the stands will be full; hopefully the pitches won’t be all flat.

kunal.pradhan@expressindia.com