Cricket’s glory days are gone

I was nine and it was the summer of '99. 

The ICC Cricket World Cup was on and just a few days ago, Bangladesh had defeated Pakistan to send the entire country into euphoria. 

Cricket was well and truly establishing itself as the dominant sport in the country and there was a sense of optimism about the team and the sport. 

The game of choice for the family today though was the semi-final, between South Africa and Australia. 

My older sister had decided to support the Proteas and given the way the Aussies played the game and sledged, there was a general dislike among the household towards them. 

As the final overcame and I watched Lance Klusner smash back-to-back boundaries in the first two deliveries, I couldn't help but feel my heartstrings pulled, as a love for the team overtook me.

What happened a few deliveries afterwards was absolute heartbreak as Klusner went for the run but Alan Donald didn't respond in time and was left stranded, as Australia tied the match and went through to the final because they won against South Africa in the Group Stage match. 

As I write this, teary-eyed from the memory of that game in Edgbaston, I am also saddened by a generation gone by.

A generation that broke records that still stand to this day and a generation that helped the game evolve into its pinnacle.

The advent of T20 cricket coupled with the (over)commercialisation of the game has had a trickle-down effect on the players, and perhaps on the quality of the game too. 

Let's take a closer look. 

The top batsmen

The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are long gone. 

Tendulkar's 15,921 runs in Tests and 18,426 runs in ODIs feel like mountains too high to climb. Numbers aside, the 'little-master' was an inspiration for players all around the world and the benchmark for batting mastery for nearly three decades. 

The first and only man to score 100 international centuries can easily be called the greatest batsman of the modern generation.

Tendulkar's Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli has time on his hands at 31 years and might be able to eclipse Tendulkar's 100-century landmark as Kohli already has 70.

But with 7,240 runs in Tests and 11,867 runs in ODIs, eclipsing Tendulkar's international run tally seems unlikely. 

Brian Lara, on the other hand, has a 400 in Test cricket but what really made him stand apart was his flair and his ability to toy with the opposition bowling. 

Lara's innings of 153* against Australia in '99 at the Adelaide Test is still considered as the greatest Test innings of all time. 

Currently, Steve Smith, with an amazing average of 62.84 in Tests - the second-highest after Bradman among players who scored over 3,000 runs - can be called a modern-day great but his ODI exploits aren't much to write home about.

Another batsman, Rohit Sharma, with three ODI double centuries, and a highest ODI score of 264 has a record that might not be broken ever. 

But his career in Tests and a slow start there have stopped him from being the next Sachin, something he was touted to be early on. 

Kohli, Rohit and Smith are all modern-day greats but haven't had the same level of impact as that of Tendulkar and Lara and some of that proof is in the numbers.

The top bowlers

The 90's had Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. 

Three bowlers with skill unmatched and stats to back them up. 

As we discussed the greatness of the batmen in the pre-T20 era, we should also note that a lot of that is because the bowlers back then were equally impressive. 

McGrath was the fast bowler that could take wickets on any surface with his immaculate line and length and on any format of the game.

563 Test wickets at an average of 21.64 and 381 ODI wickets at an economy of 3.88 are numbers for a fast bowler that might never be replicated, especially in ODIs. 

Similarly, McGrath's Australian counterpart Shane Warne is often considered as the greatest spinner, if not the greatest bowler of all time. 

Leg-spin is considered as the toughest art in cricket because it's difficult to control the ball with the wrist action, but Warne made the ball float, drift and spin like magic. 

His 708 Test scalps aside, the 'ball of the century' to England batsman Mike Gatting is a perfect example of his ability. 

He was Australia's talisman with the ball and you could rest assured that he would deliver big time when his team needed him the most. 

Muralitharan might not have possessed the talent of Warne, but he more than made up for it with perseverance.

His tally of 800 Test wickets and 534 ODI scalps are feats that look set in stone to never be overtaken. 

Currently, England's Jimmy Anderson can be considered a modern-day great with 584 Test wickets, but most of them have come in England and he has struggled away from home.

His numbers in ODIs. where he has taken 269 wickets at an average of 29.22 are nothing extraordinary either. 

The growth of BCCI and the downfall of other boards

Perhaps the biggest telling factor over the loss of quality in the game has been due to the sport not becoming global enough. 

With the Indian cricket board (BCCI) growing more and more powerful, they have monopolised the market and with the Indian Premier League (IPL), have made a money-making monster like no other. 

All the cricketers now want to play in the most lucrative league in the world and that almost means that all other cricket is stopped for a franchise T20 league. 

Cricketers have often been questioned about where their loyalties lie and whether they prefer the comparatively easy money in the IPL over the less financially lucrative but more prestigious Tests.

With the BCCI generating the biggest amount of money for the ICC, they have chosen to keep the game within their reach and not allow the ICC or help them in further globalising the sport. 

Add to that, the Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lankan cricket boards have been mired with mismanagement and political turmoil and have seen that take its toll on the cricketing field and their teams diminished statuses. 

The ICC has struggled to keep Tests and ODIs relevant thanks to T20s and franchise leagues becoming more and more popular but not producing the elite level of cricket or not having the same level of respect among the cricketing fraternity. 

The game has not grown enough and with cricketers often playing too many games and at times opting to not play Tests in favour of franchise T20 cricket to prolong their careers and be more financially benefited.

In my comparisons, I didn't even bring in the other greats such as Wasim Akram, Kumar Sangakkara and Jacques Kallis who are also ahead of the current crop of players to show where cricketers and the quality of cricket is. 

Then there are past greats such as Viv Richards and Gary Sobers who can also be considered to be better than the cricketers playing currently. 

Overall, we are witnessing some amazing cricket, such as the last World Cup final and the heroics of Ben Stokes, but unfortunately, we have passed an era where the cricketers were just plain better.