Mar 21, 2007 09:02 AM
6277 Views
What a sad state of affairs Pakistan Cricket is in!! Mr Woolmer is dead, Inzy has resigned from the captaincy and decided to retire from one day internationals. Even the most pessimistic of novelist couldn't have
conceived of a more tragic end to the magnificent career of these two individuals. It's too much for the imagination to conclude exactly about the circumstances that led to Bob's demise, yet one thing is
certain -- he was surely a victim of the expectationsbuilt upon him of which he had little control over.
It seems a very opportune moment to ask ourselves a few questions.-Why build such an expectation?
Consider the fact that they are also individuals and may have a bad day, (don't we have?) Well I see the only difference is that our work (true for most of us) is not so glamorous and sought after, who would want to see a computer programmer writing a mundane code or any code for that matter. We have expectations because they are in a business where people pay and watch them at work and thus precluding the possibility for them to perform badly.
But is the performance so easy to come by? No, part of it has to do with the player's natural talent and fitness
level; but to make it to big league these are necessary but not sufficient characteristics. Mental strength, motivation and focus to perform each time they go to play are as essential ingredients of success as you might think. Some of these are unfortunately function of time hence subjected to variations thus leading to a fluctuating performances. Tempted as one may be to argue that isn't this ability to handle pressure is what separates men from boys -- absolutely true; but when occasions to perform are so many, players tend to loose the sense of occasion.
Also, how cognizant are we that the players really entertain (or have a choice over) public adulation and criticism, for all that we know it may be totally uncalled for. Is there something more that builds our expectation?May be, is that not true that cricket is the only phenomena that binds our country together and makes us proud as a citizen of this nation when we win? Actually somewhere deep down in our consciousness it uncovers the sense of residual heroism in us and THAT makes is very hard for us to forgive them when THEY loose. I resorted to a bit of exaggeration but only a bit.
So what can we do? Just take a deep breath and tell ourselves, "it's just a sport". Is it asking for too much? To an spectator sports are supposed to entertain and not bring sleepless nights and anxiety and delirium. Maintain an optimistic outlook and enjoy the good cricket at this world cup. Owing to this good spirit, I sign off hoping we go to the next stage in Caribbean.
