Pacing it out

WEST Indies cricketing icon Brian Lara is not alone in confining himself to playing only Test cricket.

Two years ago Australian spin king Shane Warne also got permission from his cricket board to be selected only for Test cricket because he wanted to prolong his international career. Lara has also spoken on the same lines to the West Indies Cricket Board who has conceded his request.

To quote him: "A reduction in the amount of one-day cricket might give me a little more time in the Test arena. That's what I enjoy a lot, the five-day game."

Early hints of Lara's reluctance to play one-dayers was provided when he was 'rested' for the three ODIs against Pakistan at home last month.

If all goes well and the player-contract dispute resolved with the WICB, Sri Lankan fans will have a chance of seeing this great batsman gracing our cricket grounds for one last hurrah.

In the past three years we had the privilege of seeing Lara in action on two occasions when he led West Indies on a Test tour in 2001 and during the ICC Champions trophy a year after.

The graceful left-hander left no doubt that he was one of the game's greatest batsmen when he tackled the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan single-handedly when the rest of his team mates were struggling to come to terms with it.

Lara accumulated 688 runs at a fantastic average of 114.66 inclusive of one double century and two hundreds but his team still lost the test series 0-3. That clearly showed the class of the man. The series separated the immortal from the mortals.

Cricketers are not getting any younger these days and the rate at which one-day cricket is being played due to its popularity, the huge demand from the cricketing public and the income it generates from television is having a heavy toll on the players.

It has a more adverse affect on the physical and mental condition of players who are reaching the sunset years of their careers.

Lara is 36 and he has been playing international cricket since the age of 21. Warne is 35 and he too has been in the spotlight for the past 14 years.

In that time the game has evolved so fast with technology that the world is moving fast without the cricketers little realising it.

Today everyone is in a hurry to make things happen and want instant decisions that unconsciously taking a heavy toll on the human body.

What they don't realize is that in trying to keep pace with a fast moving world the human body is not being given enough time to recover itself. Instead it is being taxed to the limit that there comes a time when its resistance cells cannot take any more and tend to break down.

Look what's happened to India's batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar. He is struggling with tennis elbow. Tendulkar is only 32 but he has been playing international cricket since the age of 16 and during that time he has appeared in 348 ODIs for his country in addition to the 123 Tests.

Warne has already undergone surgery on his bowling arm but thankfully Lara has been blessed without any serious injuries other than colliding with players and suffering from hepatitis, both occasions on tours to Sri Lanka.

You have only to look at the itinerary of any present day cricket tour to notice that the number of one-day matches outnumber the Tests by twofold. A three-Test series can easily have as many as seven one-day internationals as it is going to be the case when Sri Lanka tours India in November this year.

One must admire the decisions taken by Lara and Warne.

It shows that Test cricket is still king. There is nothing like it despite what people might say about the one-day game. Instant cricket of course has its moments of thrills and entertainment all encapsulated into one day, but for fluctuating fortunes and tense moments spread over a period of five days there is nothing to beat Test cricket.

Cricket should be thankful to players like Lara and Warne for valuing Test cricket. Their decision to keep away from ODIs is a message to those who think Test cricket is boring. It is boring to those who are in a hurry.

There is also a message for the rest of the cricketers around the world that if they intend extending their international careers they should take a cue from Lara and Warne. The 2007 World Cup will be the swansong of many but unless they keep themselves in check they may not last till that time.