Tale of the hidden squash ball

The hitherto little known game of squash had received a turbo boost all because an Australian by the name of Adam Gilchrist simply squashed the bowling attack of the Sri Lankans taking a way the Cricket World Cup from their grasp.

The Gilchrist drama was naturally a sore point with many disappointed Lankan fans who had to endure much heartburn with the coveted Trophy eluding the Lions.So much so there was much venom spewed at the Australians in general and Gilchrist in particular in newspaper columns.

All and sundry became overnight experts in the game of Cricket with comments emanating from Lankans even from far away Egypt where Cricket is an alien game. Barring a few knowledgable voices the rest took Gilchrist to the cleaners like he himself did to our bowling attack.

The attacks ranged from the mundane to the bizarre with one reader suggesting that the likable Aussie wicketkeeper batsman may have taken performance enhancing drugs a la. a Shane Warne.

Gilchrist no doubt raised more than a few eyebrows when more often than not he sent the ball out of the park with bionic power and pulled out a squash ball from his glove on reaching the magical figure. It’s not cricket some are bound to say. For them Australia won by default and Sri Lanka ARE the champs. Never mind if the trophy is down under.

As for Lankan fans they may be down but certainly not out. There are bound to be calls for a replay of the final. This time around they would want minute scrutiny of all Australian batsmen.

Leaving aside squash balls they would even want a close examination of the life protecting BOX to ensure there is no performance enhancing substance hidden inside. For their part the Australian media is bound to latch on to the drugs theory propounded by the Lankan fan.

According to this theory the pugnacious Australian opener who was woefully out of form prior to the tournament can but only regain his batting prowess by recourse to drugs.

Never mind that the Lankan fan waited until the tournament was over and Sri Lanka lost to come out with his suggestion.

There will be representations down under to bring under the microscope the performance of South Africa who overhauled an Australian score of 450 plus in a recent encounter, on the grounds that the architect of that victory Hershell Gibbs was experiencing a run drought prior to this game.

There is no limit where the possibilities could end. We are not aware if past cricketers sought recourse to performance enhancing drugs.But the latest theory is bound to call into question several record breaking feats in cricket.

For instance Crickets’ well known last wicket partnership between Trevor (Barnacle) Bailey and Willie Watson where the duo held up the Australian attack for a whole day could be brought under this category.

The extraordinary feat of Ian Botham who single handedly turned a match on his head to win for England the Ashes in 1981 is bound to be viewed with a jaundiced eye.

The new theory may also take the sheen away from record breaking feats of a Garry Sobers or a Brian Lara. Although placed at the top in the pantheon of great batsmen the extraordinary run glut of Sir Don Bradman would no longer be viewed with awe and reverence after the latest prognosis of the Lankan fan.

What is more any future bravura performances too would not be taken seriously with the drug cloud swirling around. This in turn would certainly drive sponsors away from the game. Cricket’s Bible will hence forth not be taken as Gospel.

The bottom line however is how our Cricketers viewed Gilchrist’s feat. There was no whining from any member of the team. On the contrary Mahela lavished praised on the cameo knock, while some of his teammates described it as out of this world.

In true gentlemanly spirit they accepted the outcome conceding that the better side won. As the Lankan captain said.

“They were the Best of the Best”. So it is time that we move away from this preoccupation with an innocuous squash ball and cheer our cricketers to the next phase of their phenomenal achievement witnessed at the World Cup.

Rambler