If cricket writing in India is to come up with purple and at the same time robust prose, a few simple rules could perhaps be adopted.
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WHAT's NEW? Cricketer-turned- commentator Ravi Shastri |
If cricket writing in India is to come up with purple and at the same time robust prose, a few simple rules could perhaps be adopted. To start with, all references to Sachin as the "master blaster" are best avoided, along with references to the top order "not firing". And do teams really have to have a "second essay"?
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Call me an anglophile, but the truth is that India's cricket commentary or cricket journalism hasn't yet come of age. We still get to hear those threadbare expressions and cliches, which we heard as children.
The over-excitement of Indian commentators is another off-putting aspect. The sober and controlled emotions of Tony Cozier, the dignified prose of Peter Roebuck, the deep knowledge and perfect diction of the late British commentator Sir John Arlott, the refined humour of the late Bill Johnston or the invaluable apercus of Richie Benaud are stuff legends are made of.
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u00a0No one in India writes or speaks like Pakistan's late commentator and scribe Omar Qureshi or the legendary West Indian writer Sir CLR James. Where have the likes of Balu Alegnon, Ashish Ray, Dicky Ratnagar and Anant Sitalwad gone?
I rue the end of classy cricket commentary in India. I seriously recommend Sir Neville Cardus' Cardus on Cricket to the naive and novice cricket journalists and commentators here.
