by They can tear you with a thousand incisive cuts or you systematically creak in fine powder. They have a talent -free well with multiple world class options in each position. It is not only expected, but demanded, both inside the camp and through their legions of faithful supporters who transformed them into a commercial giant.
No, not India, which has passed New Zealand to claim the Champions Trophy this weekend. We are talking about Australia of Ricky Ponting. In fact, these are the Indians of Clive Lloyd. Or should it be the Chicago Bulls by Michael Jordan, all the blacks of Richie McCaw, or the Americans under Christie Rampone, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe?
In relation: Australia and England take place for the day’s day test at MCG for the 150th anniversary of the ashes
All sports dynasties share common features. It is not only that they win, but that their winner seems inevitable. They earn ugly and they win beautifully. They might not promote much love beyond their own fans base, but it is undeniable that they are respected. The rest of us can’t help but feel a little jealous while another trophy is added to the battery.
Rohit Sharma India is slightly different. They have all the right ingredients, and their record of 23 victories of their 24 previous games in ICC events places them in the conversation for the biggest white ball of all time. But rather than to arouse admiration, their last conquest was largely encountered with uprights of indifference. The dice loaded, the gerrymandering of the tournament schedule, the endless wealth, the advertiser of the stadium acting as a cheerleader in a place which was ostensibly neutral; All of this was combined to whiten the romance of their success.
The worst of everything was the sight of Jay Shah, the president of the International Cricket Council and the most powerful man in the game, wink at the cameras after having hugs and high-fives to victorious players after their four-titles victory. Shah is obviously a proud Indian, was the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for five years and is the son of the right man of Narendra Modi, but that struck naked favoritism. Say what you want from Gianni Infantino, but it is difficult to imagine the leader of FIFA acting with the same lack of self -awareness if Switzerland should win the European Championship.
To underline that India is now effectively directing global cricket is to indicate the evidence. After two seasons in red, South Cricket Africa declared profits of 34.5 million pounds sterling for the year 2023-24 after a whole format visit of India. “During the four -year cycle, there will be two or three years when we make fairly massive losses,” said CSA director general, Pholetssi Moseki. “But there should be at least a year when we make important benefits so that he can cover us in the years when we make these losses.”
The influence of India extends beyond international game. The teams of five national leagues, including the six of SA20 in South Africa, are hardly just satellite projects of Indian franchises in the Premier League. As Moseki added, “India is too important in the cricket ecosystem for all members, including the CPI itself. India will continue to be an important tour team for all countries. Trying to divorce yourself from India is not realistic for any country. »»
Does that give India the right to call the cricket blows? Can someone do anything other than “cry more”, as zealous Indian fans suggested it on social networks, when a team that does not need help to win trophies to play all their tournament matches in a stadium while the rest of the competition is forced to zigzag through Asia?
The empires do not tend to treat the rebels with mercy and any advice that resists India alone will probably find themselves alienated and devoid. But what happens if all other advice, including England and Australia, collectively hide a line in the sand? Could the rest of the world of cricket prove Moseki Tort and survive without the most powerful entity of sport?
European nations leaders are considering a similar dilemma because they plan to consolidate the security of the continent without the support of the United States of Donald Trump. This column will not weigh on questions that are much more serious than the fate of a leather ball, but as Prime Ministers, Presidents and Generals met in Brussels last week to assess the capacities of the battlefield of Europe, it is worth playing with a parallel hypothesis.
Last year, as part of the ICC -reworked income distribution model, the BCCI now wins nearly 40% of the net excess profits from the Management Organization, amounting to around $ 230 million per year. But it is even less than all other councils, including 96 associated nations, added. And even if the share of England of 6.89% is far from coming back in second place, if the cricket had to act as a democracy rather than as the rather the rather than a real change could be possible. India could be informed to play just or play for themselves. Who knows, maybe they even reconsider how the funds are distributed to those who need it rather than distributing crumbs only when they visit foreign land.
Certainly, it is a pipe dream. And why should India abandon what they created? For most of the history of cricket, they lived under an English and Australian influence. Now they call gunshots. Market forces are in their favor. They win tournaments without jasprit bumrah. Their strikers are artists. Their spinners are demonists. We should be in love with them. It’s a shame that we are not.
Quote of the week
Over the years spent, even 10 years ago, I would have said that most English cricket players said they would like to play test cricket for England as a peak, the ultimate. But I think these answers become less and less. There are fewer and fewer players who say that it is the ultimate because of the opportunities that the whole world is in the world “- Jimmy Anderson, addressing the BBC, raises concerns around the future of test cricket in the country.
Shakey looks, monster strike rate
It is the 32nd on the sleeves of Australia against India in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. Having won the draw and chose to beat first, the Australians lost counters at regular intervals. Steve Smith is there on 67 with Alex Carey in support of the 13. India, however, is in total control.
Smith Varun Chakravarthy at the bottom of the leg where Virat Kohli gathers and throws towards the end of the non-state. The launcher allows him to bounce back in front of the strains rather than making him work himself and his captain, Rohit Sharma, must back down.
No harm, no fault, right? Fake! Sharma lets his launcher tear, repressing him for poor quality work, contesting what seemed only the slightest lance of concentration and commitment. No race was conceded, but that was not the goal. Under the Sharma watch, only perfection is allowed.
It could be difficult to love the Indian team with all the advantages they appreciate, but you have to give it to Sharma who transformed this outfit into one of the most formidable winning machines that the cricket has ever seen.
If you include all tournaments with five or more teams – to make room for the Asian Cup and the World Series – Sharma is now the most successful captain of all time with four titles, Level with Imran Khan, Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni. His 27 victories of 30 games from the ICC tournament mean that he has a victories ratio of 9: 1, better than any other leader in history. But it does not only lead with difficult discussions and scathing looks. Its bat is also a lot.
Thanks to a few practical Cricinfo statistics, we know that Sharma, at 37, remains a force at the top of the order. In the first 10 overs of one international internationals, on average 61.52 and has been knocking at 119.62 since February 2022. Its overall average of 60.93 has been the best of all strikers since January 2023 and it is the most destructive striker out of 35 in the history of the format. Since reached the same age as Endlew Strauss when he retired from the match, Sharma has reached a strike rate of 117.37. Most people slow down as they continue. Sharma accelerates.
He has not yet finished and has shot suggestions that he will hang up the boots so early. With a T20 World Cup on home at home in 2026 and a 50 -year edition a year later, you are not betting against adding two other major prices to his count.
Trail
When the captain of South Africa, Ali Bacher, caught Allan Connolly of Australia to ensure a 323 -point victory at Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha, he could not know that it would be his last action on the field for his country. On March 10, 1970, the South Africans finished a superb scanning of the 4-0 series of the Bill Lawry team with Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards on average in the 1970s with the bat and Mike Procter causing wreaking havoc with the ball, claiming 26 windows at 13.57. But a series of events starting with the selection of Oliveira Basil England, which was excluded to represent its native South Africa because of the color of its skin, meant that the world of cricket finally turned its back on apartheid. After 21 years of isolation, South Africa returned with a brief tour of India in 1991.
Want even more?
“A triumph which seemed as impeccable as the months of saber-dratling and politics that preceded it”. Jonathan Liew reports the triumph of the India Champions Trophy.
Kate Cross admitted that England may have lost fans after the debacle of female Ashes and that there can be “cultural” problems in the configuration.
Matt Hughes speaks to Todd Boehly’s partner, Jonathan Goldstein, why the owners of Chelsea joined the hundred.
Meanwhile, Andrew Flintoff could intervene as a white ball coach in England if Brendon McCullum took a break before the ashes.
Regarding the captain of England, Barney Ronay believes that Ben Stokes, the last cricket action hero, should take the job.
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