Kudos to those responsible for CPL 2020

IT is almost unbelievable that a crowd-pulling tournament like the Hero Caribbean Premier League (HCPL) could be staged in the year 2020 during the months that this global terror, created and fed by the coronavirus infection, is still active and showing no sign of abating!

Congratulations to all concerned for making it happen!

Many organisations and people should be thanked starting with the TT government for giving their permission while under the stress of trying to control this hidden beast and during an election year as well.

Then there is the CPL management team led by chief operating officer Pete Russell, who had to bring together six teams of players and their personnel officials, all of whom had to be housed in a bio-secure environment for protection from the virus. The quarantine was for two weeks.

Apart from the claustrophobia attached to being locked down, the cricketer had to be well disposed to participate in games among highly competitive teams comprising international players. To add to their trauma no practice was allowed.

Therefore, it was a phenomenal exercise to stage this tournament having all matches played in one island. It must have been an organisational nightmare.

Nevertheless, the competition would be judged by the attitude and performance of the players. The expectation of rustiness surfaced during the first week of the tournament.

However, this is understandable as they lack cricket, not only practice but matches. Yet, the catching was top class and fielding was good. The pitches at the Brian Lara Stadium are slow and have variable bounce making it tough for batsmen.

Being held in a bio-secure environment where the public is not allowed entry, the experienced stars participating for their various franchises must have felt strange to participate at this level in a stadium of calmness, peace and quiet with empty seats, taking them back to their club cricket days.

There’s no atmosphere, no cheers for individual super performances from which to feed. An International match, for instance, creates its own drama and ambience as cricketers are representing their country. This HCPL deal is really for the party, the cricket is the floor-show and a positive result for one’s side adds to the enjoyment of the party.

Flamboyance and flair are very much a part of top cricketers’ persona; however, they appear flat if not being fed by the noise of the crowd. In its absence, the experienced players will nonetheless be motivated by the battle between bat and ball while the lesser-known will be driven to making a name for themselves. In franchise cricket the players know they are in a party; in Internationals they are representing their country. Big difference! The latter could exist without a packed stadium but the former needs the excitement to flow from the crowd to the players. A Kieron Pollard six-hit or a Sunil Narine wicket feels more ecstatic when immersed in a crowd of thousands rather than at home on TV! Dancing cheerleaders celebrate the sixes and fours in addition to the wickets collapsing whether caught on the boundary or clean bowled!!

While this year all of us are resigned to looking on from the screens of our television sets, still we would miss the enjoyment derived from the exhilaration associated with a huge crowd at a game. The enthusiasm and thrills extend its energy into our homes with joy or melancholy depending on how one’s team is doing. It also makes for good TV.

Nonetheless, it has proven to be quite enjoyable in the games seen so far. Although it is distressing with no one in the ground, at least we could appreciate some live sport, albeit on the screen!

Those who enjoy the clamour and clatter, the explosion of uncontrolled joy, will probably not see a ball bowled on TV. And the players who have grown accustomed to the din and post-match adulation, would attribute this present uncommon occurrence to being just another cricket game.

Some of the cricket has been stimulating with some noteworthy moments. Batsmen are struggling to play their shots with any degree of certainty because of the difficult pitches on which to bat and after the first week team scores have been low.

I’m very happy for our cricketers in the Caribbean having the HCPL to raise them from the lethargy of months of inactivity, to compete on the playing field once more.

I’m also quite proud of my country for hosting the tournament!