Darwin Festival highlights T20Is...

If you'll do bog-snorkelling, you'll do 20-over cricket

It is the first week of the ‘Darwin Festival’, a fact I neglected to mention for two days in the stupor of jetlag, time-confusion and spelling errors. The T20 Internationals on Sunday and Tuesday have been slotted into the Northern Territory’s big fortnight, rather than vice-versa.

Several hundred festival-visitors have willingly bought tickets for the cricket on the same basis that timely visitors to Wales would pay to watch the annual bog-snorkelling championships. There’ll be many first-time cricket visitors at the Marrara Oval on Sunday - and it’s brilliant marketing in a city with a population of just 147,000.

The Festival is a very mini Edinburgh/Glastonbury with crowds of tens rather than thousands at a variety of music and stand-up venues, the largest of which is at Darwin’s Waterfront with seating and standing for around 300. If you can make it as an artist in Darwin, presumably, you can make it anywhere.

It was confirmed today that my old friend, Jason Gillespie, would be one of the two expert summarisers on ABC radio for the first two T20 Internationals at the Marrara Oval. The former Australian fast bowler and well-travelled (and decorated) coach is enjoying a ‘summer off’ before deciding on his next serious career move, so a bit of time in the commentary box suits him perfectly.

‘Dizzy’ came to mind often during the England/India Test series; every time the players on both sides complained about the Dukes ball. Gillespie’s commitment to veganism extends to advocating the development and use of cricket ball constructed with man-made materials rather than leather. Cue sniggers from cricket ‘traditionalists’.

Just give it a moment’s thought. For decades professional cricketers have actively (but surreptitiously) tried to alter the condition of the ball, picking at the seam and encouraging damage to at least one side of the ball in search of ‘nip’ and swing. And they have the temerity to complain when the ball turns soft or loses its perfect shape.

Imagine a ball which offered swing and seam movement from the beginning of the game but was designed and manufactured to deteriorate at a roughly predictable rate – unless it was looked after and protected as much as possible. What a change that would be for the fielding side.

The lack of standardisation in professional cricket may be one its ‘charms’, but it is also ridiculous. Apart from the length of the pitch and the size of the stumps, almost everything can vary. Boundaries, balls, length of match, grass – even the number of players. The IPL, remember, is 12-a-side.

Talking of which… when the success of India’s domestic league is held aloft as the benchmark around which the global game should be structured, it’s worth remembering that it functions on the core principle of equality and fairness. Same squad size, same budget, same number of games…even the logistics are organised to ensure the teams have, as far as possible, a similar amount of travel and days off. Each of the 10 teams starts every season truly believing they can win.

Imagine if (even some of) that was applied to Test cricket. Silly thought, obviously, because there isn’t nearly as much money to be made for the rich by empowering the poor but, from a cricketing perspective, it would make an exciting difference. Most sports change systems that don’t work. International cricket enhances theirs.

The world’s most financially successful sports, mostly American, function on fairness – accepting there is no definitive version of it. But it’s why the team finishing bottom gets the first pick at the following year’s player draft, and why they are all (supposedly) restricted to the same squad budget.

All things in honest perspective: these six matches and this tour is small in Australia’s collective sporting consciousness, at the moment. Tiny. History may regard it as significant in future years but, right now, it’s AFL ‘Footy’ season. As can be seen over the shoulder of my cricket-writing room-mate, Malcolm Conn.

Journalistic reporting has been made quicker and easier in recent years with the improvement in auto-transcription programmes. But due care and attention is still required in the manual editing process. Dewald Brevis emerged today as ‘good old Brevis’. I took it as a sign. If anyone inks themselves permanently into the Proteas XI during this tour, it is most likely him. His recent form and consistency have been remarkable.

*Coffee donations at just £4 are always greatly appreciated IF you enjoy my columns and can afford it. And please remember, an annual subscription is just one coffee per month. :)