We should embrace all forms of cricket Six or seven years down the road and the world is still skeptical about T20 cricket in that at times one tends to forget its impact on the game and still think it’s a form that is still under test in all cricket nations. Even when one tends to think most nations rushed into it. Despite the divided opinion the series brings, the criticism has kept dwindling because many countries have their own T20 leagues and maybe because the critics are fatigued as a friend tends to joke. The critics believe the T20 series is about the money involved in fact they stress that it kills player morals and technique. Since T20 has been around for about seven years it is understandable that the jury is still out but the criticism has been too loud for all its shortcomings. Nevertheless, T20 has given the game new direction; the money involved has improved livelihoods of players and staff alike. The series has also won over more cricket nations and fans especially the young ones and it is believed most of these fans are also embracing ODI and Test cricket. May be the game can also get a spot in future Olympic! These days Test matches are being decided like T20 matches. I am a affirm believer that all forms can co-exist because all the criticism has still given no technical evidence on how the skill of players is affected by T20- in fact in India T20 players from the IPL are representing the nation in other series while elsewhere legends like Ponting have made postretirement appearances. All it takes is pragmatic thinking in cricket nations because in professional sport the lure of money is irresistible. Test and T20 cricket series are here to stay! Let’s press for what was promised. Since time immemorial, the shortcomings of our athletics competitions or rather participations all over the world have been blamed on government in one way or another. Not even the far-apart and self-driven successes of Steven Kiprotich, Davis Kamoga, John Akii-bua and to some extent Moses Kipsiro, Boniface Kiprop and Dorcus Inzikuru over the decades has saved the government from the jaws of criticism. It has never mattered to us what other stakeholders like the press and athletics officials do or do not do much less whether our competitors put in enough effort. It was therefore with profound pleasure or relief that the country received news about the President’s promise to Olympics and World Champion, Steven Kiprotich to build a high altitude training centre in Kapchorwa to support athletics in the country or even in the region- never mind the understandable skepticism that has called for private “investors” of all people to take on the works of making this project a success. The hard truth is that if this project is to ever see daylight, everyone involved must play their part. The officials and the press are supposed to demand for it. The promise must never leave the back pages until the centre is erected and opened. It is the only way we shall see more Kiprotichs, Kamogas and also save the careers of the Inzikurus, Kipsiros while turning the likes of Jackson Kiprop and Kiplimo into competitors rather than participants or politely pace-makers. As Hannah Arendt once said, “Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible”, the President has shaped the future but deliverance will depend on how best we push and press for these promises to be delivered. Less competition in the men’s singles! After Andy Murray’s defeat and shocking display against Stanislas Wawrinska in the quarter finals of the US Open, one has to love and worry about the way the men’s singles have evolved over the years. As I watched the match one of my colleagues with whom we share a social media platform joked that he thinks Murray may contemplate playing in the upcoming Davis Cup, of course we can only wait and see in a few weeks if he plays. It is good that Wawrinska can shock one of the favorites of the tournament to make his own mark but one wonders whether he can overcome the upcoming challengers in the athletic Novak Djokovic and the rejuvenated Rafael Nadal who could actually be his next opponents if he ever makes the final and wins the US Open. For long we have watched with hope the promise of players like Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, David Ferrer and many others but to our dismay they have never been worthy challengers for the honors that winning these titles bring. The ladies’ tournament has always brought new winners throughout the years and the enthusiasts of the men’s singles have always watched in envy as the competition in the females’ game produces new stars. With Federer’s stardom waning with age and Nadal’s injuries annoyingly far from done with him, the men’s game will surely be dominated by Djokovic and Murray for some years to come save for the shock defeats. Nevertheless, we would love to see Wawrinska, Ferrer, Delpo and others seizing opportunities and winning a few grand slams not just for a change but to also prove there is good competition. The worry though is that despite their efforts, they might just be not good enough. Where are our stars? After the athletics World Championships, I recounted the memories of my primary and secondary school days. Back then we had participants in almost all field and track events more so those from other schools that we competed against at division, district and national levels but here was a world competition and we had only a few runners let alone the lack of participants in other field events. Where does all this talent we had in school end up? The problem has not been limited to only athletics. The same challenge is seen with basketball, handball, volleyball football and its Copa Coca Cola tournament and even much worse in the girls’ disciplines. We rarely see female athletes from our country making it to the world stage yet in school they played with passion and commitment for their houses and schools. The country should to some extent feel cheated especially because when sportsmen and ladies represent their schools and country in regional competitions, they get up to four points added to their academic weight as they strive to get courses of their choice at university most of them on government sponsorship. Though they reach campus and most of them deviate from these sports disciplines and concentrate more on academic grades, they are not solely to blame as the concerned university administrators have not done enough to follow up this talent much less give the country value for tax payers money through the government sponsorships and additional points the sportsmen and ladies get. It is important for our players- and parents- in all disciplines to learn from a younger age that they can balance both academics and sports for a brighter future- not only for them but the country at large. We need a whole different change in attitude. Let’s learn from them Juventus has dominated the Serie A for the past three years but their style of play, the way it has been adopted by most Italian clubs and the national team is what makes them beautiful and endearing to football fans. They play with 3 defenders, two wingbacks running up and down the pitch and a deep-lying holding midfielder who sets the game tempo. It is not about the dominance that their style has been adopted by the Italian national team and other Italian clubs but rather due to the consensus built among the administrators of leagues and Italian football as a whole. It is what we refer to as building an “identity”. Here you can tell an Italian team without even looking at the shirt. Watching Juventus against Lazio last weekend left a lot to ponder about as far as our game in Uganda is concerned but I will only base on the way Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Pirlo played. Whenever Pirlo was pressed by opponents, he ran deeper and Bonucci moved forward showing his passing range and skill- he got two assists. If you watch other Italian clubs the same style of play might strike you! Especially if the deep lying midfielder and the flexible center back are both Italians. How do they do it? I think it all lies in the consolidation of coaching activities right from grassroots level to the national team level. Maybe with CAF’s policy of vetting coaches in African leagues, our coaches can start learning from each other. More so under the guidance of national federation’s technical committee, an identity can be built for our football basing on our strengths like pace, wing play and defending without compromising the basics of the game like dribbling, passing and the first touch.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 13:31:09 +0000
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