NUMBER ONE

So, the England (and Wales) Cricket Test Team have finally made it to the very top of the test rankings after a long hard slog from the very lowest of levels, and are, at least until South Africa play again in a few week’s time, the number one side in the world, and the team to beat. They even have the I.C.C. Mace to prove it, and, even though statistically it was already the case a week ago, I suppose it’s nice to finally have the proof to roll off the mantelpiece.

After thirty odd years of watching and listening to the various versions of that particular team being rather rubbish, or at the very least, seldom living up to expectations, I suppose that it is a rather satisfying feeling to now have, even though the true pessimist in me knows that the only way to go now is down…

Strangely now, after gaining all this surprising momentum (and to we dyed-in-the-wool followers it is truly a surprise that defeat hasn’t, for once, been snatched from the jaws of victory) they won’t play another test match for more than four months which, for even the best of us, would probably leave everyone feeling a little rusty when they strapped on the pads again and went out to face the first ball.

Still, for those of us who find such things an entertaining distraction despite so many of our friends and colleagues trying to tell us how “really boring” it is (an opinion that I now find so “really boring” in itself that I can’t be bothered arguing with it any more…), there’s still plenty of cricket to be enjoyed before the Autumn chill finally sets in and the willow and leather have to be stashed away until springtime.

There’s a whole series of one day international coming, and anyone who thinks that India, as the current world champions, are likely to be just as much a walkover in that format might be in for a rather rude reawakening. England (and Wales) seem to have always struggled in the one-day game and, to be perfectly honest, I’m not expecting that to change any time soon. After all, despite a lot of people not realising it, the skill set, concentration and ability required for the five day version of the game are simply not the same for a one-day match, or indeed a Twenty20 one either. They are about power and speed whereas building a test innings requires a different kind of thoughtfulness and guile. I’ve really not taken to Twenty20 at all myself. All that “razzle-dazzle” and the shouting and the music just doesn’t say “cricket” to me in the way that the clunk of leather upon willow and a gentle ripple of applause on a lazy summer’s afternoon does, but I know that it’s an outdated point of view in this era where spectacle and performance seems to mean everything.

So it is with a heavy heart that today I wake up and realise that already the last day’s test cricket of the summer has come and gone, and for me that can only mean the onset of Autumn and the gloomy days of winter to follow. I know there’s still a lot of play left in the season, but for me the year is now pretty much over and, like the morning after a particularly riotous party (not that I’ve experienced too many of them) it’s all over bar the clearing up. That said, the actual morning after had that slightly autumnal feeling in the air which, whilst it’s difficult to describe why, always leaves me with a slight sense that we’ve reached a “proper” and “grown up” time of the year, and it’s time to get practical and down to business. In some ways, despite the loss of having no cricket on the radio to ease me through the longer, duller days, it still manages to remain one of my favourite times of the year.

The distinctive rhythms of “Booker T” will sound again to introduce T.M.S. of course, but there’s always a little melancholy connected to the knowledge that I’m hearing the tune for the last time in a test match context for the year, and so, despite all the eventual celebrations, it did still feel a slightly melancholy day to me, which probably says more about my shortcomings in the “happy-go-lucky human being” stakes rather than anything else.

It was rather sad, too that Sachin Tendulkar, the so called “little master” failed once more to get that increasingly elusive 100th international hundred that has been so much anticipated throughout both the world cup and this summer’s test series. Ah well, there are still plenty of chances left, what with the one day series coming along, and despite him being at the tail end of a long and magnificent career, surely his date with destiny can’t be too far away.

It’s also very unusual, and one of the quirks of language I suppose that someone worked out that “Sachin Tendulkar, little master” is an anagram of  “Still at the centuries landmark” which is both a perverse thing for someone to take the time to work out, and massively ironic, given the circumstances.

But it remains a strange game that can cause the most unusual things to happen. It’s pretty certain that non-cricket fans, or even those coming to it new after hearing about the recent successes, might still be surprised that a team that have proved themselves so adept at one form of the game might still prove themselves rather hopeless at another. I only hope that if that is the case for England (and Wales) later on this year, then the achievements in the rather beautiful and elegant five day version won’t be quickly forgotten by those whose only enjoyment of any sport seems to come from winning at any price and can only remember as far back as the last humiliation. The irony of the team that can be called “the best in the world”  having a hopeless day is really only the stuff that cynics and headline writers can really find any joy in.

Watching the highlights of the final day’s play in the final test last night, however, did a lot to restore my faith in human nature after recent events, or at least that part of the human race that seems to appreciate the values of fair play, appreciation of a game well played no matter how poorly the team you are there to watch may be playing, and mutual support within a crowd of impressive ethnic and age diversity. I suppose I can also be impressed by something that has usually eluded me in life and which is what (I presume) people find so fascinating in all the other team sports; A group of people working together to achieve a common goal and trusting enough in each other’s abilities to do their bit. It may be old fashioned of me, but all of these things restore my hope.

Just a little.