When the ball is not in play

UMPIRE's POST

The entrenched enfant terrible of world cricket, Shoaib Akhtar, and the emerging one, Sreesanth, are doing a great service to the game's followers. One can remember a match because Shoaib, who does not have a great batting average, decided to wield the bat on Asif. Another match stood out because in the middle of it Sreesanth gave irrefutable evidence of where our species came from.

Help is at hand from the likes of Dhoni and Yuvraj, who together fielded questions on NDTV and, with only a thin veil, said they did not have much to learn from each other. Yuvraj also said that he, in the absence of a coach, had become a better player.

Increasingly, the highlights of this busy cricket season are things that happen when the ball is not in play. This is inevitable when international cricket is being played nearly all the time. Even as you read this, India is conceding 300 every match to Australia in a seven-match ODI series, England is trying to break out of its losing streak against Sri Lanka and Kallis is re-establishing himself as a pre-eminent Test batsman against Pakistan.

By February, South Africa will host New Zealand, which will travel to Australia before welcoming Bangladesh and England. Australia will host India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka and England, after the ODIs, will play Tests. India will play Pakistan at home and West Indies will travel to South Africa.

This can leave even the ardent follower a bit dazed, which can be the beginning of apathy.

Look at what is happening to players. Yousuf did not play the first Test against South Africa owing to lack of match fitness, ignoring that the solution was to play matches. Murali is sitting out the ODIs against England.

Sachin, who in his 34 years has done precious little other than play cricket, and has enjoyed it, has become an irregular presence in the Indian side. A perpetually sore ankle has turned Flintoff, the world's best all-rounder two years ago, into a bits-and-pieces player.

Twenty20's success will only add to the itinerary since ICC is steadfast that the new format must not eat into the ODI calendar. In about three and a half decades, cricket has moved from one format to three, and to three tournaments involving the top teams (in case you are struggling to recall the third, it is the Champions Trophy).

ICC will have to find a way to cut through this maze. Otherwise, even high-profile series like

India-Australia will evoke the same kind of interest as a Ram Gopal Verma film. Did you notice he had a release last Friday?