For all the excitement of watching Flintoff and Pietersen in action yesterday, the best thing for me about the IPL is seeing the golden oldies in action.
Watching greats of the game such as Warne and Tendulkar is a pleasure and a privilege, even in this truncated form of the game. Such achievers have an aura about them. For me, that raises The IPL from something which could be tawdry and cheap, to something really quite special.
It could have been somewhat pathetic, watching cricketing greats who have retired such as Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist and Hayden. One would presume they are past their prime: to be honest they are. Two things they haven’t lost, though, are their class and their will to win. Warne, in particular, was magnificent last year. No game showed this better than the clash between Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers. Warne’s bowling showed at times that he has lost some (only a very small amount, but still some) of the consistency and control that made him such a giant of the game, going for 47 from his four overs. The old will to win came through in the end, though, as he slogged 22 off nine balls at the end to win the game in thrilling fashion.
This refusal to give in, this ability to perform when it really matters, is a hallmark of the careers of the truly great cricketers. It comes naturally to Warne to do everything he can to win, just as it did to Botham, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and other greats going back all the way to WG Grace. That this is still so apparent in the IPL games that he plays adds immeasurably to the tournament.
In a similar way, it was great to see another retired player, who had a point to prove, going all out and winning a game. Matthew Hayden, for me, outshone everyone with a brutal, match-winning knock of 65 from 35 balls. If he hadn’t been run out he could easily have gone on to post a big hundred. In a form of the game which could have been designed for the ultimate flat-track bully, he still has the eye, the temperament, and most importantly the motivation to be arguably the best batsman in the format.
In terms of the England players involved, it provides very useful experience for them in top-class T20 action, ahead of the T20 World Cup later this summer. This is something that they may otherwise have lacked going into what is an increasingly important tournament.
When considering the upcoming Ashes, though, it can’t help that a vital Test series against West Indies is only a few days after these players get home. I do question, though, if an ODI series in the UAE against Pakistan (as Australia have undertaken at the same time) is, in reality, any better preparation. It is tempting to say that, just because they are playing for their country, the Australian players are more focused on the Ashes: but the truth is, we will not really know if that is the case until the Ashes themselves are well underway.