A simple word that carries immense burden. What defines greatness in sports? Statistical brilliance, nostalgia, longevity? In cricketing terms, 99.94, memories like Brett Lee vs Sachin Tendulkar, 100 Tests, or 15 years+ career?
Legacies are largely depended on the final days in the international arena. Retirement has always been a tricky issue in cricket.
Sourav Ganguly’s Ian Chappell saga tarnished his otherwise positive legacy. A poor 2007 Cricket World Cup ended dreams for Brian Lara & Inzamam ul-Haq. Simon Jones’ career ended before it could start due to injuries.
Some overstay and risk going out on a low. Others like German soccer captain Philipp Lahm retired internationally at the age of just 30 after winning the FIFA World Cup in 2014.
The Lost Generation
Today we dive deep into the careers of the lost generation of 2005—Alastair Cook, AB De Villiers, Michael Clarke, and Hashim Amla, all of them would retire prematurely.
With the triple retirement of Dale Steyn, Brendon Taylor, and Lasith Malinga, the legendary class of 2004-06 is coming to a close. Only Broad-Anderson & Ross Taylor remain from the greats of this era.
Sandwiched between the 90s golden generations of Sangakkara-Jayawardene-Muralitharan, Tendulkar-Laxman-Ganguly-Dravid, Kallis-Pollock-Boucher-Ntini, Inzamam-Yousuf, Ponting led Australia, & the Fab 4 (Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith), there was the class of 2004 & 2005.
Why did these cricketers retire so soon? How does the future look like? Read till the end for our in-deptj analysis & final thoughts.
11 Cricketers Who Retired Too Early
While legends of the past played 12-15 years, the cricketers in this list only had about 9-12 years of international cricket. The fact that they followed the golden generation lead to slightly later debuts and hence, even shorter careers.
One of the clear indications of the early retirement for the batters is the statistics. Most did not cross 10,000, their averages fell below 50, and the centuries hovered between 25-27 (although at one stage it seemed each of these players would break them all).
Anderson’s long career seems like he is on another level (which he is) but in all reality, at one stage, all of these players would have careers as long as Jimmy Anderson.
The players in this list were not dropped. They retired on their own terms or because of other circumstances. Hence, we exclude players like Ian Bell, Virender Sehwag, Umar Gul, Suresh Raina, and Gautam Gambhir who were available for selection but were unfortunately dropped from the team plans later in their career.
Retiring on a high is every cricketer’s dream. Captaining Australia to a victory at home in front of the MCG crowd must have been a surreal experience. A few months later, the Ashes would be his final appearance. One of the bests #4 batters of all-time with a godly conversion rate in Tests. The 2012-13 season would always be remembered as Clarke’s year, the only batter to score 4 double centuries in a year.
Harris’ career was a classic cases of fast bowling injuries. Whenever he was fit, he bowled his heart out and made an indelible impact. Could not make the XI in Australia’s golden generation and had to leave early due to chronic knee injury. Retired 3 days before the Ashes because he could not recover even after surgery. Will always be remembered for the ball of this century to dismiss Alastair Cook.
“I played 27 more Tests than I ever thought I would and I have relished every single moment of them.”
At one point in time, he was touted to overtake Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-scorer and century maker having scored 5000 runs at 26. Will always be remembered for the 2010-11 Ashes series down under. However, loss of form and inconsistency creeped in. Tougher playing conditions, 159 Tests in a row, and the KP saga probably got to him. Century in his first and last Tests against India showed that he still had it in him. Still the best opener in England?
Due to his late debut, it was inevitable that Strauss would not have an extremely long career, but England fans learned how great Andrew Strauss was after his retirement, for both his captaincy & batting. Since the Cook-Strauss partnership ended, England could not find a stable partner for Cook (and Cook’s effectiveness also decreased). KP himself said in an interview that the text-messaging scandal on the eve of Strauss’s 100th Test was one of his biggest mistakes, which tarnished Strauss’ last match. Later became ECB’s Director of cricket and subsequently received knighthood for his service to English cricket.
See Strauss above. Jokes aside, KP’s career had always been hampered by controversies. Although he had to leave South Africa and debuted relatively late, he quickly established himself as one of the greatest in his generation. Key contributor to the 2005 Ashes, 2012 India series, and 2010 T20 World Cup victories, he was a key component of driving English cricket forward. Although he was England’s highest scorerin the Mitchell Johnson 2015 series, he was a casualty of the 5-0 defeat. Poor relationship with Strauss & coach Andy Flower did not help as the management decided that KP’s career is over.
KP might have been controversial off the field, but there is no doubt he changed cricket for the better. Fast forward 15 years, everybody has an inner KP with the switch hits & aggressive mindset. Paved the way for English cricketers to join the IPL & other T20 leagues, thereby moving England one step closer to their eventual 2019 World Cup winning campaign.
T20Is: 39 Matches, 51 wickets, 16.84 average, 3/13 best
T20s: 80 Matches, 98 wickets, 18.88 average, 3/13 best
Cricketers Who Retired Trivia
Debut: January 22, 2000 (ODI), December 10-14, 2008 (Test)
Last Match: December 12-16, 2013 (Test)
Age Debuted: 29(Test), 20 (ODI)
Age Retired: 34
Why Did He Retire?
Statistically, Swann does not make the best bowlers of all-time list, but what he did in his 5-year Test career was continued the art of off-spin. After T20 cricket & ODI Powerplay rule changes, leg spinners flourished in the 2010s. Except for Daniel Vettori, finger spin was a dying art. Swann took off-spin forward and became a cog of the famed 2010-11 English lineup. Late Test debut, an elbow injury, and Johnson 2013 ensured that he retired mid-series (after the 3rd Test).
T20Is: 64 Matches, 85 wickets, 17.83 average, 4/19 best
T20s: 195 Matches, 271 wickets, 17.36 average, 4/14 best
Cricketers Who Retired Trivia
Debut: July 1, 2008 (ODI)
Last Match: April 23, 2015 (T20I)
Age Debuted: 31
Age Retired: 37
Why Did He Retire?
Another one who debuted late, but made an immediate impact. From the cricketers who retired too early, Saeed Ajmal’s ending was probably the saddest. During Pakistan’s toughest days, Saeed Ajmal & Umar Gul took Pakistan to great heights, especially in T20 cricket. However it was his action that was his downfall. Unlike Mohammad Hafeez & Sunil Narine, Ajmal’s remodeled action was not effective enough without the doosra. Will definitely go down as a Pakistani great.
T20Is: 44 Matches, 47 wickets, 25.34 average, 4/17 best
T20s: 190 Matches, 207 wickets, 25.29 average, 4/17 best
Cricketers Who Retired Trivia
Debut: December 25-29, 2006 (Test)
Last Match: March 29-April 2, 2018 (Test)
Age Debuted: 22
Age Retired: 33
Current Age: 36
Plays with Brisbane Heat in the BBL; Was at Surrey from 2018-2020
Why Did He Retire?
When Morne Morkel left international cricket after that Australia series for the Kolpak deal in England (with Surrey), it signaled the beginning of the end of the great 2008-2015 South Africa generation. From 2015-2019, each one slowly retired, and it was painful to watch South Africa collapse to new lows. What was not painful, however, was Morne Mornel’s bowling. High arm action, pace & bounce, & most importantly, consistent line & length. Dale Steyn would not have been as successful had he not had Morne on the other end as the ideal foil. Morkel, in his own right, will go down as a South African great. With 309 wickets at age 33, who knows, he could have gone past Steyn himself. Now a resident of Australia and plays in the BBL as a local cricketer.
Fastest to 10, 15, 16,17, 18, 20, 27 centuries & 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, and 7000 ODI runs, he was the only contemporary of Virat Kohli who could challenge him. South Africa’s fall from grace was confirmed in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and it was especially painful to watch Amla being hit in the head by Jofra Archer and retiring hurt. He would retire at the end of the tournament. Sublime cricketer, wonderful human being, he still architects blockathons on the County Circuit. You just help but wonder if South Africa should have persisted a year or so more for his form to come back.
Will he? Won’t he? Speculation about AB De Villiers’ retirement has been as spicy as Hollywood gossip. It all began with the ghost of 2015 semi-finals loss, which he captained. He would then get the Test captaincy job, a dream for a long time. However, workload management & administrative struggles became a hassle. Picking & choosing on a series-by-series basis followed by an indefinite break was a sign of what was to come. He came back in brilliant home with Test series against India and Australia.
However a video retirement a year before the ODI World Cup took everyone by surprise. Since then, he has been in multiple conversations about coming for the 2019 ODI World Cup or 2021 T20 World Cup, but those conversations have not gone too far. He can still be seen smashing it out of the park in the IPL. He is still fit, takes mind boggling catches, and plays match changing innings even after no game practice for a year.Although ABD & Amla played 14 years, they could have been Tendulkar-esque with a career of 17-21 years in another era.
The best batter of the generation and the face of “Cricketers Who Retired Too Early.”
Given captaincy at a young age, Smith began the rebuilding of a squad that would take South AFrica to #1 Test rankings. One of the best openers of this era, his courage & leadership came to the fore. Batting with a broken hand to save a Test will in fans’ memories forever. Now the director of cricket for South Africa.
Plays for RCB in the IPL, SKNP in CPL, and the West Indies
*subject to change. He is selected in West Indies’ 2021 T20 World Cup squad
Surprised? Well, you should be.
Chris Gayle is the antithesis to the 2005 generated. Debuted in 1999, and he is still playing at the age of 42. 100 Test matches, a triple century, an ODI double century, 10000 ODI runs, 14000+ T20 runs (with 22 100s!), he is a legend. So how did he survive so long even though he can barely run?
The answer is enough breaks. While the 2005 generation succumbed to continuous burnout, Gayle was in-and-out of the international side, played T20 leagues around the world, and gave up first class/Test cricket in 2014 to prolong his career. A couple of World Cup wins also helps keeping the fire going.
Here is an exhaustive list of players that served between 12-15+ years in international cricket. Notice that as we get further along, the list gets smaller.
Late 90s Generation: Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid (India), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)
2004-07 Generation: Ross Taylor (New Zealand), Brendon Taylor (Zimbabwe), Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa)
The Surviving Outliers
The main point to notice here is that those who played continuous cricket from 2005-2015 retired too soon.
However, there are plenty of cricketers who did not get a chance early on or were in-and-out of their national sides, but are still available for selection today. These players include Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, and the 2004 U-19 Cricket World Cup class of Shikhar Dhawan, Fawad Alam, Mahmudullah Riyadh, Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Tim Paine, Moises Henriques, William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, Wahab Riaz, who are still playing competitively and are available for international selection.
Since they did not get a chance earlier or play for lower-ranked teams, they are making the most of it now when opportunities finally came their way.
Hunger for success have caused these batch of cricketers to elongate their careers. To prove themselves as long as they are fit. Or to be a part of that elusive World Cup winning team.
Why Did The 2005 Generation Fall So Quickly?
Transition Periods
If we analyze these 10 cricketers who retired too early a bit more closer, we notice they mostly feature from England, South Africa, or Australia.
All of these teams went through a traumatic transition period. The 2013-15 period was especially stressful for England. While Mitchell Johnson dismantled the entire 2013 Test generation, forcing retirements of Trott, Pietersen, & Swann, the sacking of Cook in ODIs before 2015 World Cup would usher a new era in English cricket.
For South Africa, Grant Elliot’s semi-final six broke the gem of that South African team. AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, & Vernon Philander were never the same again.
Finally, although Australia did not have it that rough, they have not really gotten back to the Warne-McGrath days. The Clarke era was the short transition between the longer lasting, Ponting & Steve Smith eras.
Frequency of World Cups
Before the 2007 T20 World Cup, world championships only happened once every 4 years. A decade earlier, we only had the 2003/2007 ODI World Cup, 2007 T20 World Cup, and 2002/2006 Champions Trophy.
Teams were built on the premises of four-year cycles. With England & Australia, the Test Teams were formed with the next Ashes cycle in mind. Then followed 2009 (CT), 2010 (T20 WC), 2011 (CWC), 2012 (T20 WC), 2013 (CT), 2014 (T20 WC), 2015 (CWC), 2016 (T20 WC), 2017 (CT), 2019 (CWC), 2021 (World Test Championship).
Frequent trophies meant teams did not have to carry players for 4 years. An in-form player could be drafted while seasoned cricketers could be dropped with the upcoming ICC trophy in mind. Hence teams started to experiment more and started taking bold calls.
Case and point 2013 Champions Trophy—India dropped Sehwag, promoted Rohit Sharma, and went with an in-form Dhawan (seems like a history repeat itself moment with Dhawan in the 2021 T20 WC team).
These cricketers who retired too early were raised on the backs of Test & ODI cricket. Almost everyone from the 90s era played both formats if they were good enough. With the entrance of T20 cricket, cricket began to be played all year long instead of season to season.
If you add captaincy to the 3 formats, that takes pressure & mental exhaustion to another level.
Openers Struggle
This still does not explain why Cook & Amla retired. They had given up captaincy towards the end, did not play all formats, and did not have new players vying for their spots either.
The obvious answer to this is form. Both Cook & Amla suffered drastic loss of forms, but so did openers worldwide.
Cook himself concluded that batting in England became tougher towards the end of his career. We can see from the Burns-Sibley partnership that it has not gotten better any since. It was not necesesarily that they were worse players, just that the conditions had become more difficult.
Kohli Shows The Way Forward
Three format players like KP and ABD prospered for a while, but it caught up with their health & form.
A decade later, it is clear that separate teams are now being picked for the 3 vastly different formats. Mental health conversations are in place. Fitness, physiotherapy, and analytics have jumped to another level altogether. Rest & rotation have been employed by certain teams to prolong the careers of cricketers.
This means that the current generation of the Fab 5 & Buttler-Stokes-Cummins-Rabada-Starc-Hazlewood-Bumrah have a better chance for longer careers and go back to the 15-year norms of the 90s. Who knows the COVID break might even have re-energized some to extend their careers.
However balance is key. Virat Kohli has already lead the way and given up IPL/T20I captaincy to manage workload and focus on other formats. If this generation of players have to survive, they might have to give up at least one format, release captaincy pressure, take mental health and paternity breaks, and keep up their fitness.
Greatness Achieved Nevertheless
Although Amla, Smith, Sehwag, Clarke, de Villiers stopped agonizingly close without reaching the coveted 10000 run-mark, it does not take away from the genius of these men.
Numbers are not everything. Although their tenure was short, their impact was not. They changed cricket for the better, and that is all that matters.
There are some players who will always give a sense that they left too early. Fans are left asking, ‘What If they had stayed on for a couple of years?’, ‘Maybe one more World Cup?’
We should just be grateful enough we witnessed some of the greatest cricketers of all time.
Cricket’s time has come. What we all feared for has finally happened.
The fifth Test between India and England was cancelled/postponed hours before the toss due to COVID-19. New Zealand similarly pulled out of Pakistan on the basis of security threats. England have followed suit and cancelled their Men’s/Women’s tour of Pakistan in October as well. There has been more cancellation than actual cricket recently.
The international cricket structure is dismantling before our eyes—overkill of cricket, the IPL takeover, an acute mental health crisis, and Pakistan’s abandonment on the world stage.
Since the return from COVID-induced break, scheduling has slowly escalated. Overkill of cricket has reached its boiling point.
Last summer, West Indies, Ireland, and Pakistan toured England in cricket’s return. IPL 2020 in UAE followed soon after. The entire world had eyes on one series or tournament at a time with enough gap in between.
However, post-vaccination, international scheduling has been torturous.
England began its tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year and stayed for the India series. Soon after, IPL 2021’s first iteration took place. Then India went to England for months. England launched the Hundred in the middle of the summer.
When the Hundred ended, the CPL began. Four days after the CPL, the IPL began. The IPL final will be held on October 15th. The much awaited T20 World Cup begins just two days later, on the 17th of October.
But wait, there’s more.
IPL All Year Round?
India begin their home season on November 17th three days after the World T20 Final. And in Jaipur. Given the depth of both India and New Zealand, it is likely they will field a second-string team. Why is there a need for a T20I series less than a week after the T20 World Cup has ended?
Beats me.
IPL 2020 in UAE was a joy to watch. After months, the best players of the world played cricket had gathered together without any interruptions. The balanced pitches in Abu Dhabi & Dubai were conducive to fast bowling while Sharjah provided us the stereotypical high scores.
However, September 2020, March 2021, September 2021, and March 2022…This seems to be developing into an unhealthy pattern. Add to two IPLs a year. a ten-team IPL with a big auction next year. 74 IPL matches will push India’s home series against South Africa into June. Another T20 World Cup is to follow next October.
With Trinbago Knight Riders, Saint Lucia Kings, and Barbados Royals all having IPL stake owners, the IPL takeover of the world is complete.
Mental Health Crisis At An All-Time High
A byproduct of back-to-back cricket, bubble-to-bubble travel, and IPL-to-IPL jam packed into the international calendar is recurring injuries, early retirements, and mental health breaks.
Ben Stokes has been the most prominent casualty to the mental health crisis. Personal tragedy, finger injury, recalled back to captain a COVID hit squad, IPL, The Hundred, Test matches. Stokes is 30, a prime of a sportsperson career. However due to the intense nature of the cricket calendar, he has withdrawn from the India Test series, IPL, World T20, and possibly the Ashes.
England have done their very best to preserve the physical and mental health of players irrespective of the controversial rest/rotation policy. Even with such management and resources, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, & Mark Wood have been out for extended periods of time, while Banton-Bairstow-Buttler have pulled out of the IPL & other T20 leagues.
The Ashes begins on December 8th, shortly after the T20 World Cup. England’s team selection will give us an idea of how severe the mental crisis is.
Security Threats – Is There Western Bias Against Pakistan?
Pakistan was forced to make UAE their home for a decade after the horrifying 2009 shootings amidst the Sri Lanka series. India-Pakistan relations had already taken a hit a year earlier due to the Mumbai attacks. A year later, the spot-fixing crisis feat Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt further took down Pakistan cricket.
Regardless of the outside noise, Pakistan managed to win a T20 Cricket World Cup, Champions Trophy, and #1 Test rankings in the next decade. The Misbah-Younis era slowly got Pakistan’s reputation back as a respected cricketing nation. The PCB established a decent stable Pakistan Super League despite lack of finances and IPL experience.
With ambassadors like Daren Sammy volunteering to play in Pakistan, ICC sending a World XI team in 2017, PSL hosting playoffs at home, and series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, cricket was finally coming back.
Afghanistan Crisis In Spotlight
However New Zealand’s abandonment has set Pakistan cricket back yet another decade. It has started a domino effect with England pulling out and maybe, Australia next in line. Ramiz Raza, the new PCB chairman, has come out strongly against the “Western bloc.”
Australia have infamously been hesitant to play non-India subcontinental opposition. They have not invited Bangladesh for a Test series for years and are now on verge of cancelling the Afghanistan Test match based on lack of a women’s team (which is a decent point, but there was no opposition when Afghanistan was awarded Test status 4 years ago).
Afghanistan’s internal crisis has cast a shadow on their involvement in the T20 World Cup, and the geopolitical situation has made things worse for Pakistan as well.
Where There Is Money, There Is a Way
There was another security threat again today. This time with respect to the New Zealand women’s teamin England. The team went in lockdown, security was boosted, communication happened, investigation took place, threat was deemed as not credible, and the match is to go ahead as scheduled.
Fans have been citing the devastating 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in response to Pakistan-New Zealand abandoned series. The Bangladesh team were minutes away from the mosque when the incident took place. The 3rd Test was subsequently cancelled.
However, since it was in New Zealand, future tours were not affected. Pakistan themselves toured in 2020-2021.
Where Does Cricket Go From Here?
These two situations display that there is an implicit bias against Pakistan as opposed to the Big 4—India, Australia, England, New Zealand.
India can get away with a poorly managed COVID-19 situation in the first iteration of IPL 2021 by totally disrupting the international calendar because of their financial monopoly. The IPL/Hundred can cause a Test match cancellation.
England & Australia are free to abandon tours of South Africa due to bio-bubble breaches while touring the other Big 3 countries in worse circumstances. New Zealand escape without security backlash from the rest of the world due to their positive image and non-controversial nature.
If cricket is to sustain itself, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe need due support from the rest.
ICC has put in better plans to raise awareness of cricket worldwide, provide structure for women’s & Associate cricket, and contextualize Test & ODI cricket. However, it first needs to ensure that cricketing culture in once prospering countries does not die away.
If cricket cannot guarantee balance in the post-COVID world—balance of powers, player wellness, security threats, & scheduling, then this is the end of cricket as we know it.
If you like this content on Group B 2021 T20 World Cup Squads, please subscribe above for FREE and follow us on our social media accounts.
As acclaimed twentieth century writer Khalil Gibran once remarked, “Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper.”
India’s improbable victory in the 4th Test sent social media into frenzy. There were claims of it being the ‘greatest Test team’ going around or the ‘best Indian Test team.’ Although there is subtle merit to these claims, I argue that this is just an over exaggeration of the ground reality.
How Good Are Team India?
There is no doubt that the Indian cricket team has flourished in the 21st century. With a thriving cricketing culture, robust recruitment setup throughout the country, monetary power in the hands of the BCCI with the advent of the IPL, and a prospering India A system, India has the greatest depth and resources available.
The rise of Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan Khan across formats in less than six months attests to this claim.
Overseas Victories
India came back from 0-1 to seal the Border-Gavaskar series 2-1. Stories galore and the legend of this series will carry in the minds of fans forever. Similarly, a defeat in the third Test against England did not faze India. In the 4th Test, a 99-run deficit was overcome via valiant century by Rohit Sharma and memorable contributions in both innings by Shardul Thakur.
To give you an idea how far India have come along—This is India’s 4th victory in Australia & England since December (and 8th in Australia, England, South Africa since 2018). In the decade before, India’s only moments of glory in England & Australia were Headingly 2002, Adelaide 2003, England series 2007, and Perth 2008 (coincidentally Rahul Dravid contributing with 148, 233 & 72*, captain, and 93). So this 2-1 series victory (almost) should hold well with the Indian fans, especially after the suffering endured in the 2010s.
This Indian team is good. Really good. They have the spirit to come back from any circumstance, and they just never give up. The attitude instilled by Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli is evident in the body language of each and every player.
However, is this team the best? I do not think so.
Collapse A Day Does Not Keep The Doctor Away
Team India is brilliant at comebacks, but why is there a need of comebacks in the first place?
The 2000s Australia team set the benchmark for Test greatness. Did you ever hear them coming from dire circumstances? Well, not much because they were so dominant, a comeback was not even necessary.
The same is true for the current World Test Championship winner, the New Zealand cricket team. When they win, they win emphatically.
If India are to instill their greatness in cricketing folklore, they must replicate their home dominance away as well.
Current Batting Side Does Not Fire In Unison
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Ajinkya Rahane are all good batters individually, but they have rarely fired in unison.
When the top order bats at its best, the middle order collapses. When Pujara-Pant come together, the rest of the batters have already gone to the pavilion. Kohli is not back at his best yet and Rahane seems to have fallen off the charts altogether.
Even in the horrendous tours of 2011 and 2014, I do not remember performances like 36/9 or 78/10, let alone two. The batting collapses occur too frequently to be regarded as a modern great. What made the Sehwag-Dravid-Sachin-Laxman-Ganguly era great was their consistent overseas batting performances without having the caliber of fast bowlers at their disposals in the nets to practice with.
Now India finally has the bowling attack to take 20 wickets consistently, but a batting line up that is not even close.
Greatest Indian Bowling Attack
The reason India is succeeding away from home can be attributed to two factors: (1) comparatively lower standard of opposition, and (2) fast bowling unit.
Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur provide regular breakthroughs while Jadeja and Ashwin can play both as wicket-taking options and chief controller depending on the conditions.
Since the South Africa tour of 2018, Indian bowlers have taken all 20 wickets by pace on numerous occasions. Injury replacements are readily available as well.
So is India Good, Bad, or Just Okay?
The bowling attack? The best in their nation’s history. Their batting? Eh. Not so hot.
India might have one of the best line ups on paper but are definitely not the best Test team going around. Or at least just not performing to their full potential yet. The flaws in India’s team performance combined with miraculous comebacks and recency bias actually amplify the degree of their quality. India are so bad sometimes that it brings out the best in the team. Still a long way to go achieve dominance.
In other words, India are so bad that they are actually good. Think about it.
Abraham Lincoln famously remarked, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
England cricket is having that moment right now with the County Cricket vs The Hundred debate. From the outside, everything seems fine—2019 World Cup victory, Anderson-Broad still going strong, finally a somewhat stable opening Test partnership in Burns-Sibley, and an enviable depth.
Deep down, though, there are gaping cracks. Tradition, history, club cricket, professional contracts, indirect impact on Tests are stacked against city-based franchises, new format, media rights, and emphasis on limited overs cricket.
Today, I am not going to present an argument from an English perspective—David Hopps, Andrew Miller, and George Dobell (twice) provide well-articulated balanced views. On the other hand, I express my observations as an outsider.
Is Controversy Helping County Cricket or Hundred?
Full disclosure—I am not from England. I have no particular affinity with a specific county and do not follow much of the County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup, or the T20 Blast (unless of course Alastair Cook is nearing another ton or Shaheen Shah Afridi takes 4 in a row). Nor did I watch a single game of the Kia Super League.
Yet the endless debates and discussion on social media against The Hundred piqued my curiosity. I have since watched almost all games of The Hundred and have enjoyed them too. While County Cricket fans are trying to fight for their side, they might have actually helped publicize the Hundred.
First impressions—the possibility that a bowler can bowl 10 consecutive balls has added an extra dimension. Rashid Khan went as far as to say it’s now possible to take three hat-tricks! Imagine the flexibility with swing bowlers and death specialists. When a Joe Root-esque part-timer keeps it tight, let him or her continue.
I also like the speed of the game. The over-rate field placement penalty and the swiftness of DRS decisions has reduced the time down to less than 3 hours.
Most importantly, the cricket has been good, and it looks like a fun family time. Affordable tickets, priceless expressions of kids, last over thrillers, Lizelle Lee-Jemimah Rodrigues specials, find of Chris Benjamin, Alex Hales-Ben Stokes drama, and Bairstow being Bairstow. All good.
There is always room for improvement, however. Graphics are all over the place, crowds are not sell-outs, and even umpire Nigel Llong had to ask the DJ to dial it down a notch.
Disparity in Score Decreases
The simultaneous matches with the Women’s Hundred is turning out to be a gamechanger. The level of women’s cricket was criticized in Women’s T20 Challenge when the Velocity were bundled for 47 although conditions were not ideal.
In the Hundred, when the women’s team only scored 113-93, the men’s teams did even worse 87/10 a few hours later in a spin dominated pitch. The average scores are 124 and 137 so far for the women’s & men’s editions respectively, and quality of cricket equally enthralling.
Can County Cricket, T20 Blast, and The Hundred Coexist—Yay or Nay?
One argument has been why not just re-market the T20 Blast instead of creating a new format?
If we all agree that County Cricket, T20 Blast, and the Hundred are to coexist, the question then becomes of scheduling.
County Championship: 18 Teams, 3 Groups, 90 matches, April-July
The Hundred: 8 teams & 34 matches for Women’s/Men’s each, July-August
Add the home Test summer, the English rain, and this is a packed schedule. The issue with the T20 Blast is that it is played over 18 teams, broken over several months, with numerous games on the same day. The momentum is stagnant, regular international talent not retained, and coverage low.
About Time England Dominate The League World
England are the current ODI World Champions and one of the favorites for the T20 World Cup. If there was ever a time to invest in a franchise league of international standard, it is now before the likes of Eoin Morgan head towards retirement.
When the IPL was launched in 2008, India still had legends like Dravid-Tendulkar-Ganguly-Laxman to build stable fanbases & drive spectators to the ground but it was the 2007 T20 World Cup victory that ensured T20 would succeed in India. Yes, it might be weird that Jonny Bairstow from Yorkshire is playing for the Welsh Fire. There maybe no natural County support for an artificial franchise league, but Dhoni & Raina are not from Chennai either (far from it!) and probably possess the largest IPL fanbase.
England was reluctant to invest in franchise cricket and suffered till the 2015 Cricket World Cup debacle as a result. The rest of the world allowed India to become a monopoly in the T20 market. One can argue that losing Buttlers-Stokes-Morgans-Archers to the IPL 2 months in the year is indirectly hurting the County Cricket. Had English cricket invested in a T20 league earlier and provided it a window so it does not clash with domestic tournaments, they would have been at a better place. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.
There is still time. Who knows, a high-quality concentrated domestic tournament can extend England’s golden era and throw up new stars.
Better players, more competition, more spectators/TV viewership, more money, higher salaries—Players, counties, leagues, everybody happy?
With 38 teams & multiple groups, Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the IPL coexist. A separate window for the IPL ensures availability of homegrown talent as well as majority of foreign players. Ranji Trophy provides professional support, SMAT is scheduled strategically a month before the auction to showcase new talent, and the IPL, in return, provides developed players, academies, & scouting systems back to the domestic teams.
From the looks of it, ECB has almost made up its mind about the Hundred at least for a couple of seasons. So why not try to find a solution that benefits all parties involved instead of opposing it?
I will leave you with Michael Atherton’s warning on commentary today. Fans are drawn towards a new format because it is exciting and different. Administrators get greedy and keep expanding like the IPL and Big Bash. A few years later, the format becomes diluted and ‘loses its pizzazz.’
Just a short 1-month Hundred can probably survive and not hurt other formats. However, if this format is to spread to expand to more teams, other countries, or become an international format, then there will be detrimental consequences. Until then we can have some fun and adapt innovations from this experiment into the existing formats. Keep the Hundred simple, but do not forget the county game either.
Lincoln was right. Now England must choose—an internal divisive cricket Civil War or a mutual partnership?
Thanks for checking out this content! What are your views on County Cricket Vs The Hundred. COMMENT Below or more engagement! Consider subscribing for more such cricket articles & featured content!
Lots of world cricket recently. Cricket here, cricket there, cricket everywhere.
In the last month, New Zealand defeated India to lift the inaugural World Test Championship. South Africa swept the Test series 2-0 and won the T20I series 3-2 against the world champions, West Indies, who themselves blew Australia out of the park in the T20I series.
Ireland emerged victorious in an almost-perfect ODI match against South Africa. Finally, a last-minute England’s second-string squad whitewashed a full-strength Pakistan team 3-0, and a second-string India threatens to be too strong for Sri Lanka on paper.
If you tried predicting all the series above, most likely you would have missed a few. Cricket’s landscape is changing. A vast transformation is taking place.
No single team is unbeatable, and no team can be taken lightly. Case and point— Sri Lanka. Transition phase, lackluster, downfall, where are the glory days gone?—call them anything, but they are the only Asian side to win a Test series in South Africa and that too in 2019.
In the current ODI Super League, Ireland have blown hot and cold. They have defeated current ODI World Cup holders, England and South Africa. Those were no fluke victories either—chasing 329 and putting 291 on the board is no little feat. However, the Irish drew 1-1 against UAE, lost 0-3 against Afghanistan, and surrendered important Super League points to Netherlands in a 1-2 series loss.
Let us dissect this further. This uncertainty is not a recent phenomenon either. Due to the influx of ICC tournaments (almost one every year now), there is a higher probability of multiple teams claiming a world trophy.
Gone are the days of West Indies 1980s (1975/1979 WC winners, 1983 finalist) and Australia 2000s (1996 finalists, 1999/2003/2007 WC winners, 2006/2009 Champions Trophy winners).
South Africa (till 2015) and India been right up there over the last decade without putting their stamp of domination. West Indies have dominated T20Is, England have changed ODI cricket, and New Zealand have been a constant force.
Yet since the 2013 Champions Trophy, a different winner has conquered each ICC Trophy.
2013 Champions Trophy: India
2014 T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka
2015 ODI World Cup: Australia
2016 T20 World Cup: West Indies
2017 Champions Trophy: Pakistan
2019 ODI World Cup: England
2021 World Test Championship: New Zealand
In the next decade, 5 WTC Finals, 6 T20I World Cups, 3 ODI World Cups, and 2 Champions Trophies will provide ample opportunity for new winners.
Sure, with the bench strength that England, India, or New Zealand possess, they will be contenders but not certain winners.
ICC Has Gotten Something Right
Honest confession time. I have been critical of the ICC in the past, but must give it to them. They have a made a few decent decisions recently—pushing for cricket in the Olympics, extending future World Cups to include more Associate nations (14-team ODI WC, 20-team T20I WC), and most importantly, by providing much needed structure.
The first great thing ICC did was granting T20I status to all 104 nations in 2018. It was the right step in “globalizing the game” by ensuring standardization in terms of grounds, umpiring, and code of conduct. T20I World Cups scheduled every two years will ensure vigorous qualification structure.
To provide context in Test cricket, the World Test Championship was installed. It has numerous flaws, but the fact that spectators were critical of the points table, a record number watched the finals, and predictions for the next cycles have already begun show that the ICC have succeeded at some level in contextualizing Test cricket. The fact that Virat Kohli, Tim Paine, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson have been active advocates for the WTC has made it an even better spectacle to view.
The best of these ICC innovations has to be the 13-team ODI Super League that feeds into the new ODI World Cup qualification system. Every ODI series is a 3-match affair, and every team plays 24 matches. This is already a win for the likes of Ireland, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and the Netherlands, getting opportunities to compete against the top teams consistently. By the looks of it, Sri Lanka and even South Africa are in real danger of not making direct qualification for the next World Cup, spicing things up.
These systems are only in their infancy, and by the time the structure is robust, cricket will be at a better place.
Looking Forward to the 2020s
The 2000s was a wonderful era for cricket—a collision of generations. Sri Lanka-Pakistan-India had strong teams, England, New Zealand, & West Indies were competitive enough, while South Africa & Australia were the teams to beat. ODI cricket was at its peak, Test cricket was still prospering, and the Sehwags & Gayles provided us a glimpse into T20 future.
The 2010s saw each team going through massive transition eras. Home advantage in Test cricket killed any semblance of competition. The overkill of T20 cricket questioned cricket’s existence at the core.
Cricket has seen a turning point, especially since 2019. All formats have seen riveting action.
Carlos Brathwaite’s Remember the Namegave T20Is its unique iconic image. T20 cricket is now at its pinnacle with T20 specialists popping in every country and most nations now possessing a stable T20 league.With two consecutive T20 World Cups coming up, each T20I series is closely followed.
Brendon McCullum’s New Zealand and Eoin Morgan’s England changed the way ODI cricket was played. The 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes/Steve Smith’s Ashes, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy have created a new generation of cricket fans. A sporting Test cricket pitch can go a long way. Bonners-Myers 4th innings chase, Fawad Alam’s almost match-saving knock, and the World Test Championship final all gave chills.
Changes will continue, one team will no longer dominate, and that is only a good thing. World cricket has survived its chaotic phase and has come out for the better.
A new “Ninety-90 Bash” league has been sanctioned in the UAE.
PSL finished its post-COVID leg of the tournament, and the IPL will soon have its post-COVID leg in the UAE ending just a few days before the T20 World Cup begins. The BCCI has even proposed a 10-team IPL or two IPLs in a year from next year.
Where does this stop? T10 & T20 leagues are popping left and right. Tournaments beginning, stopping, and resuming whenever they feel like. What is the result? Debatable rotation policies, career-threatening injuries, early retirements, and players choosing leagues over international cricket.
Champions League T20 (CLT20) was an intriguing experiment held between 2009-2014 that unearthed stars like Kieron Pollard. Modeled on European football, what could possibly go wrong when the best T20 teams in the world competed together?
Yet, even with such good intentions, the tournament failed—Cluttered international calendar, revenue shortfall, growing success of the IPL, and the initial failure of other leagues were prominent factors.
The strength of the IPL contract meant that if a player represented multiple teams that qualified, they would be obligated to play for their IPL team.
By 2013-14, it was evident that the Indian Premier League was miles ahead. In 2013 (MI vs RR) & 2014 (CSK vs KKR) editions, both finalists were IPL teams. In 2014, 3 out of the 4 semifinalists were IPL teams (KXIP). The domestic teams from Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and South Africa failed to get this far after a decent show between 2009-2012.
CLT20 catered towards the IPL, and that is why it failed.
Why is the Revival of the Champions League Needed?
Seven years later, it is time to rethink the T20 calendar. The Big Bash is now a decade old. CPL & BPL are 8 years strong. PSL is 5 years old, and even Sri Lanka, South Africa, and England have formed stable leagues.
Half a decade ago, there were just a few T20 specialists—Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, AB De Villiers, Yusuf Pathan, and the World Cup winning West Indies generation. Now we have T20 specialists everywhere like Babar Azam, Tom Banton, Finn Allen, Dawid Malan, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, James Vince, Alex Hales, Paul Stirling, David Wiese, Rovman Powell—talented players that do not make the XI or even squads of the IPL teams.
Last year, Trinbago Knight Riders were undefeated to their CPL title –12 consecutive wins. Imagine a TKR versus Mumbai Indians Champions League battle? Will be a cracker of the contest if it is a fair contest—Which team does Trinbago’s captain Pollard play for?
How Can The International and T20 Calendar Coexist?
Here are some possible solutions:
If the player is contracted by a national team, they should be obligated to represent their domestic T20 league in case of a conflict. Hence, Pollard would play for TKR instead of MI.
For a nationally contracted player, maximum of 3 leagues per year should be enforced. This would keep conflicts to a minimum.
Boards should accept responsibility and postpone the league till next year’s window in case the league is suspended.
This would lead to an interesting mix of international players in the leagues. Since NZ/Australia do not play much between June-October, players might choose IPL-the Hundred/CPL-BBL, while English players might choose PSL-IPL-The Hundred.
The Ideal Cricket Calendar
ICC has announced its tournament calendar for the next eight years. Each year, either a T20 WC, ODI WC, World Test Championship Final, or Champions Trophy will occur. A couple of months should be sidelined as the pinnacle of the international calendar.
Here is how the T20 calendar stands so far:
Country
Tournament
Months
Years
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)
January – February
2012-
Pakistan
Pakistan Super League (PSL)
February – March
2016-
India
Indian Premier League (IPL)
March – May
2008-
Canada
Global T20 Canada (GT20)
June – July
2018-
England
T20 Vitality Blast
July – September
2003-
England
The Hundred
July – August
2021-
West Indies
Caribbean Premier League (CPL)
August – September
2013-
Afghanistan
Shpageeza Cricket League/ Afghanistan Premier League (APL)
September – October
2013- 2018-
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
T10 League
November – December
2017 –
Sri Lanka
Lanka Premier League (LPL)
November – December
2020-
South Africa
Mzansi Super League (MSL)
November – December
2018-
New Zealand
Super Smash
December – January
2005-
Australia
Big Bash League (BBL)
December – February
2011 –
If the Champions League needs to be revived, September-October is an ideal month subject to the dates of world tournaments that year.
The debate between T20 leagues and international cricket is over. The leagues are here to stay, so why not coexist in a peaceful manner? At the moment, everything is disorganized, so why not organize it for the greater good of cricket.
Champions League History (2009-2014)
Year
Host
# of Teams (# of Nations)
Winners
Runners-Up
Teams
2009
India
12 (7)
New South Wales (AUS)
Trinidad and Tobago (WI)
New South Wales, Victorian Bushrangers (AUS) Sussex Sharks, Somerset Sabres (ENG) Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils (IND) Otago Volts (NZ) Cape Cobras, Diamond Eagles (SA) Trinidad and Tobago (WI) Wayamba (SL)
2010
South Africa
10 (6)
Chennai Super Kings (IND)
Warriors (SA)
Victorian Bushrangers, Southern Redbacks (AUS) Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore (IND) Central Districts Stags (NZ) Warriors, Highveld Lions (SA) Wayamba Elevens (SL) Guyana (WI)
2011
India
10 (5)
Mumbai Indians (IND)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (IND)
Southern Redbacks, New South Wales Blues (AUS) Somerset (England) Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians (IND) Warriors, Cape Cobras (SA) Trinidad and Tobago (WI)
