JOIN USWisden India
Almanack
Edited by Suresh Menon
Bloomsbury
2015, pp 859
Rs 533
Have you ever attended a literary festival? Various topics are discussed, debated and dissected strongly, but in a serene, polite environment. But the verve is not lost either. Wisden India Almanack 2015 offers a similar experience. The common thread is cricket, but the book touches upon many sides of the sport through a smorgasbord of perceptive writers.
The cover page, which carries the picture of a joyous group of players, conveys the fundamental ethos of cricket — a provider of pure entertainment. But then comes page 10. A bold black-and-white photograph with a caption — Phillip Joel Hughes 1988-2014 — makes us linger on the page for that extra minute. Cricket, often viewed as a multi-million dollar business, reveals its humane, delicate and emotional nature there.
Hold on. There is much more on offer in the subsequent pages for you. Osman Samiuddin is genuinely angry at the huge divide the cricket world saw last year. The Big Three’s (India, Australia and England) ascension to power, Samiuddin writes, has left cricket in an uncertain period of transition. Samiuddin voices his concern that cricket boards with lesser monetary powers like Cricket Sri Lanka, Pakistan Cricket Board or the Cricket South Africa might forever be left outside the tent. What he foresees is a situation akin to the UN Security Council where the five permanent members dominate the rest.
When we speak about those changes in cricketing world, it is not complete without mentioning the name of N Srinivasan. So, who is Narayanaswamy Srinivasan beyond a cricket administrator and the owner of India Cements? Is he a megalomaniac? Is he an administrator supreme? Does he sincerely like cricket? Or, is it just a tool for him to get easy publicity and satiate his power-hungry mind?
Truth lies hidden among all those questions. Veteran writer R Mohan attempts to give us a picture of Srinivasan — the individual, the administrator, and his mindset. Mohan is unbiased. While patting Srinivasan for his wonderful administrative skills, Mohan has not forgotten to underline the Tamil Nadu man’s ‘my way or highway’ approach.
This section is more for people who like to know the power play in cricket, the backroom stories of how cricket is run like a modern corporate. Those who want stories of cricketers and cricket itself too have reasons to rejoice. They will certainly cherish reading Sir Jack Hobbs’ article, which first appeared in the 1939-40 edition of the Crickinia. The English legend paints for us the fascinating personal picture of cricket in the British India.
‘The Hall of Fame’ section carries a variety of articles by former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, Rajdeep Sardesai and Ramachandra Guha among others. They are a reader’s delight. More contemporary listings start with the articles on Wisden’s six Cricketers of the Year that extends to the appreciation of some of the present day greats of the game.
Jacques Kallis. Graeme Smith. Mahela Jayawardene. Kumar Sangakkara. Graeme Swann. Modern cricket’s story is incomplete without them. Lawrence Booth, Neil Manthorp, Anand Vasu and Stephen Brenkley take us closer to those fine cricketers through their eloquent way. The stories of success and disappointments of India’s tours to various countries such as South Africa, New Zealand and England come alive through the pens of Anand, R Kaushik and Dileep Premachandran.
But then this is Wisden India Almanack. So, a good chunk of the book has been devoted to Indian domestic cricket. The central theme of Indian cricket last year was the domination of Karnataka cricket. They grabbed three titles in 2014 — Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy — leaving their rivals marvelling at the quality of Karnataka cricket.
Kaushik takes us through Karnataka’s triumphant journey in his unique diligent way, and J Arun Kumar, the state batting coach, provides the insider’s view. There is a chapter devoted to the club system in Karnataka, and K C Vijaya Kumar looks deep into its functioning.
Those with an eye for statistics will not be left wanting for more. A section is dedicated to the scoreboards of various international and domestic matches and records. Going though it is a tad nostalgic too. It reminds one of the pre-internet times when you punctiliously kept the cuttings of scorecards and reports. Suresh Menon has done a nifty job with the editing and compilation of the third edition of the Almanack, giving us a classy gift spanning 859 pages. The title — Wisden India Almanack — might give some the impression of a book for a niche audience. It’s true to a certain extent. But those who have an eye for good reading too will savour going through the pages.