Since its inception in 1975, the cricket World Cup has had its share of controversies. But the latest edition held in the West Indies early last year was unmatched in its length and intensity of controversies.
The mysterious death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer and the subsequent toing-and-froing of the investigation had only cast a long shadow over the event that proved to be a commercial and emotional disaster.
On purely cricketing terms, those enthralling moments that constitute the soul of any sporting event were notably sparse, and Australia’s continued hegemony over the rest did nothing to cast away the feeling of boredom.
The success of Boria Majumdar’s latest book Corridors of Uncertainty— World Cup 2007 & Beyond owes to his ability to save it from being a mere ruse. He is able to make a palpable connection between on the field and off the field events in the right proportion, telling it bluntly. This book also does not fall into the genre of cliched tour diary, but is an in-depth analysis of various aspects of cricket’s showpiece event and its evolving significance.
You might not find eloquently phrased chapters or incidents brushed in the bright colours of fantasy in this book, but it is a delight for those who have an eye— like Majumdar himself— for the socio-political undercurrents of cricket. Majumdar’s personal contact with cricketers, administrators and ad moguls has helped him a great deal while penning this book that deals with myriad complexities.
That factor is evident in the chapter ‘India in the World Cup’ where he details the mathematics of cricket and advertisements. It is quite a revelation to go through the backstage stories of dwindling ad revenues after India’s inglorious exit from the mega event. In the same chapter, he bisects the mind of Indian fans with the preciseness of a surgeon, gradually revealing the impact of cricket and that colossus called Sachin Tendulkar on their psyche.
Majumdar sights the example of Tendulkar coming out in open against coach Greg Chappell that ultimately unified the public and official stand against the latter, resulting in the Australian’s ouster.
Make no mistake, the book is not altogether a brain-twisting pile of statistics and analysis. The writer in Majumdar emerges from behind the curtains, especially in ‘The Lara Story’ and in ‘Postcards from the Caribbean.’ Though at times you feel the excess sprinkling of cricket parlance in his narration, perhaps the result of having a heart filled with earnest enthusiasm for cricket.
He sums up with a general view on the future of cricket through India’s Test series win in England and Twenty20 World Cup victory, using that train of events to tell that South Asia will remain competitive in world cricket. Worth reading.
Corridors of Uncertainty -- World Cup 2007 & Beyond
Boria Majumdar
Publishers: Harper Collins
Rs 295.
