Published: Oct 16, 2015, 08:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 16, 2015, 01:58 AM (IST)
With the Sri Lanka-West Indies contest named the Sobers-Tissera Trophy, other Boards are following suit. S Chuzzlewit provides a sneak preview of the forthcoming names of different rubbers.
The Sobers-Tissera trophy makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? May be there are only 1,394 First-Class runs at 28.44 and 27 wickets at 31.70 on one side, but that is perfectly balanced by 8,032 Test runs at 57.78 and 235 Test wickets at 34.03. Comparable, right? Well, at least they balance each other out. If the numerous clichés that we hear from the commentary boxes are to be believed, cricket is supposed to be a great leveller. And numbers, as is famously known, hardly mean anything.
True, Sri Lanka has produced some cricketers who have gone on to achieve great figures in the modern degenerate age. Kumar Sangakkara — to name just one of them. Indeed, he finished with a batting average just .38 points away from Sir Garry, and without his bigger gloves hampering him performed even better than the great man.
But then, cricket, as has already been mentioned, is not about numbers. It is a great leveller. Tissera, hence, is a far better choice. Come to think of it, Sobers-Tissera is a name smacking of genius, of inspiration. (And I am talking of the thought behind the name, not the Sobers in the mix.)
The news going around is that this name has inspired other boards to follow suit.
ECB has come up with the proposition of renaming The Ashes as The Grimmett-Salisbury Trophy. However, the Australian Cricket Board has also proposed the name Botham-Martin Cup after the Somerset and England all-rounder Ian Botham and his Australian counterpart, the Chinaman bowling chirpy New South Wales cricketer John Martin who played 8 Tests in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Wisden Trophy is also set to be renamed, but the inspiration behind the name also stems from the Pataudi Trophy, the current rubber between India and England. The two Boards have also gone for one common moniker. The proposed name is the Ambrose Trophy, after the Antiguan fast bowler Curtly and the Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim.
The Border-Gavaskar contests are set to be switched to Miller-Madan Trophy, while there are also voices clamouring for the Chandra-McIntyre Cup. And while the name Frank Worrell Trophy would have delighted CLR James, the new avatar, St Hill-Bradman Cup is also certain to set his soul at rest.
While the Indian and West Indian boards are still weighing Kapil-Dowe against Richards-Sarwate, the South Africans and Englishmen are comfortable with the Chris Smith Trophy ahead of the Ian Greig Cup.
The India-New Zealand contests, on the other hand, have been finalised as the Crowe-Ghodpade Trophy.
However, the name that is set to be the most popular is the Hair-Rana Cup to be contested between Pakistan and Australia.
The new names of the rubbers will certainly inject a new sense of interest in the forthcoming Test matches.
Please note this is a satirical article — a work of pure fiction
(S Chuzzlewit is a chronicler who sees the world of cricket through a sometimes light-hearted and often brutal lens)
