T20 World Cup reflections, and Seen Unseen podcast
India's schedule, Associate stakes, and more.
Last week, I wrote a post on Associate Cricket, after the Scotland vs Namibia Group game. To many fans, that was a night off for them in a packed T20 World Cup. Who wants to watch Scotland and Namibia right?
But it’s easy to miss how important that game is for those teams, much more than it is for Full Member countries. The 12 Full Member countries get a big chunk of funding from the ICC, while Associate countries have to share the Associate funding pie with the about a 100 other Associate Nations. Here’s a graph I came across during my research.
Then add money earned at tournaments. When I hear the term prize money, I usually think only about what the winner receives, and at most the runner up. The research I did for this article reminded me that prize money is the total pot of money, and it’s awarded not just for winning the final but also winning Group games, and qualifying for the Super 12s. For teams like Namibia and Scotland, that’s a huge deal. Ask Ireland, who missed out on qualification, and therefore USD 70,000. Here’s a good explainer on prize money for this World Cup.
And it’s good to remember where all this funding comes from: The ICC. And the ICC earns mainly through global events. I’m sure you’ve at some point read about how the ICC are always pushing for more global events, and the big member boards want more bilateral cricket instead? It’s a game of incentives. The bigger boards stand to earn more by holding high-profile bilaterals, and would rather there be less ICC events so that there’s more space in the calendar. But the more ICC events there are, the more the ICC earns, the more it can spend on Associate Development. Something to think about during the next meaningless bilateral, which will no doubt be right around the corner. As I’ve mentioned in the piece, the next event cycle has a slightly healthier balance, besides less meaningless ness. Not less bilaterals though.
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This week’s headlines have of course been dominated by India’s twin losses. Two losses don’t make India a bad team, of course not. But the timing could not have been worse. In this week’s column, I examine how big a role burnout could have played in the results we are seeing.
In it, I used a quote I really loved from a book I read recently, The Psychology Of Money by Morgan Housel. "Doing something you love on a schedule you can't control can feel the same as doing something you hate". It so aptly describes the Indian men's cricket team. Iy’s worth noting that one of ondia’s best performances this year, in the Test series against England where they dominated the toughest format over four Tests, came after the first real break the team had. They spent two weeks in England after the World Test Championship Final not playing cricket. It was one of two breaks they got over the last year, but the other one was forced by the height of the deadly second wave, so that doesn’t count.
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Last week, I spent almost four hours talking to Amit Varma who hosts his podcast The Seen and The Unseen. It's easily the most in depth conversation I've ever had with about my own life, career, and craft. Amit’s focus was on my Cricket journey and creative journey. If you're into either, give it a listen, and tell me what you think..
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Song of the week: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZXWM-8Oqwg&feature=share
In honour of Virat Kohli taking the best possible stand against the Islamophobic abuse that Mohammed Shami faced, a song titled ‘Say Something’.
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