BY THE end of the NatWest Series on Saturday week, Sri Lanka will have contested 41 limited-overs internationals inside 12 months. The figure is way beyond a recommended cap of 30 matches and is sure to add grist to the argument that players are being left exhausted by the latest changes to the international calendar.
Tim May, the outspoken chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), has gone as far as predicting in the latest issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine that players may turn to drugs to maintain their fitness during what he describes as the “play-travel-play-travel-play-fall-over” schedule.
Apart from occasional cases of recreational use, drugs have not been seen as a problem in cricket. However, as far back as 2000, Malcolm Gray, during his period as the ICC president, gave warning that the game had to be vigilant to avoid a scandal that could undermine its integrity as much as the match-fixing controversy.
May said: “You only have to look at the doping record in baseball to see that recovery, not enhanced power, is the motivation for most drug use. The more we push our players, the more they might look at options.”
No doubt May will be accused of scare-mongering, but the debate will continue as an unprecedented period of ICC events approaches.
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During the year from October 1, players will be asked to participate in the Champions Trophy in India, the World Cup in the West Indies and the new Twenty20 Championship in South Africa, a commitment of 78 days even before the preliminary rounds of the Champions Trophy, warm-ups and opening ceremonies are taken into account.
At 47 days, the World Cup is more than a fortnight longer than its equivalent in football, which is being contested by twice as many countries. For the cricketers, these events sit on top of the Test and one-day internationals organised by their own boards. Thus the showpiece World Cup promises to be a test of endurance as much as skill.
The ICC extended its Future Tours Programme (FTP) from five to six years to allow longer gaps between series. Countries must meet home and away in each cycle and series can be as short as two Tests and three one-day internationals. FICA, though, also wants an upper limit of 15 Tests and 30 one-day matches in a year.
May said: “Five or six guys in the five leading sides in the world play Tests and ODIs and they are being flogged. They make the difference between a 10,000 crowd and a sell-out. They are the ones the broadcasters and commercial partners pay for. They are exhausted and they are not going to take much more.”
The ICC’s relationship with FICA has varied from strained to non-existent and the FICA position is weakened because player associations from India, the most lucrative centre of the game, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been reluctant to sign up. May admits that they may not do so before the Champions Trophy.
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England’s unique geographical position among the Test-playing countries means that they are active more months of the year, but fatigue has not been held as a reason for the alarming slip in form over the past month. Defeat at the Brit Oval today would not only leave them 2-0 down to Sri Lanka but raise more questions about strategy.
Duncan Fletcher, the coach, hinted that the team will be unchanged despite losing by 20 runs at Lord’s on Saturday. “They have got to go there and put it right,” he said. “We want to look at other players but it is crucial we try to be a little bit consistent. We have got to put in a slightly better performance in a couple of areas that the players are aware of.” If by that, he means batting and bowling, he is spot on.
HOW THEY LINE UP
ENGLAND (from): A J Strauss (Middlesex, captain), M E Trescothick (Somerset), I R Bell (Warwickshire), K P Pietersen (Hampshire), P D Collingwood (Durham), J W M Dalrymple (Middlesex), G O Jones (Kent, wicketkeeper), T T Bresnan (Yorkshire), L E Plunkett (Durham), S I Mahmood (Lancashire), S J Harmison (Durham), A N Cook
(Essex), A G R Loudon (Warwickshire).
SRI LANKA (from): D P M D Jayawardena (captain), S T Jayasuriya, W U Tharanga, T M Dilshan, K C Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), R P Arnold, C K Kapugedara, W P U C J Vaas, M J Maharoof, S L Malinga, C R D Fernando, P D R L Perera and M Muralitharan.
MATCH REFEREE: C H Lloyd (West Indies).
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UMPIRES: D B Hair (Australia) and I J Gould.
THIRD UMPIRE: P J Hartley.
TELEVISION: Sky Sports 1: Live coverage, 10.30am-7pm. Five: Highlights, 7.15pm-8pm.