Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2008

Following England is for the elite only - Berry

Cricinfo staff

April 9, 2008

Kevin Pietersen graces the front cover of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2008 © Wisden

In his first year as editor of the 145th Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Scyld Berry warns of the ever-increasing likelihood of on-field physical incident, while attacking the exorbitant and rising costs of watching an England Test.

"I fear the day is approaching when a high-profile, televised cricket match will see an outbreak of physical violence on the field - and nothing could be more injurious to all concerned," said Berry, who has replaced Matthew Engel as the Almanack's editor for this year and 2009. "Preventing physical violence on the pitch - as more and more matches are played for more and more money - will require vision and leadership.

"The worst example came in the Kanpur international when Gautam Gambhir ran straight down the pitch and straight into Shahid Afridi. As the bowler, Afridi was allowed to stay where he was at the end of his follow-through; it was up to the batsman to swerve and avoid him." It is the ICC's responsibility to police international cricket, Berry says, and he calls for an exact clarification on the rights of way between fielders and batsmen on the cut strip.

Elsewhere in the wide-ranging Notes by the Editor - Wisden's annual sermon on the state of the game - Berry laments the performances of England's one-day side and takes aim at the ECB's responsibility to publicise the game to as wide an audience as possible. "A family day out at an England cricket match is now for millionaires only," he says. "Watching the England team, whether at a ground or on subscription television, is becoming an elite pastime for the affluent, like opera. To watch the whole Test match at Lord's against South Africa this summer will cost a member of the public at least £300. Even a day of the New Zealand Test at Lord's will cost £60, while the best ticket for a one-day international at The Oval has exceeded £100."

Jacques Kallis, the South Africa allrounder, was named the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2007 for his 1210 Test runs at 86.42 last year and 20 wickets at 25.75, labelled by Peter Roebuck as "the first indisputably great African cricketer of the post-apartheid era". The five Cricketers of the Year were Ian Bell and Ryan Sidebottom for their England performances last year, Ottis Gibson for his outstanding season with Durham, Zaheer Khan - who enjoyed such a prolific tour of England - and Shivnarine Chanderpaul who defied England so resolutely.

Berry also questions why the batsmen of today cannot hit the ball as far as their Victorian counterparts, in spite of their apparently brawnier bodies and bats. The biggest ever hit of 175 yards, or 160 metres, was recorded at Oxford in 1856 "from hit to pitch" by Walter Fellows; the Australian George Bonnor struck a ball 160 yards a few years later. Yet the biggest strike in last year's inaugural World Twenty20 championship, by India's Yuvraj Singh, was only 119 metres. Berry offers a possible explanation in a piece entitled "Hail Fellows, well hit".

Wisden also look at five great cricketers who were never selected as Cricketers of the Year - which include Abdul Qadir, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wes Hall - and they introduce a new award, the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year.

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Stories

Gibson, Bell and Sidebottom in Wisden five

Kallis wins Wisden's leading player award

Jacques Kallis - Leading Cricketer in the World

Notes by the Editor

Teams

England