Cricketing legend Ian Chappell shared that a sportsman doesn’t always necessarily need a crowd while they are playing but he acknowledges the weirdness of playing in an empty stand at Sydney Cricket Ground where Australia beat New Zealand convincingly in Friday’s ODI by 71 runs. In between the threat of novel coronavirus, the first game was played behind closed doors before the Cricket Australia cancelled the three-match One Day International series.
“I’m one who believes you don’t necessarily need a crowd to be spurred on as a sportsman; it’s the thrill of a close contest that gets the juices flowing,” Chappell wrote in ESPNcricinfo.
“Nevertheless it was a strange silence that accompanied scintillating boundaries and landmark scores at the SCG.”
The former Australia captain also shared the positive sides of playing a cricket match without having fans and people as he said that in the empty stadium there would not be mindless chatter over the PA system and a great game to enjoy by yourself only. He even referred to the current situations to the days of two world wars as he felt these cancelling series across the world amid the novel coronavirus reminded him of those black days.
“Test matches were suspended in early 1914 and didn’t resume until late 1920 because of the First World War. The gap in the competition was slightly longer during the Second World War, stretching from August 1939 until March 1946,” he shared.
Ian Chappell also shared an incident from a game which took place at a time when the second world war was going on at its peak. Jack Robertson used to be an opening batsman for Middlesex and England who was batting at Lord’s in 1944 when the air-raid sirens were heard and the players and umpires laid on the ground as well. Post the resumption, Robertson smashed the first delivery over the boundary for a maximum as well.
On the other hand, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has called off the India versus South Africa One Day International series and also postponed the upcoming season of the much-awaited cash-rich tournament Indian Premier League due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country. The board pushed back the start of this year’s IPL from March 29 to April 15. So far, 80 positive cases have been reported in India and amid the outbreak of coronavirus, if the IPL happens, it can be dangerous for everyone as well.
