New Delhi: The chatter of conspiracy theories surrounding the ongoing ICC World Cup was derided by former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash, who praised India’s performance ahead of Sunday’s final against Australia.
He criticised a section of media and public for focussing on “meaningless distraction[s]” such as stories about the bad outfield at Dharamshala or the pitch controversy during India’s semi-final against New Zealand.
“There seems [to be] a determination to be negative,” wrote Ramprakash in an op-ed for The Guardian Friday. “I wonder whether some of it is unconscious bias from people who look on India as a former colony and are struggling to come to terms with the power they now have in cricket,” he added.
He cited Virat Kohli’s 50th century; bowling performances of pacers Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj; as well as the consistent batting seen from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as examples of “the home team’s brilliance”.
India’s top six should be a template for 50-over batting, he suggested, describing them as “technical players” who play well-balanced games.
Ramprakash, who served as England’s batting coach in Tests from 2014 to 2019, also criticised his own country’s coaching strategy in the last 10 years, calling it “inconsistent”.
“For me this Indian batting machine should silence once and for all England’s one-size-fits-all, go-hard-or-go-home brigade, and put in their place the batters who go out and get 25 off 15 and think they’ve had a great night,” he wrote.
He also praised India’s bowling performance in the tournament, calling it “the best Indian pace attack we have ever seen”.
“They are a complete team and it is no surprise that they have won every game: the greatest threat to that record has been complacency, because they are far and away the best side in the tournament. There has been no sign of that,” he wrote.
Ramprakash, a holder of 52 Test caps, has coached the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the past.
He predicted Australia will put up a good fight in the World Cup final because of their “ultra-competitive nature”.
“In my opinion they are nowhere near the level of previous Australia sides in terms of overall quality but they have found a way,” he wrote, tipping his hat to Glenn Maxwell’s knock against Afghanistan on 8 November.
Maxwell remained not out and scored 201 runs off 128 balls, including 10 sixes and 20 fours and 10 sixes. It helped Australia chase down a high target of 292 with 19 balls left in their innings. Maxwell broke several records that day, including setting the record for the highest individual score by an Australian batter in ODIs.
“Across the tournament India have produced what I feel is the perfect model for 50-over batting, but Maxwell showed that night there is another way,” wrote Ramprakash.
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‘Some media looking for cock-up, corruption, conspiracy’
Earlier this week, India beat New Zealand in the semi-final by 70 runs to storm into the final. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was accused of intervening in the choice of pitch for the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“Certainly some sections of the media have been looking for cock-up, corruption or conspiracy at every turn,” wrote Ramprakash.
In a report earlier this week, Daily Mail ran a story headlined: ‘India Roaring Into The World Cup Final Leaves A ‘Sour Taste’ After They Switched The Pitch For The New Zealand Clash’.
“The world of cricket reacted with disbelief after Mail Sport’s revelation that India had gone behind the ICC’s backs to ensure their World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai took place on a used pitch,” read the British daily’s report.
In his op-ed, Ramprakash argued that it was “obviously a decent pitch”, as New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted afterwards. “It was a meaningless distraction that for me took nothing away from another great performance from a magnificent team,” wrote the former English cricketer and coach.
The retired top order batsman further pointed out that while India’s top five batters have averaged 67.63, the top five in teams facing them have averaged 26.06.
Ramprakash was born in 1969 in Hertfordshire, UK to an Indo-Guyanese father and an English mother. His paternal side are reportedly from Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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