It is tragic on the one hand to see the historic India-Pakistan cricketing rivalry wane partly due to the rarity of the matches but also India’s distinct supremacy over the past decade or so. On the other hand, fortunately, India’s strides have meant that the India-Australia rivalry has been an equally good replacement if not better, as it is entirely about the game devoid of any political context. Even better, there is a new book that chronicles this rivalry, authored by the brilliant writer Gideon Haigh.
“Today, it is de rigueur for critics to use the word ‘cinematic’ while talking about writers who’re brilliant at building dramatic tension with flair and visual details. But Haigh’s technique is more akin to classical theatre than to contemporary filmmaking (he quotes the Nobel-winning playwright and lifelong cricket nut Harold Pinter in a passage about Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara). His essay about the 2001 Kolkata Test, for instance, drips with Shakespearean foreshadowing. In a particularly striking passage, Haigh describes the over-confidence of the Australian team after day three of the five-day game—as is well-known by now, at this point, India was still trailing Australia’s score narrowly, with 4 second-innings wickets already down by the end of day three. While reading this passage (reproduced below), I could clearly visualize Steve Waugh, Michael Slater and Tony Greig in different corners of a large theatre stage, a spotlight shining above whichever head is talking in the moment, revealing just enough visual details to keep you hooked.
“‘It’ll be over tomorrow,’ commentator Tony Greig said airily. ‘More time on the golf course.’ The Australians were of the same mind. Waugh eyed his Southern Comfort thirstily. Slater, who had nursed some reservations about the follow-on, playfully drew his cigar under his nose. ‘This result is so close I can smell it,’ he said, to the amusement of Gilchrist, who had not in his eighteen months as a Test cricketer known defeat.””
It is not just for the drama of cricket but Haigh’s commentary about the politics of cricket makes it a worthy read: “Haigh is brilliant at pairing cricketing logic with political commentary and showing us how the dots between the two really connect in practice. In December 2023, the ICC objected to Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja sporting an illustrated dove on his cricket shoes during a game against Pakistan — to indicate his support for the children of Gaza. Haigh’s report at the time (on the website Cricket Et Al) was a masterclass in skewering hypocrisy. He pointed out the absurdity of the ICC’s ‘no politics’ veneer, given that several member countries’ cricket boards are officially headed by politicians from the respective ruling parties.
“For many years the world’s longest-running stage comedy was a farce called No Sex Please, We’re British, its jollity deriving from the idea that the more the characters tried to avoid the subject, the more they became implicated, and the greater the comic complications. Cricket has its own enduring counterpart: No Politics Please, We’re the ICC. Its hilarious premise is that the International Cricket Council is charged with preventing the game’s contamination by ill-defined but somehow always untoward political influence. This has now extended to…checks notes…a fucking dove.”
Indian Summers is a must-read for hardcore and casual cricket fans alike. It showcases the best of a man whose writings have described the game with wit, wisdom and humility for over three decades now.”
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