Major sports tend to run on parallel tracks — one for nation-teams like at the Olympics or World Cups, and the other for club and non-nation competitions. The latter is becoming more popular. Formula One, the fourth most watched sport in the world was ahead of the curve, competition being between cars and mixed teams rather than based on countries ever since its inception in 1950.
Perhaps all sports tend to move towards such mixed teams, aspiring, like the IPL, to rid sport of jingoism and waving of national flags. This is not a planned, thought-out strategy, merely one that has evolved. Playing for the country is still the highest aspiration for many young cricketers, but players are coming through who might be happier if their careers began and ended with the various T20 franchises.
World XIs and all that
Cricket tried to marry the two strains — country-wise competition and the mixed team one — with series like the ‘Rest of the World’ versus England or Australia.
In 1966, the year England won the football World Cup, they also won a cricket ‘world cup’; except that the latter was a 50-over tournament among the West Indies, England and a World XI chosen by the readers of the Radio Times. The team had Bob Simpson, Hanif Mohammed, Graeme Pollock, Colin Bland, Tiger Pataudi, Bapu Nadkarni.
Both England and the West Indies beat the World XI, and then England beat the West Indies in the final at Lord’s. This match might have been officially recognised as the first one-day international; it took nearly another decade for the format to earn such recognition. Two years later, England beat a World XI in a three-day match. This team, chosen by BBC viewers and readers of Radio Times, was to be led by Pataudi, but he fell ill and the captaincy passed to Garry Sobers.
But an idea had taken root, so when the South Africa tour of 1970 was called off following protests against apartheid, a World XI was quickly assembled to play a five-match series originally designated ‘Tests’. The status was later revoked by the International Cricket Council. Sobers scored more runs (588) and took more wickets (21) than anyone else, and World XI won 4-1.
England skipper Ray Illingworth described the World XI as “the best ever side to take the cricket field, stronger than the 1948 Australians, man for man.” Consider the batting order: Barry Richards, Eddie Barlow, Rohan Kanhai, Graeme Pollock, Clive Lloyd, Garry Sobers.
Yet, Mushtaq Mohammed probably summed up the feeling of the players when he said, “After it all finished I was left with a funny feeling because we weren’t playing under a flag. Despite the victories, there wasn’t the ‘feather in the cap’ feeling when I was winning with Pakistan. It had been an honour, but at the same time the inner satisfaction was missing.”
It was a thought echoed by John Benaud following the next ‘World XI’ series in Australia, 1971-72, put together for the same reason, a cancelled tour by South Africa.
“Because we were playing the Rest of the World, and not England or South Africa, there wasn’t a real Test match feeling for me as a player making his debut,” he said. “It didn’t have the sort of effect it would’ve had if I were playing a country.”
Again, the World XI was led by Sobers who again finished the top scorer thanks to an innings of 254 in Melbourne which Don Bradman called the finest seen in Australia. Again it was the World XI who won, 2-1, and again the Test status initially granted the series was withdrawn later. Three Indians played in that team: Bishan Bedi, Farokh Engineer and a young Sunil Gavaskar. Dennis Lillee announced his arrival with eight for 29 which dismissed the World for 59 in an innings defeat.
Kerry Packer’s World Series cricket had a Rest of the World team in it, and in the new century, the ICC decided to have a world champions (Australia) versus the Rest, a ‘Super Test’ in Sydney which Australia won comfortably. Crowds stayed away and the concept was never repeated.
England’s Andrew Flintoff was among those who were opposed to it from the start. “I can’t think of anything worse,” he said, adding, “I’m only here for the food.”
Yet, had Muttiah Muralitharan not played that match, his tally of Test wickets would have fallen short of 800.
