World cricket will be granted a much-needed dose of reality when the amateur players of the non-Test sphere begin the final leg of their quest for a place at the World Cup today. When Zahid Shah, the fast-bowling bank clerk, sends down the opening delivery, or Arshad Ali, the airline visa official, marks out his guard for the first time, in the UAE's ICC World Cup Qualifier opener against Bermuda, a variety of noble dreams will be hatched.
The great and good of world cricket would be well served to take a peek at what is going on in the less salubrious out-grounds of Gauteng in rural South Africa. The lavishly-paid superstars at the top of cricket's food-chain have become so far divorced from the essence of the game, they should heed the efforts of the qualifier hopefuls. Take the case of Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman who recently threatened to walk out of the ongoing series in the Caribbean to watch his pop-star wife, Jessica Taylor, dancing on ice in a UK television show.
The series might even be granted a conclusion tomorrow, if the superstars of the West Indies cricket eventually deign, as expected, to call off their pay strike. Contrast that with the majority of players turning out in the 12-team tournament in South Africa, who have to work first and then commit time to cricket second. "It is difficult for us having to work all day and then train to play cricket. But we do our very best for the UAE," said Arshad, the country's most prolific batsmen.
It has become his regular refrain, and his labour of love shows no sign of easing. In the typically idiosyncratic world of cricket, the biggest prize on offer during the qualifying campaign is not for the winners, but for all of the four semi-finalists. That prize will be in part monetary, as the competition carries with it the promise of the largest ever funding boost for successful sides. Yet a far greater incentive for the players is the chance to dine at cricket's top table, on the sub-continent two years from now.
As David Morgan, the ICC's president, puts it: "For our top associate and affiliate members this is probably the most important 19 days in any four-year cycle. "It will determine whether they qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup and where they stand in the global scheme of things. "This is the culmination of a long pathway giving each of our 94 associate and affiliate members the chance to take on the very best in the world at the highest level.
"While finishing in the top four is the main aim, the top six teams will win ODI status for the next four years at least as well as book a place in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and also will gain automatic qualification for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, which starts in May. "This is all part of the ICC's commitment to grow the game and narrow the gap between the top Associate teams and the very best sides in the world."
pradley@thenational.ae
