“Warner? Really? David Warner?” is fast becoming my catchphrase and I was forced to pull it out again when he was announced as the man-of-the-match in Tasmania.
It was my reaction when Ian Chappell suggested that the then-park cricketer be selected in the 2010-2011 Ashes series. It was also my reaction when, three weeks ago, that notion became a reality.
I have spent much of the time since branding Warner as a batsman without technique, unsuited to the Test arena.
However, I have eaten enough pie to know when it’s time to sample some of the humble variety and (while I maintain that suggesting Warner be picked in a Test side before he had played a first class game was idiotic), I can admit that Warner showed great technique, guts and staying power in carrying his bat through Australia’s otherwise abysmal second innings at the Bellerive Oval.
What I will not accept is the ingenious idea of allowing the Australian public select the man-of-the-match award. Which marketing whiz thought that would be a good idea?
Obviously technology is moving very quickly and Test cricket feels a need to keep up with it to combat the loss of young viewers to the shorter forms of the game, but it needs to stop short of giving the viewer any real power.
All cricket needed to do before diving brainlessly head first into this venture was a little research. It wouldn’t have taken them long to reach the NBA and find the idiotic decisions made by the public in selecting their All Star teams and the winner of the Slam Dunk competition.
A few years ago, the aged and underpeforming Allen Iverson and injured veteran Tracy McGrady were selected in the All Star game.
Earlier this year, the Boston Celtics’ ‘Big Four’ of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo were selected despite Rondo and possibly Pierce being the only two who were vaguely deserving.
And finally, the icing on the cake, Blake Griffin being voted the Slam Dunk competition winner. His dunk; a) had a veteran teammate throwing him the ball, b) had the car of the sponsor of the tournament, c) had a choir from a local church, and d) was all carried out in his home town.
While his dunk had the typical Hollywood excitement, it was light years from being the best dunk of the night and yet the fans voted him as their champion. Having a partial public vote on an award doesn’t work.
I couldn’t care less what 500 people think Australia will score in the second innings, but having that happen is relatively harmless (if not a touch annoying). But the man-of-the-match is something that, although they may say they don’t care about, matters to players.
So, when David Warner was called on stage to accept the inaugural home viewers’ award, the total stupidity of the idea had a colossal spotlight shone on it.
Surely a bowler who, almost single-handedly, bowled his team to victory deserves recognition more than the batsman who hit a good 120 to no avail.
Why Doug Bracewell wasn’t recognised as the man-of-the-match is blindingly obvious. The award has become a popularity contest and a New Zealander will never be as popular as an Australian in the eyes of Joe Aussie.
With any luck, this feature of the telecast is ditched faster than you can text ‘Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman’.
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