The most important catch in Cricket's History

One of the problems with so much cricket being played these days is the loss of significance. Apart from not being able to recall the best innings and spells of the year,there’s also the dilution of each run taken in the larger scheme of things. No one speaks of Vetorri’s 300 wickets in the same breath as those of Lance Gibbs’, the first man toachieve the feat. We can clearly chronologically place triple centuries in the 90s, but will struggle to remember that Chris Gayle and Younis Khan reached the milestone in the 00s.

This loss of significance also means effort is diluted. Each run is cosmically less important. If I get out cheaply in this match – what is there? No problem. There are 20 more ODIs in the year and 15 Tests to prove myself, and if all else fails, there is the IPL (and if they don’t take me, one league from the various other wannabe leagues will).

Recently, we saw one such cosmically significant moment – Darren Sammy, nominating himself for best dropped catch of the year, dropped Virender Sehwag when he was on 170. That catch wasn’t just a sitter. It dug a trench for itself and squatted there, and held a picket fence saying ‘Hunger Strike till someone catches me’ and squirted Fevicol all over itself. Darren Sammy dropped that, and Sehwag, inevitably, went on to break some records and stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DuR7JbuBpPw

So that makes for interesting thinking. What if. Remember when Lara was dropped at slip when he was in single figures? The fielder said, “Gee, I hope this guy doesn’t go on and get a hundred”. He scored 401 more.

So many great innings could have been wiped out if a chance had been taken or there was a temporary error in judgement.

But how about a catch, that if dropped, could have changed world cricket forever? It’s hard to imagine, in today’s diluted significance scenario, that one single dropped catch,even if it was in the biggest quadrennial ODI could have such ripples. But long back, it could have.

28 years to be precise.

India vs West Indies. The final. Who would have thunk India would even get this far? Not the West Indies, for sure. And when India was shot down for 183? Not too many people atall. Viv Richards was a man who surely looked at the early wicket of Greenidge with the amusement of a lion looking at a deer trying to escape and only to run right into the den.

He smashed 7 fours and was threatening to make it, West Indies 3 Rest of World 0, as far as WC finals were concerned. And then. It happened. Kapil Dev held onto a blinder. India could only win from there. But reflect. What would have happened had he not held onto that catch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TuHhB7eQGJk

West Indies would have won, but significantly, India would not have won. Its population wouldn’t have maintained their level of interest in the game. So the TV boom in India– instead of facilitating cricket – might have just meant more serials and movies (on smuggled video cassettes) were seen.

The Indians wouldn’t have bothered clamouring for the next World Cup to be held in India (how audacious! – not even winning the cup and having the balls to take it awayfrom England?). Instead, the WICB might have put in a request.

So the pivotal world cup with lights and coloured clothing might have gone to the West Indies, re-fuelling interest in cricket there, JUST when it was looking to be on the decline. Youngsters, contemplating a future in the seemingly more rewarding basketball leagues of America, are compelled to trade their Spaldings for Kookaburas and run in, hour after hour, trying to be the next worthy paceman to represent the Islands.

Back in India – thousands of youngsters will never know the one ‘success’ moment in their early lives, and trade their cricket kits for IIT entrance books. Sachin Tendulkar might have been a senior project manager with Cognizant Technologies today (onshore, of course) for all you know. Significantly, cricket wouldn’t have achieved opium-of-masses-like status among the common Indian. So the cycle of sponsors and hysteria would never have got started.

Now just imagine the implications of that. Every way you look, there’s something.

No Sharjah tournaments (if people back home aren’t excited, who can expect NRIs to care?), which probably means match fixing would have happened. Probably no IPL, which has changed the outlook of the game today. Numerous websites would never have been around (this one would still have been around, though – mind it!).

Hockey probably would have been popular. Imagine, a premier league for hockey! Oh, they have one of those? Okay. Sheri.

And implications other than on cricket? The nation would probably have been about 22% more productive and the average annual exam mark of Indian students would have been up by 14% (no logic for these stats, so don’t ask).

I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point.

Nikhanj Kapil Dev’s catch of Sir Viv Richards in the 1983 cricket world cup final is THE most important catch in the history of the game.

And thanks to the loss of significance, it will continue to be.