Gideon Haigh is an acclaimed Australian journalist who has spent much of his career reporting on cricket, and in particular the fortunes of the Australian national team.
His latest effort, Uncertain Corridors, is a collection of essay-style articles, or as Haigh himself terms them, his “journalistic stuff”. The subject matter is diverse; ranging from an original re-evaluation of World Series Cricket in 1977, widely acknowledged to have shaped the sport as it is known today; to discussions which concern the murky political controversies and pressing commercial challenges facing modern cricket. There are some glowing tributes to recently retired greats such as Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and Sachin Tendulkar thrown in along the way too.
In all honesty, perhaps too much of the early part of the book is dedicated to discussing the retirement of key players and the subsequent decline of the Australian test side between 2011 and 2013 (since publication, however, Australia under new coach Darren Lehmann have gone some way to reversing this trend by whitewashing England in the last Ashes Series). Although the Australian sections pique interest, they do not measure up to the power of some of the later chapters which lead Haigh to question, is cricket now really a world game?
That’s not to say that there isn’t some entertaining and revealing stories interspersed within the opening part of the book. Australian spin legend Shane Warne features prominently, including a humorous account of how Warne’s incessant use of Twitter resulted in an image of his burnt “Kentucky Fried” hand becoming the number one news story of every newspaper web site in Australia, as the leg-spinner attempted a playing comeback in the new Australian “Big Bash” league; a tale which demonstrates not only the viral power of social media as a prominent marketing tool but also the desperation of the media for a headline.
Haigh rightly affords plenty of debate to cricket’s delicate balancing act of preserving the competitive values and traditions of the sport, represented by Test cricket, vs the need to commercialise and adapt to compete in a crowded market place of entertainment, represented by T20 cricket. He often finds himself lamenting the growing importance and indeed dominance of T20 within the modern game: “Surrender cricket to the priorities of mass marketing and television scheduling […] create a system that accords greater prestige to making 20 from 10 balls than 100 from 250, then, frankly, you’ll get what you deserve”. T20 is cricket’s “fast food” version and appeals to TV broadcasters, sponsors and casual observers, particularly in the key market of India. Whether you love it or loathe it, its place at the heart of cricket’s commercial future is essential and undeniable.
The reader is left feeling reassured that Haigh can see events for what they are. You sense that in another life Haigh would have made an excellent chief inspector, as his rigorous probing analysis presents a compelling case against a number of high profile suspects for crimes against the game.
A prime example is Narayanaswami Srinivasan, whose vested and conflicting interests in the business of cricket are quite staggering; managing director of India cements (which in turn own the IPL Franchise, Chennai Super Kings) and up until very recently the head of Indian cricket, the BCCI. That he has since been forced to resign from the BCCI to facilitate investigation into several scams, including match-fixing and corruption, says it all. Incredibly, he is now Chairman of cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council.
The ICC, also, almost inevitably, fails to escape his scrutiny. Based in Dubai thanks to a 50-year tax exemption, the ICC are depicted as an initially well-intentioned body who became dogged by governance issues and political in-fighting, and today have actually very little real power to wield. This tends to rest in India.
All in all, Uncertain Corridors is an essential read for anyone interested in the business of modern international cricket. Be warned though, it may well leave you feeling concerned with how the game is being run, and what its future holds.
About the reviewer
David Cook is an Academic at the Coventry University, UK. His industry background involves roles within market research and brand development and his research interests include the commercial impact of sport and ownership models within professional sports teams. His favourite sports are football, cricket and tennis. David Cook can be contacted at: ab5622@coventry.ac.uk
