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The Imperial Inversion of Cricket

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Amol Rajan

26/05/2017

BBC Radio 4 - The Imperial Inversion of Cricket

Amol Rajan asks if England's old imperial guidance and governance of cricket is history.

Documentary. Amol Rajan ask if his passion for the imperial governance and traditions of English cricket is being usurped by the power of India.

When he's not engaged as a BBC editor in the world of Media old and new, and its machinations, Amol Rajan would love to be either watching, or better yet, playing cricket. A deceptively mean leg-spin bowler he grew up in South London soaking up the traditions of the game, its rhythms, complexities and drama. But he's concerned that those qualities are under threat from what he calls 'The Imperial Inversion of Cricket'. Initially the process saw Britain's former colonies develop and overtake the mother country in terms of ability. First came the Australians, then the West Indies, both of them using the established game to better their former colonial masters.
Now it's the turn of India, but this time it's different. This time the sheer scale, passion and desire to make something new of the game is making India not just a dominant playing power but a major force in the direction of the game. 

Where Test cricket reigned supreme the crash bang wallop of Twenty-twenty is proving a huge financial success. The Indian Premier League, the IPL, is proving a far greater manipulator than the Australian experiments of the Kerry Packer era in the 70s and 80s.
In this programme Amol goes back to his roots at the Old Sinjuns cricket club in south London and talks to club members today about what they think of the changes over-taking the game.
And he travels to India to hear the story of the game there, from the sleepy colonial splendour of the Roshanara Cricket Club in Old Delhi to the hi-tech offices of one of the IPL franchises, the Delhi Daredevils. He also talks to Lalit Modi, the man who helped launch the IPL and, in doing so, sent shock waves through the game. 

What he finds is a vibrant, coherent response to the needs of a professional sport in the 21st century. Will cricket hold on to its traditions and will Lords remain the Mecca as Simon Hughes the former Middlesex bowler and TV pundit fervently hopes, or will the sheer financial power and numbers India calls upon change the game for ever? And if it does change, might it actually be for the better?

Producer: Tom Alban.

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