In recent months followers of sport have watched in ama:tement as Rugby League set out on a precipitous path to self destruction. It reached the cliff face and only moments from its final plunge into oblivion was it saved by the strong and decisive actions of an Australian High Court Judge.
All the parties involved must accept a portion of the blame which initiated from competition between major media manipulators and resulted in players, the majority totally naive in matters of this magnitude, being labelled by many as the innocent victims caught up in a bitter battle for control of them and their clubs. There is no doubt that players received conflicting and often suspect advice from a myriad of lawyers but there is also no doubt whatever that avarice was their prime motivation. They bit the hand that fed them in the form of the ARL and it was only the fact that the Court imposed such clear and flexible restrictions on alternative competitions in any shape or form, that persuaded them to return to the ARL. It was player anarchy and not only has it provided its major winter opposition, Rugby Union, with a dream start to its international provincial competition but it has reminded us forcibly of the words of one of our most distinguished Governors General Lord Cobham: “When the player of the game thinks himself greater than the game that both get into trouble”.
Our top players also came close to deserting their traditional ties and a year ago our national cricketers were in disarray in different circumstances but not for entirely different reasons. Again one theme shone through spectacularly in both these sports – the players believed themselves bigger than the game itself.
As I said at last year’s dinner there is nothing wrong with professionalism, ie. players being paid to play their particular game; it is the manner in which they respond which counts. I promoted golfers as the epitome of professional excellence and Greg Norman and Nick Faldo playing the final round of the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia on the morning of writing this article, only served to endorse this most powerfully; their behaviour was impeccable.
Colin Cowdrey, the most charming and courteous cricketer I have met, also alludes to golf and golfers as examples of how we in cricket should be approaching our affairs and I can do no better than quote this great player’s comments on the subject of professionalism. They are from his splendid autobiography “M.C.C.” written in 1976 but still pertinent 20 years later.
"I want to turn to the subject of ‘professionalism’ before I close this chapter because it has such a bearing on cricket’s future. Every professional cricketer should examine himself and consider what contribution he is making to the game. His philosophy and attitude determine so much of the development of the game in the years ahead. The good professional seeks to make the best use of his talent and plays flat out to win. Yet there is more to it than this. Personally I see nothing professional about a contemptuous indifference to crowds, a calculated disregard for the game’s public and patrons, a lack of social responsibility outside the boundary ropes, an attitude of envy towards those other sports whose players make more money, an attitude of ‘we’ and ‘they’ – ‘we’ representing the democracy of the dressing room, ‘they’ the autocracy of the administration and committee room. Those of us who care for the game and those who will play it in the years ahead must stand firm to uphold standards – true professionalism standards. What professional cricketers must remember is that this transformation did not just happen. The golfers worked at it, building up their prestige in a conscious campaign of self-discipline. They took great care with their dress, with their manners and their bearing, on and off the course. What the world saw, it liked: men who were courteous, men who would put themselves out not only to become masters of their game but to speak well in public, to spare time for the customer with a smile here and an autograph there. They were conscious all the time that they were professional golf. The result is that golf has attracted sponsorship and highly lucrative television coverage, which in turn attracts more sponsorship. It is a thriving, ever growing concern and it has become so because it was the players themselves who cared. The lesson for cricket is obvious. Its players, too, must care more and take on a more collective responsibility. Our fate could well hinge on whether the sponsors continue to find us attractive enough to support. Attractiveness does not begin and end with strokes at the wicket. It matters that we seek the best, avoiding pettiness, cut out bad language, control temperaments, spare time for members and be part of the club’s social functions. We can learn something from the kind of impression that professional golfers, these past ten years, have left throughout the world. There can be no alternative. If ‘we’ and ‘they’ remain buried in men’s souls then cricket, as we have known and loved it, is dead."
All cricketers, young and old, amateur and professional would do well to remind themselves of their obligations by reading these words from time to time.
I also recommend that you place the words “Attractiveness does not begin and end with strokes at the wicket” above the mirror in your bedroom or bathroom and if you don’t already own a copy of Lord Cobham’s Speeches buy one at any second hand bookshop and study the speeches on sport.