Warne and life after cricket

This chapter is about Warne and life after cricket. Cricket All Stars. Warne alongwith a few other former cricketers played an exhibition game in the UK which was attended by a sizeable crowd. He thought of playing such charity games often because of their potential but needed a wealthy backer. Things didn’t materialise. Some years later, he was asked to be the captain of the Rest of the World against MCC which was captained by Tendulkar. Then, in 2014, he went to see Lloyd Williams and told him about the idea. He was forthcoming and willing to support the idea which enabled the birth of Cricket All Stars. Williams insisted on having Tendulkar onboard for obvious reasons because of the Indian market and his fan following.

Warne spoke to him and Tendulkar too seemed to like the idea. It would be a series of 3 T20 games in America the first time around. Warne met Sachin in London with Sanjay, a business advisor. Soon they were joined by Ben Sturner. Sachin insisted that his friends, Ben and Sanjay must run the show. Warne was hesitant but acquiesced because of Tendulkar’s reputation and believed that he must have organised the business side of his life well but pretty soon regretted the decision. The handling of the entire scenario was haphazard. The ICC supported them but the US Cricket Association, whose relationship with ICC was strained, were not supportive enough.

Left till the end

Every aspect of the event was left till the last minute. The games were reasonably successful. There were a lot of lessons to be learned because the teams didn’t make the kind of money that they expected. Warne wanted the games to resume next year and told Tendulkar and also wanted to change the event management team. Tendulkar did not take kindly to the fact that his men were found inefficient. Days went by and the chance to have a second Cricket All Stars was waning which was when Warne heard that Sachin’s men had told him that they did not need Warne and that they can continue with the Cricket All Stars series.

For a couple of months, Sachin refused to attend any of Warne’s calls. Later, when they eventually spoke, Sachin told Warne that he was under the impression that Warne wanted to continue without Sachin. In the end, the series never catapulted itself and was laid to rest. Warne blamed Sachin’s men for the fiasco rather than Sachin himself.

Love for London

Warne describes his love for London and Scotland. London, he says is as good as Melbourne except for the weather, whereas Scotland, he was completely blown over by the Old Course at St. Andrews. He also says that anyone lucky enough to be invited to the Dunhill Links Championship which is played over 4 days at St. Andrews is really lucky because of the camaraderie. The top players and celebrities mixing with each other and amateurs plays with professionals. This is golf that he is talking about.

Music and stage

Warne had a close friendship with Chris Martin, the gifted Spanish singer. They met in London and ever since, they became best mates. Martin understood Warne like no other. With Martin, Warne went onstage thrice, first when he was suddenly grabbed by Martin and told him to change the jacket and become the 5th member of the band. Second, in Melbourne when Warne graced the stage with harmonica and played the instrument for a solo song from Martin. There were 60 – 70K fans who cheered him along. His favourites are Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen. The first ever record he bought was Cum on Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot. Dancing in the Dark was his favourites Springsteen song.

Warne’s thoughts about the game

Warne believes that the international game must be over 2 formats. Tests and ODI with T20 being an exclusive franchise event. The scheduling at the moment, is extremely tough and taxing on the players and the spectators. That needs a change. He ponders whether Test cricket must be seen only on Television. Except in Australia, England and some grounds in India, no one watches the games. The authorities have their heads in the sand hoping that the 5 days game will survive instead of any effort from their side. It needs heavy marketing and advertising. The youngsters must be made to understand the nuances of the longest format so that they can appreciate the game and ensure its survival.

At the moment, there are lots of unnecessary breaks for drinks, changing gloves etc. He feels that 32 overs can be bowled in one session. He proposes 384 overs over 4 days with the first innings capped at 130. If the overs are not bowled, the captain will have to sit out the next game.

His thoughts about the grounds

Pitches must be good in the sense that every type of cricketer must have a say. It cannot be flat roads if Test cricket needs to survive. Every game must be a contest between the bat and the ball with the ball taking a slight preference. Warne feels that bat size is irrelevant because if the pitches favour the bowler slightly, it does not matter the size of the bat. It only matters when the pitch is flat. Grounds must be of good size.

Do not bring in the boundary more than it is needed for the safety of the officials and for the camera. Every country must play an equal number of Tests and ODIs. The scheduling now is completely lopsided. ICC has done a few things to improve that situation but it needs to be improved further. Instead of the WTC finals, the trophy must be awarded to the best-performed team over some years. It has more and more become a game for the batsmen. The new ball, red or white, is not swinging like before. It must be because of the way it is manufactured. He wants to see a ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, WTC Finals and Champions Trophy at the end of the 4 year cycle. Two T20 World Cups in 4 years is overkill.