We have, in these pages, written about various aspects of conduct recommended by Ranjan Madugalle in a rare comment for young cricketers. It is a set of thoughts that are applicable across all sports.
Admittedly, some of them are of the ‘goes without saying’ kind. They are said often enough, but are rarely followed to the letter. This one is about fighting, and not just during a competition.
It reminded me of a chess game played at the Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan where Sri Lanka was drawn to play Uruguay. Sachini Ranasinghe had the black pieces against Natalia Silva. It was an ending that was theoretically drawn. Indeed it wasn’t difficult for her opponent to deny Sachini a win. The game dragged on for 162 moves. Sachini had a slight advantage. She knew that only a blunder on the part of her opponent would give her an opportunity to turn it into a win. She played tenaciously. She won.
That’s one kind of fighting. A Kusal Perea (vs South Africa) or if you want a more recent example, a Kyle Meyers (for West Indies against Pakistan) kind of fighting. Ranjan speaks of a different kind of struggle. Let me get at it through an example.
Over 40 years ago, there was a situation where a school didn’t have an official coach for chess and the teach-in-charge deferred to the opinion of the captain since he, the teacher, knew little of the game or the strengths of the players. The captain essentially chose the senior (Over 15) and junior (Under 15) teams. He wasn’t fair. He had a strong personality and the unfairness, as happens often enough, was to stand.
A few senior players fought. They took the matter up to the Vice Principal, whose knowledge of the game and players was as minimal as that of the teacher-in-charge. Given the circumstances he came up with a strange selection method: he asked all the senior players and the strongest player in the junior team to list the best 7 players in each category in terms of perceived playing strength.
They did just that. Teams were re-selected. Perhaps if this happened today there would be parents filing cases in courts, but back then, for the most part, students fought their own battles. They lost, mostly, but gained the intangibles associated with character. The best team the school could come up with was not as good as the teams of two other schools; they came third. The junior team won their category.
Ranjan says, ‘fight if you think you are right.’ Now there are innumerable moments that one could consider ‘unjust’. Some of it is related to what we do or happens under our noses. Much of it is ‘outside.’ Much of it can be called ‘trivial’ but some of it is so bad that saying or doing nothing doesn’t really make for a good night’s sleep.
There can be a cost. It’s easier to look the other way. There’s always an easier road to travel. You make a principled choice and all of a sudden you find yourself walking through a minefield. It is not the popular thing to do. Friends abandon you. Those who cut corners or worse brand you openly or covertly as ‘trouble-maker.’ Sometimes if you are really good at what you do or have the strength of years, you prevail; things get tough but not as tough if you were a younger player or less of a genius. Fighting if you think you are right doesn’t come with excuses. You do it because you must.
That same Vice Principal, who held that post when Ranjan himself was still a schoolboy, once said ‘do what you think is right, whether or not the world appreciates.’
That’s the kind of fight I believe Ranjan was talking about.
Other articles in the series titled 'The Interception' [published in 'The Morning']
Do you have a plan? Strengths and weaknesses It's all about partnerships
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