Dealing with distraction

Distraction is a professional hazard for anybody playing a spectator sport. But Indian cricket grounds can stretch the nerves to the limit. Right from cheering the home team and its stars, to booing the opposition, to the Mexican waves, to the slogan-mongering, the air is always filled with excitement, noise and distraction. How does a player shut all this out and go about doing his job? Well, they call it being in the zone. Sachin Tendulkar manages to get into that state of mind more often than most. But on the second day of the Nagpur Test, playing his first innings after that much-talked-about tennis-elbow problem, he failed to maintain his concentration.

On the verge of tea, as he was settling into his stance Tendulkar spotted a gentleman standing in the press box as Jason Gillespie was about to start his over. Apparently distracted for just a moment, Tendulkar missed the next ball and was trapped in front, and walked off with his head bowed after Aleem Dar raised the finger. Sources close to the team revealed later that Tendulkar complained bitterly about the journalist whose wander had cost him his wicket. Next morning, a request in bold was pasted up in the press box, reading: "Please remain seated. Movement in this enclosure causes inconvenience to players."

Tendulkar may have had a grouse, but the media too has its own complaints. The Indian team's briefings at the end of the day's play are a good case in point. As the players stretch themselves after a hard day's work, the reporters wait, desperately hoping for a story. No interviews are granted during the game, and editors are forever demanding more than just the match report. Apart from commenting on the Indian team's failings in this Test, the media has also been trying to unravel the mystery behind Sourav Ganguly's injury, and whether he will be fit for the last Test. On the first day, Andrew Leipus, the team physiotherapist, held a briefing but failed to answer clearly questions about the cause, the symptoms, or the duration of recovery. He only mentioned that there would be a bone scan done the following day.

Just after the close of play on the second day, the media rushed to the pavilion to get a fresh update. After a frustrating wait of about 20 minutes, they were informed that no further information was available. It was an utterly unprofessional attitude when the team would actually have been better served by quelling the speculations, which continued in the absence of any concrete information.

And when information was finally given this morning, it only added to the confusion. They released a press statement which could only be decoded by medical professionals. The statement ended with: "He is now receiving medical treatment for this condition and his progress will be monitored carefully over the next few days." Meat enough for hacks?