Pschography and viewing figures

The universal Fever Pitch moment

Anjali Doshi, in the Autumn 2013 issue of the Wisden quarterly The Nightwatchman, writes about sitting a philosophy examination:

“I have never cared less about Kant's catergorical imperative than I did on 13 March 1996.

“At about 2pm on a Wednesday, in the examination centre in Mumbai for the Higher School Certificate - a public examination equivalent to the A Level in England – I was meant to be focusing on the Philosophy paper in front of me. But the only thing on my mind as I studied the question was, “I wonder who won the toss.””

Something every proper (as opposed to plastic) sport fan must have experienced: the knowledge that they're actually thinking about the only thing available to think about, which is also the last thing they should be thinking about at the time.

The psychographic portrait

The article goes on to discuss the pschographic portrait of the Indian cricket-viewing (as opposed to those watching at the stadium) public.

Not too scientific, but intuitively sensible, it has three categories:

Players, disciples and fans.

Players (about 4.2%) have played the game at some level, and they watch any game, start to finish. They're there for the finer points, understand the nuances and the passages of play, and will watch whatever cricket is available.

Disciples (42%), outnumber the players ten-to-one and they follow India to the exclusion of all other cricket. They watch the national team and the IPL, and fervently support their side.

Fans (54%) are labelled BIRGs, because the Bask In the Reflected Glory of the national team. They also reach for the remote control the minute things are not going so well. The minute the national team is losing, the networks not covering the game expect a huge spike in viewing figures as millions of TVs are switched from the cricket to whatever they're broadcasting.

Pschography and the IPL

Those 54% and 42% are why the IPL works so well. Those guys can enjoy the spectacle without the worry, and they'll stick with the game, whichever way the result looks like going. The remaining Players have no choice. Their mental make-up is such that they'll be watching in any case.

If I'm anything to go by, they may even be watching the TV coverage, listening to the specialist radio commentary, and still having the over-by-over computer updates rolling on as well.

The Carberry Question – Ed Weech

Asking the question: why, when there's so much commitment to getting working class and black players into the game, there's so few actually breaking through to the highest levels?

My two penn'worth is this.

A non-state school has the freedom to employ people who will coach cricket to a high standard, and the rich kids attending will reap the benefit of that.

I have no axe to grind with the school my three went to. Generally things were pretty good.

However, MM, a decent athlete, with good hand-eye co-ordination, didn't have one single formal cricket PE / games lesson. The school team was entirely an out-of-hours, voluntary affair.

The school has sports academy (or whatever the political / social / educational muppets call it) status.

He did have periods of dance, salsa, and the like.

There's some clues, right there.