The Art of Criticism

“If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim”
-Margaret Thatcher

So what is a critic? I looked up Webster and came up with these definitions.

1. One who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique.
2. One who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances.
3. One given to harsh or captious judgment

“Reasoned opinion”, “judgment of value, truth…”, “analysis, evaluation, appreciation”…naah can’t be. Webster probably added the third definition looking at what the art of criticism in the present day has become. The story of a sportsman is defined not only by his performances but also by the media’s perception of his performances. It doesn’t take much to induce the seeds of doubt in a reader and being read is a quality analogous to gaining an individual’s trust. Which is why in the big picture, handling the media becomes a skill as important to the sportsman as the skills he displays on the field.

The Ashley Giles double outburst, at first glance, not only sound like the little-boy cries of a hurt ego, but are a damaging preamble to a test match that desperately needs England to perform out of their skins. But dig a little deeper and a visual of a moderately gifted cricketer emerges; having to constantly lift himself to a level deemed acceptable to play among the sea of talent in his side. Cricket has many such dark stories of men more talented than Giles broken down by the might of the media attack, justified or not. A few days back I read a post on Prem Panicker’s blog about how the dignity of a former Indian fast-bowler on the fringes of national selection was played around with by a cricketing legend turned popular commentator. His words were and still are deemed gospel for most Indian cricket fans, and he abused that trust to achieve a laugh and fulfill his own agenda. The English media covering the Ashes has a bunch of former players, captains and legends who were responsible for building this series as a changing of the guard in world cricket. They sneered at Hayden’s anger, laughed at Gillespie’s form, snickered at Warne’s broken marriage and had a dig at virtually every Australian player. After just one test match, they turned to what was easy for them as it is for cricket writers in most countries; pick a player and blame him for everything that went wrong. And it’s safe because if the player does perform next time, the readers forget the previous lash outs. And if they don’t, it’s always food for their next column.

I had speculated on Giles’ future in a previous post and it’s unfortunate that he has been made painfully aware of his limitations. His frustration is understandable but his method of dealing with it was daft. But to put him in a situation from where he can’t defend himself was irresponsible by the same men who condoned his performances over the last 18 months. Unfortunately, that is what the art of criticism is all about.