Difference Between Indian & Australian Domestic Cricket
Two days back, when Mayank Agarwal was keeping every Aussie spectator mouth mum with his brilliant stroke play, Mark Waugh and Kerry O Keefe were on a different planet. The frustration and jealousy were evident on their faces, they couldn’t digest the extraordinary performance of Indian cricket team in Aussies backyard. India has never won a test series in Australia, but this time around history books will be re-written. Indian team under Virat Kohli is playing the aggressive brand of cricket and is already having an upper hand over Australia, they need 1 more test win under the belt to win the first and only test series win in Australia.
On 26 December 2018 during the commentary Kerry O Keefe took a jibe at Mayank Agarwal domestic performance, he remarked that Agarwal triple-century came against some team like Canteen XI, where bowlers were chefs and waiters.
His co-commentator Mark Waugh also joined the mockery party saying that Mayank Agarwal first-class average of 50 is equal to the average of 40 in Australian domestic cricket. The commentators’ words exploded like a bomb causing unrest and disharmony among Indian fans and spectators. The fiery speech totally backfired on them.
Amid storm, the dust has still not settled, most Indian fans took the jibe seriously and raised the question that does Indian domestic cricket stand any chance against Australia cricket infrastructure. Sportzcrazy has decided to examine the difference between Indian domestic cricket and Australian domestic cricket in terms of quality, competency and nurturing young talent.
Difference Between Indian & Australian Domestic Cricket
Domestic Cricket in Australia
Each of 6 states in Australia has its own team, which competes for two tournaments in the year. The six team’s names are New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania.
These six teams battle for a four-day first-class cricket competition called Sheffield Shield. The performance in the tournament is the criteria for selection in Australia test team. Darren Lehman is the highest run scorer of all time with 13,365 runs in 266 innings. Clarrie Grimmett is the leading wicket-taker of all time with 513 wickets in 79 matches at an average of 25.29.
Matador Cup for One Day cricket
The Matador BBQ Cup is a domestic one-day cricket tournament played in Australia. The same six teams participate in the tournament, which is played in the round robin format. Western Australia is the most successful team of the tournament till date with 11 wins under the belt.
The tournament is the parameter for selection in Australia one day squad. Brad Hodge is the leading run scorer with 5597 runs at an impressive average of 47.03, which also includes 20 centuries.
James Hopes is the leading wicket-taker of all time with 155 wickets.
Big Bash League for T20 cricket
The Big Bash League is a domestic T20 tournament played between 8 franchises, which includes the six teams mentioned above and Sydney and Melbourne.
the most popular T20 league in world cricket and is a selection parameter for selection in the T20 squad.
Domestic Cricket in India
The major first-class competitions in Indian cricket include Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani trophy for selection trial to pick the Indian test team.
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is the premier cricket championship in India, it is played between 37 teams which include Andhra, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Mumbai, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Sikkim, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Vidarbha.
The tournament is played in round robin format, the tournament covers all the five zones of the country. The initial matches are played between the zones and then the top 4 teams reach the knock out stage. In the end, 1 team is declared the winner.
Mumbai is the most successful team of all time with 41 titles under the belt. Mumbai has produced world-class champions like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Dileep Vengasarkar.
Duleep Trophy
Duleep Trophy is named after Duleep Sinhji, the prestigious trophy helps the selectors in identifying the form of top cricketers and nurture the young talent between the pool of top cricketers. The tournament is played between 5 zones (North, East, South, West, and Central) and is played in round robin format.
North Zone and West Zone are the most successful teams of all the time with 18 wins each. Waseem Zafar is the all-time leading run scorer in Duleep Trophy with 2554 runs in 30 matches at an average of 55.32 with the help of 8 hundred and 13 fifties. Narendra Hirwani is the all-time leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 126 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 34.12.
Irani Trophy
The Irani Trophy tournament is played between the current Ranji Trophy champions and the rest of Indian team. The tournament is shortly played after the Ranji Trophy final.
The rest of Indian team has won the tournament 28 times, whereas Mumbai won the trophy 14 times.
One Day Cricket Domestic Competitions
Deodhar Trophy
Deodhar Trophy is the major one-day cricket domestic tournament in the country with 5 zonal teams (North Zone, South Zone, East, Zone, West Zone, and Central Zone) participating in it. May selectors watch the entire tournament and pick the players for the Indian one-day cricket team.
The tournament is a star-studded extravaganza; most of the top cricketers take part in the tournament. North Zone has won the tournament 13 times.
NKP Salve Challenger Trophy
The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy tournament is seen as a contest between the big boys of Indian cricket. The tournament features three teams (India Blue, India Red, and India Green) and is played in round robin format. The crowd witnesses the performance of the top 36 players in the country.
Vijay Hazare Trophy
The Vijay Hazare Trophy is named after famous Indian cricketer Vijay Hazare, the father of Sanjay Manjarekar. The tournament started in 2002-03 including all the teams for the Ranji Trophy tussling for the prestigious trophy. Mumbai and Tamil Nadu have won the trophy twice till date.
BCCI Corporate Trophy
The BCCI has launched a corporate trophy in 2009 that involves 12 corporate teams consisting of top Indian cricketers. The winner team is given Rs. 1 crore as prize money and the runner up receives Rs.50 Lakhs.
T20 Domestic Competitions
Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League is the premier T20 competition played in India. The players across cricket fraternity are invited to play for different franchises. It is the most watched T20 tournament across the globe. Much credit should be given to IPL for India extraordinary performance in the T20 format.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy is the first zonal T20 tournament of India. The tournament was started after the stupendous success of inaugural IPL edition in 2008. The tournament is played between inter-zonal teams and is played in round robin format.
Conclusion
As we can differentiate Australian domestic model is robust and result oriented, but Indian domestic cricket stands on the same pedestal and even much more opportunity to cricketers. The BCCI has even invited the guest teams like Sri Lanka and England to participate in a domestic tournament like Duleep Trophy.
The Indian cricket domestic infrastructure has mushroomed in the last few years and is the major reason behind India recent success at the international podium.
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