Isn’t that strange?

The modern cricketer is substantially better rewarded than players of the previous century However like all the better things in life there is a downside involvedThis comes in the form of the numerous adjustments to be made because of the extra formats that are now played and the resultant crowding of the scheduleAs if that wasnrsquot a big enough challenge there are now the extra vagaries caused by the pandemic Therersquos no better example than the chaos created by the postponement of the opulent Indian Premier League resulting in a lastminute appeal to rejig Indiarsquos tour dates in England to accommodate the completion of the tournamentWhoever said life wasnrsquot meant to be easy perfectly summed up the career of the modern international cricketerThe COVIDravaged world has meant cricketers spend extended periods in bubbles which not only challenges their skills but also their mental health It has also resulted in scheduling that has Test matches crammed together which is physically and mentally demanding especially for the fast bowlersWhereas the 20th century cricketer had the occasional backtoback Test over the Boxing Daymdashthe New Year periodmdashthis is now a common occurrence And in recent times itrsquos more likely the schedule will include backtoback Test matches which is a real grind for all concernedThis was highlighted in the last AustraliaIndia series where the home side used the same pace bowling trio in all four Tests As the Australian pace bowlers wore down in the final stages of the series their Indian counterparts may have caught a break as injuries meant they had to constantly change personnelIndia spoilt for choicesIndia are one of the few teams who have enough skilled pace men in reserve to meet those challenges and still remain competitiveThe modern fast bowlers do a lot of varied training in order to prepare for the demanding schedule but still the injuries continue to pile upFast bowlers in the past concentrated more on running and bowling a lot in the nets to gain their match fitness Australian fast bowler Frank Misson who toured England in 1961 was one who believed in running to build up staminaThe 1961 Australian team travelled by boat but Misson was not to be denied his training regime As he was running laps of the deck some of the less physicallyminded players were sitting in the bar when they saw Misson flash past the windowPerhaps embarrassed by Missonrsquos zealous workouts they decided to complicate his exercise regime by placing deck chairs in his path When Misson hurdled the first set of obstacles and did the same to yet another layer of chairs the bar rats relented and left the fast bowler to train in peaceThe preparation a player goes through today in the buildup to a Test is extensive when compared to the past Teams now arrive at the venue anywhere up to four days prior to the game which is a far cry from what happened in 1921 when England was in disarray following their involvement in a brutal warHaphazard and bizarreThe selections ranged from the haphazard to the bizarre with 10 England players who appeared in that series only being involved in a solitary Ashes Test However Lord Tennysonrsquos buildup to the Lordrsquos Test was extraordinary by any measureRelaxing at his club in London at 1 on the morning of the game smoking a cigar and imbibing Tennyson received a phone call requesting him to report to Lordrsquos later that day to take part in the match Not surprisingly he failed in the first inningsmdashlike the bulk of his teammatesmdashbut atoned in the second innings by remaining 74 not outIt would be interesting to discover if retired cricketers envied the rewards paid their modern equivalent or whether the current players would swap todayrsquos whirling merrygoround for the casual approach of the past I suspect most international cricketers are just happy to have played