Bat and ball / Andrew Hughes / 22 September 2010 /

Cricket isn't all about runs and wickets; winning and losing. It is, first and foremost, about entertainment. As one of cricket's crowd pleasers hangs up his cricket boots, Andrew Hughes celebrates the showmen of the modern game.

So Andrew Flintoff has bowed to the inevitable and finally ended his international career. Was he one of England's greatest all-rounders or an unfulfilled talent? Do his stats justify the hype or do stats only tell half the story? Inevitably, these old arguments have been rehashed over the last few days, but they miss another aspect of his contribution to cricket. At a time when the five day game is losing popularity world wide, Freddie was that rarity in the modern game: an entertainer.

And whilst his absence from the Engand team hasn't made them any poorer as a team, it has made them far less fun to watch. The likes of Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad may be fine cricketers, but they are not box office like Freddie. Only Kevin Pietersen has anything like the same impact, the kind of cricketer whose arrival at the crease empties the bars and has the crowd concentrating fully on the action in the middle.

If it's entertainers you want, then you are most likely to find them on the subcontinent. Sachin Tendulkar may not be a particularly flamboyant batsman, but his sheer genius makes for compelling viewing. Even if you have no allegiance to India, the cricket connoisseur enjoys every minute of a Tendulkar innings, not least because we all know that he is nearer the end of his career than the beginning. Cricket fans everywhere should try to catch as much as they can of the Little Master, starting with the First Test against Australia next month, for which India are [3.3] favourites.

India are fortunate too in that they have another entertainer, one whose act is a little more straightforward. Virender Sehwag plays an apparently uncomplicated game but plays it with such verve and belligerence that you don't want to miss a single ball when he is at the crease. Even if your team is on the receiving end, you can't help but smile at the way he goes about his business. He is a man for modern times and one of the game's great assets as it strives to broaden its popularity and bring in new fans.

The West Indies have traditionally provided many of the sport's great entertainers and whilst they may be one of the also rans of world cricket these days, the way they can still boast two of the game's most exciting Chris Gayle's onslaughts at the top of the order and his cool swagger make him a must-see batsman and Kieron Pollard is defying those who thought of him as just a lower-order slogger with some astonishing Twenty20 innings.

English cricket fans have also had the good fortune to be able to watch two of the modern game's premier showmen this summer. Shahid Afridi is a born entertainer. He has never knowingly taken the sensible or cautious option, has rarely tried to temper his instincts and plays now with the same astonishing audacity with which he arrived on the international scene. Even when not bowling or batting, he is the kind of player you can't take your eyes off, not least because you can never be entirely sure what he will do next.

And last but by no means least is the Rawalpindi Express himself. Shoaib Akhtar may be the wrong side of 35 and carrying a few extra pounds, but the sight of him swooping in, even from his much reduced run-up, to deliver bouncers and high speed yorkers has been one of the delights of an eventful summer. If he can keep himself relatively fit and avoid too many off-field shenanigans, there is hope that he might be able to continue to entertain cricket audiences for another year or two. Catch him while you can.

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