Cricket, sex and extra cover

The right royal brouhaha that erupted around an allegedly “leaked” document urging members of the Indian cricket team to have sex as an additional input to boost their performances on the field has brought into the public domain some strong pro and anti opinions on the matter. It has also put the players even more firmly under the spotlight for reasons far removed from the confines of a cricket pitch. Around the world, it has aroused great hilarity and left Indian cricket administrators looking like they have been sucking lemons. To recap, briefly, India coach Gary Kirsten has strongly denied commissioning a study put together by his South African friends, which, among other things, advised healthy sex to help members of the team stay focused and aggressive when they take the field. The document also suggested that players indulge in sex without a partner if they must. “From a physiological perspective, having sex increases testosterone levels, which cause an increase in strength, energy, aggression and competitiveness. Conversely, not having sex for a period of a few months causes a significant drop in testosterone levels in both males and females, with the corresponding passiveness and decrease in aggression,” it suggested. It also quoted a sports scientist at the University of Cape Town as saying that sex was not a problem, “but being up till 2 am, probably having a few drinks at a bar while trying to pick someone up, on the eve of a game, almost always was.” On the face of it, this is a perfectly unobjectionable, well thought out argument. The only problem is that it involved Team India. Had the same leak occurred from many other squads, it would not have aroused half the emotion it has done. But since it was all to do with India and its cricketers, it has become a strict no-no, the Kama Sutra and countless temples and a vast body of art and literature and song featuring near lyrical eroticism notwithstanding. It has also sent the team management scampering for cover, and shut off all communication channels with them, leaving everyone else to have a field day with comments, suggestions and ideas. Sex and sports have long had close links and while opinion continues to be divided on the matter, the fact that this “leak” comes so soon after a court ruling favourable to the gay community has willy-nilly dragged an issue long hidden between the sheets out into the open. All of a sudden, there is a permissiveness that reflects increasingly an overt sexuality on film and the television, on the streets and in homes and elsewhere. May be it is for the best that a matter more often than not sniggered at, or looked at with hastily-averted glances, is finally out in the open. Over time, the discussion and debate will die down, but it is almost certain that the sparks lit by Kirsten’s alleged document will continue to smoulder. As a Johannesburg newspaper suggested, “it’s medicinal, after all!”