Cliches

Clichés are part of any language. Cliches are common enough phrases which are used and overused.

I cannot swear that cricket is one subject where maximum usages of clichés are found. But cricket writers, players, captains and managers definitely rank somewhere on top in usage of clichés.

Look at these samples. The bowler will say – when he has got a few wickets in the match – that he has ‘decided to bowl in right areas’. Right point or areas? The right point can be only one? No, not at all. There can be many right points. Another thing the bowlers say is that they went ‘back to the basics’ and ‘concentrate on line and length’. That one just whizzed past me before I could catch the meaning.

Out for a duck, put down a sitter, bowler spraying the ball around, I just wanted to get some runs in the longer version, his talent cannot be questioned, he has got potential  – these are a few.

Then there are more violent ones. So and so thrashed so and so….. The batsman committed hara-kiri …. One team knocked out the other…..

The winning captain would almost always say that the boys did very well to follow a game plan. And also would say that they had decided to concentrate in all aspects of the game. A losing captain will have areas where they have to look into.

Talking of clichés, politics should be very close to cricket, I think. He gets ‘a clean chit’ is a very common one nowadays. Most of the politicians get a clean chit anyway. And a few of them do not mind to continue even with a few dirty chits.

Some sector or the other will be ‘severely dented’. But who cares?  We have to ‘continue with the reforms’ – many wouldn’t even know what kind of reforms they are talking about. Many of them are ‘shocked’ many times at many decisions…. Many see the need to ‘save global economy’ …. From whom?

Many would focus on policies – to do what?

Of course most of the disciplines will have their own clichés. Internet has its own, mobile phones and SMSs have their own... Is the language itself becoming a series of cliches put together?