ICC Chief calls for his own assassination

Well, not literally, but he might as well have done. The ICC president's, David Morgan, call for four-day test matches has provided further evidence of the incompetence of our sport's leading body.

This latest rant coming out of London has done much to make one believe that the loonies in the ICC need to be purged, and for the organisation to start from square one. If the issue here is that crowds aren't gathering to the five-day format currently in place, what does Morgan believe removing one day will change? He might as well remove all forms of the game barring T20s.

I can see evidence that could possibly support the ICC's case. Crowd statistics in several test series have been worth concern: England v/s West Indies, New Zealand v/s Anyone (except India). But the common denominator in these cases is that the cricket being played is boring. With New Zealand it is impossible to tell whether they will get past three days, as has been evident in recent series with Australia. As for the West Indies, well we all know what their captain's thoughts are regarding this format of the game. And we haven't even discussed the role the minnows will play if this idea were to become a reality. These issues only go further to highlight the fact that the problem isn't in the format, but the loss of inspiration and a certain level of incompetency of some nations when it comes to the purist form of cricket.

This problem doesn't exist when India, Australia, South Africa or Sri Lanka play. Why? I would suggest that it is a case of greater enjoyment and understanding of what the game has to offer. When one does watch one a test series involving these teams, at no stage does one get the feeling that the match let alone the series will peter out to a no result. That is why the people flock through the gates in their numbers to watch the spectacle they put on for the whole test match. It is this passion and conviction which has made test cricket so beautiful since the MCC has been the guardian of since 1787. If so-called professionalism requires the fundamental organ of our sport to be dismantled piece-by-piece, we have a serious problem. What has stood strong for this length period can surely not be subjugated to this type of measure to ensure the future of our sport. This is not the way.

The majority of stakeholders in cricket have opted to remain mostly silent on the matter, waiting for developments before making any substantive statements. The most public outcry has come from former Pakistani captain, Javed Miandad. Miandad believes "there will be no difference among mediocre (teams) and an experienced side if we see four-day test matches." Miandad's theory holds much truth. For instance, how many times have we seen Sehwag and Gambhir bat India through two full sessions, leaving the middle order to score a monumental total by the end of the a second day's play. Then how can Chief Morgan even envisage the possibility of obtaining a result from the match.

I will wait in hope that sanity prevails in this matter, and the real issues surrounding test cricket, some of which I have highlighted in this article, are solved. And on the matter of the ineptitude of the ICC, though assassination may not be the best policy, a clean slate with a fresh board is well overdue.



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Public Service Announcement: Charity Ashes For The Everyman Male Cancer Campaign

From The Village Cricketer:

"Next Monday 29th June, Barnes CC in London will host the ultimate pre-Ashes encounter: The Village Cricketer's English All Stars v the Cricket with Balls Aussie Code of Conduct XI.

Starting at 3.30pm, its a 30:30 match to raise funds and awareness for the Everyman Male Cancer Campaign, part of the Institute of Cancer Research.

More information is available on the game here and donations can be made here.

Also, please be aware that Jrod, the big cheese of Cricket with Balls, is still looking for Aussies (or pretend Aussies) to make up his side. Anyone fancying a game should email cwb@cricketwithballs.com

We'd be really grateful for a plug for the match if possible.

Cheers

The Village Cricketer"


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Where To Now For Team India?

As I write this Pakistan are on the brink of cleaning up Sri Lanka for not very many in the final of the World Twenty20 and as much as I'd like to think that this will be an easy chase, every shred of logic tells me that the fat lady hasn't quite reached the microphone. Alas, this is not about the Lankans or the Pakis, this is about MS Dhoni's Team India and where they are headed after the debacle that was their World T20 campaign. Would it surprise you to know that I firmly believe this reversal will do Team India a world of good in the long run?

There is at least one virtue Team India can take from each of the two World T20 finalists. From Sri Lanka we need to learn that specialists will win you more matches than bits-and-pieces players in any format, on any surface (yes, I consider Ravindra Jadeja a bits-and-pieces player at this point in his short career).

For far too long Indian cricket has been obsessed with trying to find the next Kapil Dev, or the spin version of Kapil Dev (remember what Greg Chappell did to Irfan Pathan). If it is accepted that a Sachin Tendulkar is born once every 1000 years, is it not time that we also conceded that a Kapil Dev might take at least another 100 years to arrive? In the meantime lets utilise the services of capable and proven specialists (eg. Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh), especially when they are in rare form.

In most situations I'm loathe to suggest that we should be learning anything from Pakistan, for everything in that country, including the success of its cricket team, appears to occur through pure chance. However, there are a few reasons they've made it further than Team India in this tour. One of them being Younis Khan's open challenge to his senior players to stand up and be counted - and boy have the said players they sprung out of their chairs.

Experienced players are held in high regard because they have faced many tough situations and, sometimes, helped their side come out on top. They have the skills and temperament to cope with adversity and use it as a spur for success. Senior players are not in the team to coast through important tournaments and leave the grunt work to the kids.

Too many Indian teams have treated their experienced players as sacred cows, instead offered promising, but unproven, youngsters as sacrifice. I thought this protectionist attitude was slowly being phased out during the early periods of Sourav Ganguly's revolutionary reign and I was sure that it had definitely been confined to the annals of nostalgia under Dhoni's stewardship. Unfortunately, the pressure of a do-or-die match saw this defeatist attitude make a telling comeback. It has been said ad infintum, but for the record Yuvraj Singh should have been given an opportunity to drag his team out of a hole and gone in at four (if for nothing else than to make up for his abysmal and forever plummeting fielding standards).

India's fielding also requires a change in attitude, and I don't think that this area has received quite the attention it should have from the inept and desperate Indian media. I almost blew my lid when I read that Dhoni doesn't believe his team will ever become the world's best fielding side. An attitude as shocking as this will only serve to ensure that Team India's fielding continues to lose them games. Mahendra, son, set you goals high and you might end up somewhere in the middle - it's a proven rule that you need not attempt to disprove.

The promising aspect of the aftermath was that, unlike many of his predecessors, Dhoni has owned up to his errors. His admission implies that he is still humble enough to accept that he has much learning to undertake on the art of leadership and he is open to mending his ways.

It is this focus on continued improvement and his calm demeanour in victory and defeat that gives me unbounded hope for the short to medium term future of Indian cricket. Let's face it, for all the protestations to the contrary of various players and administrators, the World T20 is all fun and games, for us spectators and the players. The real World Cup involves 50 overs per side and it is the real World Cup through which the players' limited overs reputations are built and destroyed. For this reason I'm happy that this meek surrender has taken place now, rather than in the subcontinent in 2011.

There is plenty of time between now and 2011 for Suresh Raina to learn how to handle the short ball. There is plenty of time for the likes of Ravindra Jadeja to learn how to hit big, consistently. There is plenty of time for MS Dhoni to steel his young charges to cope with the pressure of expectation and enjoy the transformation from hunter to the hunted.

Believe not the doom and gloom spouted by your resident hack. Keep the faith and back your Team India for good times are sure to return - soon.


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Stanford Empire Crumbles, Cricket Is Saved

Once again the survival of our great game can be attributed not to the brilliance or efficacy of its administrators, but pure and unadulterated luck. Allen Stanford came across as the rotten apple he has now proven to be to everyone, but cricket administrators. Why is it that the very "professionals" entrusted with the responsibility of growing and advancing the sport regularly exhibit daft and amateurish decision making skills?

People wonder why a country of a billion people struggles to win Olympic medals, I wonder why a world of over 6 billion people struggles to produce sports administrators worth the paper on which their business cards are published?

The Match Referee has long advocated the need for more talented individuals to take the reigns of the various national boards, including the ICC. The alternative is a game fractured by petty personal agendas, dubious relationships and a lack of concern for the real stakeholders.

The following three videos are from a BBC Panorama documentary, aired at the time
when the collapse of Stanford's empire had only just been put in motion. We can only be thankful to the Gods that through His grace and administrators' ineptness this conman was unable to tarnish our great game any more than he had already managed.








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Captaincy Anyone?

With the hype of the T20 world cup currently in play and the conclusion of IPL² and their epic finale one would guess that not many folk have paid the rest of the cricketing world much time.

With the likes of Pietersen, Yuvraj, Mendis and Gayle taking the shorter form of the game by storm many other issues have gone unnoticed. In particular, the recent series defeat of the West Indies by a new look England team certainly did raise a few eyebrows not just on the field with the dismal performance of the West Indies, but also off the field questioning the commitment of the West Indies Test players.

The casual and belated arrival of captain Chris Gayle 48 hours prior to the first Test, coupled with his questionable comments on his opinion of test cricket and his overall interest in the traditional form of the game certainly does bring into question his commitment to his country and to test cricket. A brilliant batsmen in his own right, Chris Gayle certainly is one of the most important links in this Windies lineup with his explosive batting and casual tweakers, he certainly cannot be left out of the eleven based on statistics. However, should he be their captain?

For years now, the WICB have searched long and far for a solution only to see their star players Chanderpaul, Sarwan and now Chris Gayle turn down interest in this prestigous role. What was once the most sought after role in the Caribbean is now being avoided like the plague.

So where to now for West Indies cricket? Once haemorrhaging talent the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards and Marshall just to name a few, the board must surely be wondering where they go from here.

The young wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Ramdin is being touted as the future leader of the side and at 24 a large responsibility looms. Over the last 12 months he has finally started to find a way in Test cricket contributing regularly to the West Indies' totals and proving a menace in the lower order by putting a high price on his wicket. Honestly, is this the right time to burden him with the captaincy? Personally the jury is still out on Ramdin not only as a cricketer, but as a leader. Does he have the respect of his team mates? Does he contribute enough to warrant the role?

It is bemusing that the young all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has not been considered. One of the most promising all round talents in the game today, he has the respect and admiration of opponents in all forms of the game. An aggressive middle order batsmen in the mould of his mentor Brian Lara, Bravo brings the 'uber-cool' flair of the Caribbean back to this team with dazzling lofts over mid-off and beach cricket flicks of his pads that of which even VVS Laxman would be in awe.

'Johnny' as he is affectionately known amongst team mates not only brings runs and fancy shades to the table, but has proven a valuable partnership breaker with his wily medium pace and a exciting leader in the field with his energy, voice and enthusiasm. Why he doesn't captain the team in all forms of cricket is beyond me, unless he of course has joined the long list of cricketers who jolt at the thought of captaining the West Indies?

The future is in Bravo's hands and hopefully the selectors utilise the full repertoire of Bravo's talent and tenacity, for all us cricket lovers out there would certainly love to see the dawn of a new competitive West Indies team not just in ODI and T20, but test cricket also. I don't know about you but for me 'Johnny' Bravo is just the ticket.


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