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India's Gautam Gambhir, center, is congratulated by Australian Brett Lee as Indian V.V.S. Laxman, right, looks on as they return after end of play on the first day of their third cricket test match in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008. Gambhir scored his second hundred in consecutive matches with an unbeaten 149 Wednesday. AP Photo/Gurinder Osan
The ICC should be disbanded and the respective cricket boards go their own ways. They can then all live and die by the “market forces” they are so quick to turn to in defense of the indefensible.
The ICC has Haroon Lorgat as the front man. He is hamstrung by a committee that gives him power only to sneeze. Everything else is determined by a vote.
And no board votes against the BCCI (Indian Cricket Board), except perhaps the ECB (England and Wales). But when the majority is with India, then it is irrelevant if there are dissenters.
Just think for a moment that New Zealand, Bangladesh, the West Indies and Zimbabwe are so cash-strapped that they cannot afford to go against India’s dictates.
Sri Lanka are effectively second and third mortgaged to the BCCI. Their only administrator of substance, Arjuna Ranatunga, lost his job because he called the IPL “instant noodles”.
It is prudent to review who is sleeping with whom.
Australia, India and South Africa are the “owners” of the Champions League, the annual tournament that was won by Simon Katich’s Blues last October in India. The Indian Board (BCCI) is the majority shareholder and the boards of Australia (CA) and South Africa (CSA) have a minority stake.
The TV rights for the Champions League are in excess of a billion dollars for ten years. The three boards share roughly $100 million dollars a year.
The rest of the teams, and their boards, play only for the prize money.
The BCCI continues to make decisions more associated with a drunken sailor than an institution, arguably, holding the future of cricket in its compromised hands.
It has lurched from having only two Tests scheduled in 2010 to suddenly having another eight before the end of the year.
In 2008 the BCCI and CA signed a MOU that agreed to seven one day matches in India every year. This was, ostensibly, to maximize the earning potential that their cricket teams’ represented in the immediate short term.
Australia has been a willing partner in this exercise and, as a consequence, has exposed their players to premature burnout. The players are not beasts of burden.
Earlier this year the BCCI asked South Africa to play two unscheduled Tests. This was done so they could protect their number one status.
The BCCI has now asked Australia to play two Test Matches in October this year. This is welcome news for cricket lovers. But it does not remove the perception that the BCCI is doing this for ulterior reasons.
Brand India needs to be protected so that broadcasters continue to throw mega dollars at the BCCI.
The BCCI also realizes that it has dined out on the illustrious careers of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman for the better part of two decades. This trilogy only has a few encores left and the BCCI wants to exploit this to the maximum.
Another compelling reason for this rescheduling is that the conversation will change from the IPL debacle to more cricket centric matters. Nothing has changed in the BCCI. Srinivasan, the secretary still owns an IPL team. He does not believe there is a conflict of interest because the BCCI ratified this ownership. This rationale suggests that anything the BCCI ratifies is to be accepted as sacrosanct.
The fans in India have been cheated by administrators more interested in running the red light than the safety of other road users. Their sin may be one of omission and this may in the long term be forgivable. But if the sins are of commission then their behavior is unconscionable. The sad part is that we may never know.
Cricket Australia will, in all probability, agree to the BCCI’s request for the unscheduled Tests. The low and slow pitches may not be ideal preparation for the Ashes to follow.
Cricket Australia has been pragmatic in its’ relationship with the BCCI as it realizes that the majority of cricket’s income lies with India. However, CA needs to prioritise its objectives and the recent talk in making more room for the KFC Big bash at the expense of the Sheffield Shield is going the excessive ways of the IPL.
The fans in Australia will not put up with second rate opponents like we had last summer. The Sheffield Shield struggles for crowds because the stars like Ponting and Johnson have to rest after their exertions on the International front. How can our young players like Smith and Ferguson progress if they are denied the opportunity to play with and against the established stars?
If we can find a window for the IPL then why not for the Sheffield Shield? How much money does a board really need to run cricket? Have we come so far that the end game is the bottom line and not the game?
I have been energized by the number of Roarers who have expressed their concern for the future of cricket. I urge them to speak out. In the end we will get the game we deserve.
Ask yourself: are you being served?
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