da prosport bet： It can thus be clearly seen why a united asian body could seriouslyaffect world cricket
da dobrowin： Partab Ramchand21-Feb-2002The age-old maxim “In unity is strength” not only still holds good butis also not out of place in cricket. The solidarity expressed bymember countries of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) at their meetingin Sharjah last weekend has had more than the desired effect.Initially there were fears that the show of unity on the issue of thecomposition of the International Cricket Council’s Referees Commissionto go into the Mike Denness controversy would trigger off a crisisthat could put even Bodyline and match-fixing in the shade. But theACC’s decision to stand together put the ICC squarely on thedefensive. It became quickly obvious that the game’s governing bodyhad to take a prudent step, for a wrong move on their part could wellhave the impact of a bomb, the explosion of which could engulf worldcricket.
It can thus be clearly seen why a united asian body could seriouslyaffect world cricket. The icc executive board comprises the 10 testplaying nations and, according to an icc statement, south africa hasalso joined the asian bloc in requesting for the postponement.In the event, the ICC has been pushed onto the back foot. Thescheduled February 23 meeting of the Commission has been postponed andwill now be held after the executive board meeting in Cape Town onMarch 15 and 16. This was the Indian stand, and one that received fullbacking at Sharjah.The solidarity shown by the ACC was rather unexpected, given the factthat India Pakistan cricketing ties have been strained, followingthe Indian government’s decision not to play Pakistan anywhere andIndia’s subsequent withdrawal not only from their scheduled tour ofPakistan but also from the Asian Test Championship. But the twopowerhouses in Asian cricket put aside their differences, taking theview that the region’s sentiments were not being respected.This show of unity was certainly the most important feature of themeeting and one that could leave a shadow over cricketing mattersworldwide. The Asian bloc has obviously decided to close ranks to takeon the ICC over issues where there is a perception of being unfairlydealt with. This also means that the four-nation South Asian bloc’sfour votes, with the support of one more, could jettison any rulingtaken at ICC executive board meetings, where there is need for a clearmajority to force an issue.It can thus be clearly seen why a united Asian body could seriouslyaffect world cricket. The ICC executive board comprises the 10 Testplaying nations and, according to an ICC statement, South Africa hasalso joined the Asian bloc in requesting for the postponement.President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) JagmohanDalmiya has won bouquets at home for his tough stance on the Dennesscontroversy, even if he has largely received brickbats from abroad. Heexpressed his unhappiness at the composition of the Commission in nouncertain terms. Riding on a crest of popularity, Dalmiya obviouslysaw no reason why he should soften his stance.Indeed, the Sharjah meeting and the subsequent ICC decision to putoff the Referees Commission meeting can be termed as a triumph forDalmiya. For one thing, he was able to firmly rally the ACC behind himto take on the ICC. He even managed to get Pakistan’s backing on theissue, which, under the prevailing circumstances, was nothing short ofa master-stroke, for apparently Pakistan, because of public andgovernment pressure, initially did not want to go along with India.Maintaining the pressure on the ICC, Dalmiya spoke of the need todemocratise the body as, according to him, decisions were being takenby one or two individuals heading the organisation. “It is unfortunatethat ICC is taking decisions without consulting its members,” Dalmiyais quoted to have said. In its resolution, the ACC urged the ICC tohalt the proceedings of the Referees Commission set up to look intothe penalties handed out by match referee Denness during the secondTest of the South Africa-India series late last year.The ACC effectively forced the ICC onto the back foot by resolvingthat it was “deeply concerned over this dispute between the ICC andsome of the member countries.” The president of the Pakistan CricketBoard, Tauqir Zia, who is also the ACC chief, made it clear that whilethe ACC did not want a quarrel with the ICC, “we do want that theconcerns of the member countries be listened to.”Indeed, the theme of the meeting, as spelt out by Zia, was that”Asia’s voice must be heard.” Again, one of the substantiveresolutions at the conference stated that India would not tour NewZealand if the latter declined to go over to Pakistan for therescheduled tour of the last winter in April. New Zealand werescheduled to tour Pakistan in October but cancelled such plansfollowing the September 11 attacks in America. Subsequently, it hasreceived written assurances on security fears from the Pakistangovernment.Another resolution requested the ICC to set up a special fund toprovide compensation to countries that suffer financial loss due tocancellation of a scheduled visit. A supplementary decision in thisregard, which reflects the Asian solidarity on the issue, was that incase a country within or outside Asia fails to honour a commitment,other than for reasons beyond the control of the cricket boards, thefour Test-playing nations of the sub-continent would refuse to visitor host that particular country. Pointing out that countries in thesub-continent had faced this problem for long, Dalmiya did not mincewords. “Whenever they like, they have threatened not to tour the Asiancountries. Now we are saying that if you do not tour our countries, wewill not come to your place.”This kind of plain talking – whether justified or not – has obviouslytaken the ICC by surprise. But this does not mean that the last hasbeen heard on the subject. ICC president Malcolm Gray has expressedhis unhappiness at the postponement. According to him, it was”extremely disappointing that the work of a properly constitutedcommission, established after extensive consultations with the BCCI,has to be halted because of a pressure from within the executiveboard.”Taking the cue, other ICC members could also cause trouble at CapeTown. The stage is set for another round of negotiations and oneupmanship next month. One fear is that the issue could become apersonal ego clash between some members who may want to settlepersonal scores, and that is one thing the burning issue and thegame – could do without.
