Well the controversy over the ICC Presidency appears to have abated - for now. Australia and New Zealand have agreed to put forward NZC Chairman Alan Isaac in the wake of the refusal by the Asian and African cricket boards to allow Oceania to select its own candidate (John Howard). The move should please all the parties with obvious connection to cricket that Isaac has and the disconnection from any notion of politics (some in the ranks of New Zealand cricket may laugh at that but everything is relative; there isn't enough money in NZC for politics - although check out the NEWS section below).
As the dust clears Australia will appear defeated and many on this side of the Tasman will, quietly or otherwise, rejoice in having their own man at the top of cricket in two years. This attitude must be culled from our minds as quickly as a Pakistan team captain loses his job. This was an exercise in control and whether Oceania has any when it comes to cricket governance; those who have feared the growing dominance of the BCCI and its lackeys have been proven right.
The battle over whether John Howard would be labelled a racist, cricket-mad, glory-seeking politician of an ICC President or the best administrative leader the ICC could ever have (and all the adjectives in between) was robust but, in my humble opinion, ultimately irrelevant. Australia was rife with angered pundits after Howard was blocked and their feelings were further fueled by Malcom Speed's assertion that Asian cricket boards were simply keeping the status quo from changing against them. Then every cricinfo writer suddenly became an expert on Australian history & politics while churning out critiques of his administration's policies - as if this would have any influence on his work for the ICC (in a position of little real power) - these commentators possibly forget that democracy and party politics rules Australia not the regime of a dictator.
Whether Howard would prove to be divisive or not doesn't concern me as much as the obvious bullying by the Asian and African cricket boards in this matter. Yes there were better candidates that could have been chosen but Howard was not the worst and therefore the whole exercise becomes one of who is in control. The BCCI led coalition (which can include the boards of Sri Lanka and South Africa (and as a result Zimbabwe) decided to make this a test case for that question and won a resounding victory (Note the idea of racism suddenly being important says more about the character of these cricket boards than Howard's). With so much money tied up in that group of nations this battle will continue and Oceania (and England for that matter) would do well to make things easier for themselves by putting a tad more thought into their selections.
Looking forward, it will be interesting to see if any token resistance will be offered against Isaac; I doubt it but if there isn't, the next skirmish will simply be delayed in this unavoidable contest
NEWS
- Brendon McCullum has released a book which includes confessions about almost turning his back on New Zealand cricket for the IPL. The book also mentions the decision for top players to remain in the IPL while the rest of the team was warming up in England (2008) and the wave of criticism that caused
- Jesse Ryder will miss the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka this month while rebuilding the mobility in his arm. It does worry me a little that our top batsman seems to be injured so much - NZC has had to deal with bowlers like this but a batsman may provide new problems
- Kyle Mills will be the vice-captain to Ross Taylor for the series
- Speaking of the stand-in captain, Taylor came out in support of ODI cricket recently (a stance I agree with) but appears to defend traditional cricket with one and hand while attacking it with the other as there is speculation over which team he will play for in the Champions League: Central Districts or Bangalore
- Canterbury and Otago were disappointed by having so little representation in the Top 20 central contracts announced last week. The former team has no players in this group (what a change that is from 10 years ago!) but accusations of politics have been few
- Muttiah Muralitharan reached 800 wickets in his last test (he took 8 in total) and will retire without regret and go down as Sri Lanka's best player and one of top spin bowlers in the game's history
RECENT RESULTS
- PAK beat AUS 2-0 in the 2020s before drawing the test series 1-1...
- ...But got smashed by ENG in the first test this week at Trent Bridge where James Anderson's best bowling of 11-71 was too much for their weak batting line-up
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/464231.html
Very funny article set many years in the future where Test Cricket is the only form of the game: the grounds have been nationalised, the ticket prices capped, the pitches made green and matches can be extended into the 6th day if need be. All wishful thinking really but worth a read
Well that's it from here and I hope you join me again
It's good bye for now
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