Last to arrive
Time is a terrible thing to waste, especially when you're about to take on the best in the world.
Since assuming the role of West Indies coach, John Dyson's public utterances have been, if anything, much more measured and cautious than the former Australian opener's watchful style of batsmanship. In fact, should the regional side happen to be in town in the midst of the next Carnival season, the New South Welshman would surely be able to hold his own at the Queen's Park Cricket Club's calypso competition, given his command of double entendre.
He has become a past master at saying nothing and everything at one and the same time, challenging the listener to focus so much on reading between the lines that he couldn't ever be accused of making a direct, damning statement about anything related to West Indies cricket.
Maybe in his brief time here he's already picked up on how insecure and sensitive we are to straightforward criticism, and how easily we fall instead for mamaguile.
So when he comments that he and the squad have "made do with what we have been able to do" in relation to last week's training camp in Antigua, you know, like an iceberg, there's a lot concealed below the surface. No doubt he would be much more direct behind closed doors, or at least you would hope so if he sees this assignment as more than just another job with a fairly decent salary and lots of travel opportunities thrown in.
But, then again, we didn't need Dyson to say anything to recognise that, once more, a combination of issues related to finance, planning, administrative competence and players' priorities has resulted in the failure to make the most of an ideal opportunity for intense preparation in a team environment, especially after finishing so strongly against Sri Lanka last month.
In the five weeks since rain washed out the last One-Day International in St Lucia, we have been provided with even more compelling evidence as to how irrelevant the West Indies Cricket Board is when it comes to charting a way forward for its own senior team.
With no player under retainer contract, there was no legal obligation for any West Indian involved in the Indian Premier League to return to the Caribbean in time for last week's training camp. In fact, were it not for the mandate of the International Cricket Council, the trio of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo (Chris Gayle's injury prevented him from contemplating the same) could have skipped the first two Tests against Australia in pursuit of considerably more cash on the sub-continent.
It was a prospect that WICB CEO Donald Peters had actually conceded as a virtual certainty a week before the ICC meeting in Dubai established that sanctioned international fixtures must take priority over private tournaments. To argue that the players should have been swayed by a sense of moral obligation to the regional side ahead of the filthy rich franchises is a waste of time, simply because such an unwritten obligation no longer exists in an environment of looking after number one.
Clearly all the kissing-up to and bigging-up of the players by regional officialdom--Peters' claim that Marlon Samuels' two-year ban was the consequence of some sort of entrapment reflects that kowtowing mentality-has not dented their collective resolve to seek their own interests first and foremost.
In the immediate aftermath of the punishment handed down to the Jamaican batsman, the WICB brought players and team management up to date with the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Policy, a presentation that could very well have included sound effects of a gate being slammed shut and the clattering hooves of an increasingly distant steed.
Once again, embarrassingly, a part of the world that produced a sporting unit 20 years ahead of its time is caught scrambling to make amends after yet another horse has bolted from the stable.
Dyson's veiled lament is no different from that of his compatriot, Bennett King, who was coming to the end of his first 12 months as West Indies coach during the last tour of Australia in 2005. On the eve of the first Test in Brisbane, the Queenslander commented that since succeeding Gus Logie in the job after the dramatic Champions Trophy final triumph in September, 2004, he had to work through three disruptive showdowns between the WICB and the Players Association and was struggling to establish any sort of harmony or team ethos, given that he had already worked with more than 30 different players in such a short space of time.
Less than three years later and with a record financial windfall supposedly in their coffers from the hosting of the 2007 World Cup, we are faced once again with the consequences of weak, reactionary leadership. At least now the bitter adversaries of 2005 appear to be on the same side, although it's not too clear which side that is. And let's not stoop to the level of equating frenetic vupping (at Eden Gardens or Guaracara Park) with preparation for Test cricket.
Yes indeed, a Test match starts tomorrow, with the recently-arrived stand-in West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan walking out for the toss at Sabina Park with Ricky Ponting, who probably understands the Jamaican dialect by now. Hopefully, Sarwan will have the good sense not to enquire of his Australian counterpart as to the weather on the island recently.
(c) Trinidad Express 35
ICC Cricket Committee wants balance among 3 formats
DUBAI: With Twenty20 posing a serious threat to the popularity of both Test and one dayers, the ICC Cricket Committee on Tuesday stressed on the need to strike the right balance among the three formats of the game.
After the conclusion of its two-day meeting here today, the ICC said in a statement that the Committee held an in-depth debate about the current cricket landscape in light of the fact that there are now three viable forms of the game at international level, Tests, ODIs and Twenty20.
"The committee agreed that there was a strong need to identify and maintain a balance between the three formats so that all of them could continue to thrive," the statement said.
"It identified Test cricket as the pinnacle of the sport and expressed the need for the best available participants (players, umpires, referees etc) to be involved in international cricket.
" While accepting the need for a minimum requirement in terms of numbers of ODIs, Twenty20 Internationals and Tests between all teams, the committee stressed the need to protect icon series," it added.
The group was chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and included former Australia captain Mark Taylor, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur and Michael Holding, the ex-West Indies fast bowler.
The committee is empowered to make recommendations which then go forward to the Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) for approval. If that approval is forthcoming then the decisions can be ratified at the ICC Board.
Both CEC and the ICC Board are scheduled to meet in Dubai from 29 June.
(c) 2008 Times Internet Limited
Why the ICC Speeded up Malcolm's exit
Malcolm Speed, the outspoken chief executive of the International Cricket Council, has effectively been sacked, a little more than two months before he was to relinquish office on July 4. It is a decision unprecedented in the history of cricket's governing body. Speed will be on paid leave for the remainder of his term and David Richardson, the ICC's general manager - cricket, will take over as interim CEO till Haroon Lorgat assumes office.
"This is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between the CEO and a number of board members, including the president, over a variety of issues that include Zimbabwe," David Morgan, the ICC president-elect said. In March, when the ICC decided to overlook the audit of Zimbabwe Cricket, Speed refused to address the media, saying he could not defend a position he was opposed to.
More recently, Speed openly admitted that the ICL had approached the ICC for official recognition - something he need not have done - and added, "BCCI has never sent anything in writing to the IC...they have never said that they don't recognise it.' The BCCI's stand on the ICL has been virulently aggressive from the moment the league was formed and for the chief executive to make this remark was courting danger days before the IPL was launched.
Speed, who held the CEO's post since 2001, emboldened by the fact that he was on his way out also volunteered comments on the ICC's decision regarding Sunil Gavaskar's dual role as columnist and cricket committee chairman.
Sources told the Hindustan Times that the decision to remove Speed was taken when top ICC officials met in Bangalore on April 16, a day before the IPL's opening gala. "It was decided at an informal meeting that Speed should be removed," a source revealed. "He had fought repeatedly with the president (Ray Mali) on various issues, there was the Zimbabwe problem, other differences. In any case, once the Board decides something, you can't have the CEO come out publicly and oppose it." The matter would have been formally discussed in the June 4 board meeting of the ICC, but some members felt it would show the ICC in bad light if they sacked Speed so close to the end of his tenure. They then spoke to Speed and he agreed to proceed on leave to avoid humiliation.
(c) Hindustan Times
Lord's to lose ICC meeting to Dubai
Lord's is almost certain to be abandoned this June as the venue for the International Cricket Council's annual conference after 99 years.
Although no formal decision has yet been made, it is increasingly likely that the meeting will now take place at the ICC headquarters in Dubai.
At the centre of the controversy is the British government's refusal to give firm commitments to the ICC that they will grant a visa to Zimbabwe cricket chairman Peter Chingoka.
He was refused a visa to enter the UK by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to give testimony at the Darrell Hair hearing last October, even though he was a member of the sub-committee that recommended to the ICC board in 2006 that Hair be demoted as an international umpire.
With the crisis in Zimbabwe deepening since the elections on March 29, the chances of Chingoka being granted a visa are increasingly slim.
That news will not surprise the MCC, the owners of Lord's. They have already seen the ICC move to Dubai for tax purposes three years ago. However, it will affect plans to celebrate the ICC's centenary next year at the home of cricket and cast a doubt over next year's World Twenty20, which will use Lord's as its principle base.
Unless there are significant developments in Zimbabwe, the ICC may feel compelled to relocate it to another country.
(c) Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2008
Kanpur cannot be deprived of international cricket: Shukla
It would not be all that easy to take away Kanpur's status as an international venue following an adverse report on its "poor" pitch provided for the third Test against South Africa, a top Uttar Pradesh cricket official said on Thursday.
The five-day Test ended within three days, largely due to undue assistance to spinners from the pitch, with India winning by eight wickets to draw the series 1-1. Incidentally, the second Test in Ahmedabad had also ended inside three days, with South Africa winning by an innings and 90 runs.
"What about the Ahmedabad pitch? There too the match ended in three days," Rajeev Shukla, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA), noted.
Earlier on Thursday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) disclosed that its match referee Roshan Mahanama, who officiated in the series, had termed the pitch "poor" in his report and the ICC gave the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 14 days to comment on it.
Shukla, however, seemed confident that Kanpur, which has staged 20 Test matches since 1952 and 11 One-Day Internationals, would retain its status.
"It won't be that easy to take away Kanpur's status," Shukla told IANS.
While speedsters from both sides dominated the Ahmedabad Test with assistance from the pitch, taking 21 of the 27 wickets to fall, spinners grabbed 18 of the 32 wickets to fall in Kanpur.
"Once that response is received by the ICC, then it is considered - along with the match video - by the ICC's general manager-cricket (David Richardson) and the Elite Panel ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle," it said in a statement.
"They have the power to impose a sanction that can range from, at one end of the scale, a warning to the home board (along with corrective action required), through a fine imposed on that board, up to a withdrawal of international status for a period of time for the venue in the case of repeated offences.
The home board has the right of appeal against any sanction imposed and a member of the ICC's code of conduct commission would hear that appeal. The decision of that appeal would be final and binding on both sides.
(c) Hindustan Times
ICC Anti-Corruption Unit Interviews Pakistan Players
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday that its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) had interviewed three Pakistan players in Lahore at the weekend.
Cricket's ruling body said in a statement that the purpose of interviewing Danish Kaneria, Younis Khan and Umar Gul was to seek specific information and that "the ACSU has confirmed that this information was provided by the players."
The ICC said the interviews "were not conducted in relation to any alleged breach of ICC Code of Conduct."
The statement came a day after Pakistan team sources told Reuters that ACSU officials had interviewed banned fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar over comments made last week in a television interview.
Shoaib told the interviewer he had been offered money on several occasions to under perform but had rejected them all for the love of his country.
Under the ICC Code of Conduct, a player who fails to report an approach to fix games or under perform to his captain, team manager, board or the ACSU can be banned for one to five years.
(c) Reuters 2008
Michael 'Pup' Clarke named deputy for WI tour
Michael Clarke has replaced the retired Adam Gilchrist as vice captain of the test squad for the West Indies tour beginning in May. Clarke will be Ponting's deputy for the Tests as well as the one-dayers.
Brad Haddin joined the Test squad as wicketkeeper to replace Gilchrist, who recently retired as the most successful gloveman in Test cricket after the India series.
The selectors revealed a 15-member squad for the three-Test series, inducting spin twins Stuart MacGill and Beau Casson, and in-form batsman Simon Katich in the squad. They also named a 14-member ODI side for the five one-dayers they would play in the Caribbean. First-timer David Hussey, younger brother of Mike, made it to the list.
Chief selector Andrew Hilditch felt that Clarke's selection as vice captain was a step forward.
"While we had some very strong candidates within the current team, including those of the calibre of Michael Hussey, we had no hesitation in recommending Michael Clarke for the position," Hilditch said. "We were thrilled with his performances as captain during the two Twenty20 International games this summer and believe he has outstanding leadership credentials."
On having two spinners for the Test module of the West Indies tour, Hilditch said, "We have recalled Stuart MacGill after his recovery from injury. We think he will play an important role during the series and believe a player with 200 Test wickets will have a significant impact."
Katich's credence of runs was enough to earn him a recall. Hilditch added. "Since he was omitted from the Australian side there is nothing more we could have asked Simon to do. He has done absolutely everything asked of him and had an outstanding summer for New South Wales. We are looking forward to him playing a key role throughout the tour,"
David Hussey, Shaun Marsh and Cameron White were added to the limited-overs squad that lost recently to India, while Nathan Bracken was selected subject to fitness - he is recovering from knee surgery.
Australia will play Tests in Jamaica (May 22-26), Antigua (May 30-June 3) and Barbados (June 12-16) followed by a Twenty20 international on June 20 and five limited-overs internationals.
Squads:
Test: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Beau Casson, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mike Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Ashley Noffke, Andrew Symonds.
ODI: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White.
Copyright @ 2008 ICC Development(International) Ltd.
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