When will the ICC ever learn?

When will the International Cricket Council, the governing body for the game ever learn? And also when will the ICC shed their 'toothless tiger' image and show that they have regained their teeth and bite?

We pose these questions to the ICC after following the unhealthy trend that is existing, where the ICC is willing to bend backwards to please their sponsors ESPN STAR SPORT, and accept a full strength West Indies team for the ICC Champions trophy tourney which has been slated to begin on September 22.

The ICC originally set a deadline for all squads for the tournament to be named by August 15. Now instead of strictly sticking to that order, the ICC is willing to accept a full strength Windies team if the players can settle their disputes with the West Indian Cricket Board before the umpires call play in the first game.

The West Indies players are having a pay dispute with the Cricket Board which at the moment is in a stalemate. When Bangladesh toured the Caribbean for a series, they had the ignominy of fronting up to a second string Windies team.

Kept their pride

The WICB at that time kept to their pride and instead of indulging in consultation, compromise and consensus, they said "go to hell" to the players and their just demands and went ahead with the Bangladesh tour with a second string team.Then when nothing seemed to be moving where the dispute was concerned, the West Indies Cricket Board quite rightly stood by the second string players who obliged when some of the Windies big names were refusing and picked them for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Now probably with the sponsors ESPN STAR SPORTS pointing the barrel at the ICC, the sheiks in Dubai are now belatedly moving into the dispute with the WICB and endeavouring to bring about a settlement.

If the ICC happens to settle the dispute between the players and the WICB, they would be accused of tactics that is not sport, because they will be badly letting down some of the second string Windies players who are alreadly appearing in the ICC souvenir and are in Proteland having already played a couple of practice games. To be asked to go back would be galling to the players.

Best players in action

When a sponsor, especially TV sign a contract with whatever sports body, they insist that the best players must be in the action. Quite rightly, because the sponsors know that they would lose credibility if they don't have the best performing.

ESPN STAR SPORT has signed a broadcast deal worth $ 1.1 billion with the ICC till 2015. So ESPN are right in insisting on the ICC that they get the best players into the action. A Caribbean team sans the crowd pulling Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shiv Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo will be like a carnival without lights and the TV sponsors will lose viewing power. Many cricketing personalities in the Caribbean and other VIPS like Bharrat Jagdeo, the Guyanese president and Caricom Chairman and Sir Shridath Ramphal, the former Commonwealth Secretary-General and appointed mediator have all failed with their good intentions to bring about a settlement. The ICC should not have waited till the last moment to realize their folly and move in to bring about a settlement at the eleventh hour. They knew years ahead where and when the ICC champions tourney was to be played. When the dispute in the Caribbean was first in its embryo, the ICC should have moved in. Now it's too late my dear friends. With the ICC now frantically attempting to solve the dispute, it is apparent that they are more interested in the dollars, sacrificing principle. Sad.

Lankans threw it away

So near and yet so far. That aptly describes Sri Lanka's loss to India in the final of the Compaq Cup tri-series which also featured New Zealand in a day/nighter at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Monday. When the Lankans simply crushed the Indians in an earlier game, they drew first blood and all their supporters expected a repeat in the final. But once the Indians won the toss and rattled up a massive 319, the game was as good as lost for the home team.

To chase 320 and win requires that luck plays for the chasing side. When chasing a big score the pressure is on what with having to keep to a run rate every over. Not to do so would mean to have more pressure thrust on the batsmen.

The Lankans failed to ride the pressure, although they were in the picture at one time and had to concede victory to a team that played the better cricket and did everything right on that day. However the Lankan cricket fans had the rare opportunity of watching the little master Sachin Tendulkar playing one of his best innings. He raced to 138 in 133 deliveries and if not for suffering cramps would have pocketed a bigger score.

Tendulkar marvellous

Tendulkar still has a lot of cricket in him. Watching him doing marvellous things with the bat and playing copybook strokes and also the reverse sweep that is not in the book, made this writer wonder as to what prompted former Australian captain, now writer and TV Commentator Ian Chappell to request Tendulkar to retire, before somebody else did it for him.

Chappell said it when the little master was going through a run drought, like every cricketer goes through this trauma at sometime or the other in his career. Now Tendulkar has taught Chappell to keep his big mouth shut until he knows what he is talking about.

While the bowlers failed to deliver, batsmen of the calibre of Dilshan, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara, Kandamby and Kapugedera made bold attempts to reach the winning target. They cannot be faulted for not want of trying.

While Kumar Sangakkara's captaincy was spot on, it was inexplicable why he only gave Angelo Mathews just three overs, considering that he was the Best Bowler in the previous game. In his three overs Mathews conceded only 15 runs.

The Compaq Cup final action was lapped up on the wide screen at our famous watering hole the Old Bens Sports Club in the company of ardent Sri Lankan cricket fans Upula Fernando, Patrick and Anton Perera, Kishore Rodrigo, Selva Fernando, Alston and H.U. Silva. Did we not enjoy the thrill a minute action.

We missed our inspiration S.L. Fernando who crossed the great divide recently.