ICC continues to ignore Weeraratne’s DRS concept

The International Cricket Council, tends to talk big, but ultimately they come a cropper and finally end up being a laughing stock. This is not the first time that they have had egg on their faces.

The ICC was talking big that they were going to introduce the Decision Review System during the England- Bangladesh two Test series with the First Test that began at Lord’s on Thursday and continue the system in the Second Test at Old Trafford.

Before going on to further comment on the above we would like to ask the ICC why they are reluctant to accept, appreciate and acknowledge that the Decision Review System was the brainchild of Sri Lanka Attorney-at-Law and cricket expert Senaka Weeraratne?

To the credit of Weeraratne it must be said that he has sent the ICC enough and more reminders during the last two years on the above subject, but other than for one vague acknowledgement, his reminders must be lying in cobweb land some place in their headquarters in Dubai.

Apartheid?

Surely when the ICC talks about the DRS, and at their meetings they can’t say that the DRS and the man who initiated it do not come to mind. Shame on the lords in Dubai that they cannot take a decision at several of their meetings and give honour where honour is due. Is this also a different kind of apartheid?

Come, come members of the ICC it is time that you came down from your ivory towers and appreciate, acknowledge, accept and honour Weeraratne and his concept that has been accepted as being good for the game.

To the DRS and the two Test series between England and Bangladesh and now the excuse that the ICC is adducing for not being able to introduce the system is that talks between the ICC and Sky TV the broadcaster has failed unable to reach agreement on the allocation of costs for the system use.

The ICC are keen to use the DRS system extensively as possible in all forms of the game where teams are allowed two referrals per innings where they can challenge an on-field umpire’s decision, with the third umpire using television technology to decide whether the umpires on the field have got it right.

Gunny bags of money

The ICC are making gunny bags of money on their two comedies that they call cricket - the 50 over and the Twenty20. Several broadcasters are pumping in hundreds of million of pounds for cricket rights and coverage.

It is time that the ICC pulled out money from their gunny bags and contributed in the implementation of the DRS system that they are so frightfully keen to introduce.

The lords in Dubai are also keen to implement this system during the World Cup to be held in the sub-continent next year. It is time that they met with the broadcasters and came to an understanding agreeable to both parties. Otherwise when World Cup 50 over cricket time comes around they will still be fiddling and the system would only remain a system, sans implementation.

The former great Australian all-rounder and captain Richie Benaud once said that the ICC members other than for meeting to decide when to meet again do sweet nothing for the game. How true!

Little wonder then that the ICC still sport that ‘Toothless Tiger’ tag.

ICC in the dark about coloured balls

The International Cricket Council, governing body for the game world wide, is unable to decide whether they are going to introduce another comedy to the game or not.

This time round they are toying with the idea of playing the time honoured and respected game of Test cricket under lights with a coloured ball. But thank god, they are unable to decide what the colour of the ball should be and decided to put the concept on hold for at least 18 months.

Test cricket which is what the game is all about, should remain as it is and should not be tinkered with and made another comedy or mockery like the 50 and Twenty20 games of cricket are. Instead of attempting to introduce all the gimmicks possible and lower the levels of Test cricket, the think tanks in the ICC must think deep and come out with ideas that would make the established game more interesting so that crowds would flock to take in the action.

Blessings

The ICC gave their blessings to the 50 over and Twenty20 games and influenced the crowds to flock to these games. Spectators pay ungrudgingly to take in the excitement and action in the instant game and they enjoy it.

But in the final analysis there is nothing to savour from these games, but to enjoy the blind bash by the batsmen who throw the niceties, the technicalities and all the great things in the older version of the game to the winds.

In the Twenty20 games the ICC allows the shortening of the boundaries and batsmen swing blindly and every blind shot sails over the fence for six and the batsmen, spectators and the lords at the ICC enjoy a ball. No big deal. The Twenty20 game especially, that has now caught on in the schools, according to former cricketers who were nurtured on the longer duration of the game, is going to kill the established game and technique and turn out cricketers who would find it no big job to find a place in a baseball team.

Exquisite and elegant

The exquisite and elegant cover drives, square cuts, drives on the V, the glance and all other copy book strokes would be a thing of the past. The younger and budding generation would not know what these strokes were.

The older generation of cricketers are cursing the ICC for allowing the time honoured game and strokes to be made a comedy and a mockery by introducing comedy cricket just to fill theirs, the players and the Cricket Boards coffers. According to ICC General Manager of Cricket and former South African wicket keeper, batsman Dave Richardson the ICC is not clear as they thought they were and so the ICC has decided to put on hold the coloured ball concept in Test cricket for another 18 months. According to Richardson some are saying that the orange ball is better, others are saying the pink ball is better, there are some who are saying this shade of pink is better than that shade of pink. For the moment the ICC has left it to the scientists to tell them.

One hopes that the scientists will tell the ICC to forget their coloured ball concept for the established game, and instead of making a mockery of test cricket play the game with a white ball, cream flannels and in day light.