20 November, 2000

G'day all... back again after my travels, and considerably amused by the stuff coming out of the office of the ICC chairman.

Apparently -- in the perceived wisdom of Malcolm Gray, at least, it IS apparent -- India has committed a grave sin by opting out of a scheduled tour of Pakistan.

Apparently India is to blame for the loss suffered by the Pakistan board, and should pay financial compensation (interesting thought, that -- is the Pakistan government liable to financial compensation for the enormous losses suffered by Kashmir which has, thanks to the ongoing terrorism, completely lost out on its tourist business for example?).

Maybe, friend Gray adds, India should also be suspended from the ICC, as punishment for this dastardly act.

Duh! I could be wrong, but is Malcolm Gray an Australian?

Yes? Right -- was Malcolm Gray one of the movers and shakers in the Australian Cricket Board before taking over as ICC chairman?

Yes? Right -- in that case, would Malcolm Gray like to tell the rest of the world why Australia refused to play a scheduled World Cup fixture in Sri Lanka? Would he like to tell us how much compensation Australia (and the West Indies) paid Sri Lanka for pulling out of two prestigious fixtures, that were guaranteed to be full-house fixtures? And while on the subject, could Gray tell us for what period Australia and the West Indies were banned, by the ICC, for pulling out of fixtures the two countries had committed to?

Then, it was okay for Australia to cite security concerns. Why should the Indian government now not be similarly concerned with the safety of its players, at a time when Indian citizens on INDIAN SOIL are being killed by terrorists "brought to you", as the ad-meisters say, by Pakistan?

Oh but, it will be argued, Pakistan has guaranteed full security to the Indian team. So? Sri Lanka had, similarly, guaranteed the security of the Australian and West Indies teams, they had even offered to allow security officials from those countries to participate in the policing exercise -- how come that guarantee didn't cause Australia and Windies to go ahead with games they had committed to playing?

Interestingly, though India had previous pulled out of a Toronto encounter between the two teams, Gray had nothing to say at the time.

Equally interestingly, the Indian government permitted the team to play Pakistan in the World Cup -- arguing that one country should not disrupt a global event. Which is more than Australia did, during that famous pullout of the Sri Lanka fixture.

India is at fault for pulling out of a BILATERAL fixture, which only affects the coffers of the two concerned countries. Yet, India should, according to its chairman, be suspended from the ICC.

Australia, though, was not at fault for pulling out of the ICC's own flagship tournament?!

There is, presumably, some logic in there somewhere -- but for the life of me, I can't see it.

In passing, I must confess that I am a touch pissed off with the Indian government as well. Where lies the sense in banning the cricket team from touring Pakistan, but simultaneously permitting the Pakistan polo team to tour India?

Isn't it time our government came up with some kind of blanket policy, relating to ALL sporting relations, anywhere, against Pakistan?

Or is it that the government is merely trying to earn brownie points from the public by going after a high profile game like cricket?

Either way, it would be nice to get some answers.

Meanwhile, have a good day all.....

Prem

Mail Cricket Editor