Hypocrisy rules over good governance at ICC
COMMENT
Malcolm Conn
November 06, 2006
IT's official. Cricket is utterly, morally bankrupt.
If the game had any threads of credibility left dangling following an ongoing series of fiascos, the game's governors cast them to the wind during a meeting in Mumbai that ended on Saturday.
In hypocrisy breathless even by cricket's now completely abolished standards, the International Cricket Council voted to dump Darrell Hair as an umpire and reinstate Zimbabwe's Test status from November next year.
On even the most basic understanding of due process and separation of powers, both decisions are totally indefensible.
These decisions show the growing power, arrogance and complete lack of good governance enshrined by the Asian bloc of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
With subservient South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies falling meekly in behind cricket's new power base, which is dominated by the overwhelming wealth of India, cricket has now become a fiefdom of the world's largest democracy.
Only Australia, England and New Zealand opposed the sacking of Hair, a decision which, in any credible organisation, could not possibly have been made by the board.
Forget all that nonsense about respect for the umpire and the spirit of cricket. There is now a very simple philosophy: if you don't like him, sack him.
Any suggestion that umpires must be impartial and their decisions respected is clearly old-fashioned.
Indeed, the game's officials in most countries must be so busy counting the vast wealth generated by television rights, mostly through India, that they have had no time to read the laws of cricket.
If they did they would find the preamble, entitled the Spirit of Cricket, states: "According to the laws the umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play."
If you've got a rule book, burn it. This is no longer the case. The sole judges of fair and unfair play will be the blokes who run the game, and if they don't like you, you're out on your ear.
The ICC has a separate umpiring department, appointed by the ICC board, to make appointments supposedly on merit. The department even has its own section on the ICC website which starts: "In keeping with its objective to ensure umpiring standards are upheld, the ICC has in place a sophisticated system of umpire assessment to aid officials in their performance and development."
It is now entirely clear how this system works.
Pakistan didn't like Darrell Hair because he and West Indian umpire Billy Doctrove reported the Pakistani team for ball-tampering during a Test against England, then enforced the first forfeit in 129 years of Test history when captain Inzamam Ul Haq refused to lead his team out after tea in protest.
After two weeks of blithering nonsense by Pakistan, in particular, and the subcontinent, in general, due process was followed and Inzamam was found not guilty of ball-tampering. However, because of his petulance, Inzamam was suspended for four one-day matches, the minimum penalty.
So Pakistan whinges to its mates on the Asian Cricket Council, other countries desperate to appease India in particular fall into line, and Hair is sacked for simply doing his job.
What a disgrace.
That Zimbabwe, cricket's festering rump, still remains on the ICC board to be part of such a decision, is equally disgraceful.
The Zimbabwe administration has been fighting claims of racism and corruption which have been treated in much the same way as Hair, with utter contempt.
Cricket teams are often regarded as a microcosm of their country and in Zimbabwe's case this is very appropriate. The country has been decimated by President Robert Mugabe, regarded internationally as a pariah, and the far-reaching tentacles of his discredited administration have done the same to the country's cricket.
Almost all the good players have fled to play overseas and the structure of the game has been completely wrecked by officials short on love for, or understanding of, the game but big on power and the wealth it brings.
Zimbabwe's national team is now no better than a decent Australian club side, with little prospect of any significant improvement. But for purely political reasons, helping to prop up the Asian bloc with its vote, Zimbabwe remains a full member of the ICC.
And, despite its dreadful playing standard, will now be allowed back into Test cricket to further diminish a playing standard already lowered by the politically motivated promotion of Bangladesh in 2000.
Enjoy the Ashes. It will be a welcome distraction from cricket's latest day of shame.
