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| November 26, 2001 | Monday | Ramazan 10, 1422 |
ICC, India brace for new crisis
LONDON, Nov 25: England’s tour of India could be cast into doubt as India’s power struggle with the International Cricket Council (ICC) threatens a fresh crisis within the next few days.
If India select banned batsman Virender Sehwag for the first Test against England at Mohali starting on December 3, cricket’s world governing body is likely to declare the Test null and void, just as it did the third Test between South Africa and India.
That would leave England with the stark choice of either abandoning the series before a ball is bowled, or taking the field against the ICC’s wishes.
The England and Wales Cricket Board have already made their position clear, chairman Lord MacLaurin saying: “We stand full square behind the ICC... They control world cricket — we have anarchy at the moment.”
Asked about Sehwag, he told Sky News on Sunday: “As far as we are concerned he won’t be playing (in the first Test) — if selected, it would be a very short-sighted view by the Indians. He quite clearly won’t be eligible.”
Asked if the tour could be called off, he said: “I think that would be absolutely tragic... It would be the last thing on our minds to even think about pulling out.”
The 23-year-old Sehwag, barely known outside India a week ago, has unwittingly become the central figure of a controversy that is threatening to split the world of cricket.
The affair began when six Indian players, including Sehwag, were censured by ICC-appointed match referee Mike Denness in the second Test against South Africa.
Indian cricket board head Jagmohan Dalmiya, indignant over the decisions and particularly over Sachin Tendulkar being sanctioned for ball tampering, threatened a match boycott before persuading South Africa, under pressure from its own government, to sack Denness for the third and final Test without ICC permission.
The ICC responded to what it saw as a challenge to its authority by stripping the match of its Test status, a decision Dalmiya has since declared unconstitutional.
If Tendulkar, an icon in India and without a previous blemish on his reputation, and Denness were the key figures of the past week, Sehwag will be the central protagonist in the days to come.
Sehwag, accused of excessive appealing in only his second Test, was the one Indian player to be given an immediate one-match ban by Denness.
The Indians, by not selecting him for the third match against South Africa, argue the ban has been served.
The ICC, though, in not recognising that game, maintains Sehwag is not eligible for India’s next official Test, against England in Mohali.
India’s selectors are expected to name a squad for that game on Tuesday. If Sehwag, who only made his Test debut earlier this month, is selected, the situation could further spiral out of control.
Dalmiya, the previous ICC president and the current head of the Asian Cricket Council, appeared to try to defuse the situation by suggesting in a BBC radio interview: “We are respecting, we will respect in future all decisions of the ICC.” He also denied trying to lead an Asian cricket breakaway.
MacLaurin said: “Any talk of a split along racial lines is unacceptable and very sad — hopefully we’ll look back on this in a month’s time and it will just be a little bit of a storm in a teacup.”
India’s position, meanwhile, appeared increasingly isolated Sunday, as the South African media attacked its own board for caving in to Indian demands and allowing the third ‘Test’ to go ahead without Denness.
“SA (South Africa) players not consulted as UCB (United Cricket Board) fumbles the Indian blackmail ball,” was the headline above a Sunday Times sports page opinion piece.
“The most shameful revelation to emerge from South Africa’s confrontation with the ICC is that the UCB failed to consult the players before robbing them and their followers of a Test match,” the article said.
A news page devoted to the controversy was lead with a piece headlined “Captain takes on the cricket board.” It included South Africa captain Shaun Pollock’s opinion that the match should never be recognised as a Test.
An editorial, headlined “SA cricket barters its credibility”, said: “South Africa’s cricket officials put short term financial considerations before ahead of the long-term health of the game when they bowled to an Indian ultimatum before the third Test at Centurion.”
“UCB’s error of judgement helped turn dispute into a disaster,” the Sunday Independent headlined on its front page.
“The (UCB) appeared to give in to the (Indian) threats (of cancelling the rest of the tour) by appointing a match referee of its own.
“The situation was compounded by the UCB saying, ad infinitum, that the match would go ahead at all costs. True to form, this is what has come to pass, although at what cost to both South African and Indian cricket no one is entirely sure.”
“Make no mistake, Sachin Tendulkar was ball tampering (although it wasn’t of the ripping or seam lifting variety) and there was some fairly excessive appealing by the Indian fielders.”—Reuters
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