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| March 8, 2003 | Saturday | Muharram 4, 1424 |
Indians lose appeal for semifinal switch
JOHANNESBURG, March 7: World Cup organisers rejected on Friday a bid by India to have the second semifinal changed from a day-nighter into a day game.
India, who are likely to reach that Durban semifinal on March 20, fear the toss could have a disproportionate influence on the result.
World Cup executive director Dr Ali Bacher, resonding to the request from Jagmohan Dalmiya, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said on Friday that the day-nighter would not be switched, adding he hoped that would end the matter.
“I spoke to Mr Dalmiya by telephone from Cape Town this afternoon to inform him of the decision reached by myself and colleagues from the organising committee,” Dr Bacher said in a statement.
“Having explained the thinking and reasons behind our decision, Mr Dalmiya repeated assurances given to me yesterday that he and the BCCI will accept this ruling in good faith.”
Dr Bacher had made it clear he would strongly oppose any switch. “Day-nighters are the most spectacular form of one-day games,” he said on Wednesday.
He added that historical statistics showed that the toss was not crucial for day-night matches in Durban.
He stressed a switch would upset thousand of spectators, who had already made travel plans to attend the match, as well as broadcasters, adding: “The time of the match was agreed and announced by the International Cricket Council way back in October 2001.”—Reuters
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