WITH the recent ban on Graeme Smith the number of captains finding themselves sitting in the bench as silent bystanders has risen to three. India’s Sourav Ganguly is out because of his team’s slow over rate, a charge that he shares with South African Smith, and Inzamamul Haq of Pakistan, who is out because of his over-reaction on the field. I wonder if ever before as many as three captains have found themselves in such a situation simultaneously. It looks like a record of sorts.
The International Cricket Council is quite clearly getting tough in its execution of the Players’ Code of Conduct. When it first introduced the concept of match referees, there were few who thought that the referees would be able to exert themselves effectively. After all, they would be dealing with international superstars and the pressure on the referees would be much more than the pressure that they would be able to put on the players. This is what people thought when the concept was introduced. But the referees have indeed come a long way, and the credit for it must go to the ICC.
As they started out, the referees themselves were not quite sure of what they were supposed to be doing except being there. I guess they also shared the overall public perception that the referees were there as part of ICC efforts to provide gainful employment to retired players. The public saw it as a cushion job for the referees, and the referees themselves were not quite sure of the difference between the perception and the reality. But apparently it was the way the ICC wanted to ease them into the job, keeping them away from undue controversies.
There were a few down the line who kicked up a row on their own by way of penalizing someone who was not actually guilty, or by going public when they needed to keep a low profile. It is again to the ICC’s credit that it kept a detailed performance record of its officials, and made the right move almost every time it was forced to take a decision.
With such fine-tuning, we have come to a stage where decisions taken by match referees are not generally contested by the players or by team officials. And this is so despite the fact that the referees are now getting tough and taking decisions that are somewhat harsh. This is like the ICC having the best of both worlds. And the main reason behind this visible calm on all counts, I guess, is the ICC Code of Conduct, which has been so appropriately worded that it leaves little doubt in the minds of all concerned. All possible actions and reactions have been covered, and the penalty for every breach has been outlined. We are not far from the stage where the player concerned would himself know his fate while committing an offence!
Moving on to the three captains in question, Smith and Inzamam would surely return to the fold as soon as they have served out the ban. Smith is a young player who has grown in stature ever since he was put in charge of the South African team, and has surprisingly been able to make the team stick together and click. Inzamam, on his part, has no rivals in the team, and his batting form is as consistent today as it has ever been.
The fate of Ganguly, however, is hanging in the balance rather delicately. The ban against him could not have come at a worse time. The subsequent handling of the penalty by the Indian board also confirmed the perception that the cricketing authorities in India want to use this opportunity to try out a new combination; a combination without Ganguly, of course.
WITH the recent ban on Graeme Smith the number of captains finding themselves sitting in the bench as silent bystanders has risen to three. India’s Sourav Ganguly is out because of his team’s slow over rate, a charge that he shares with South African Smith, and Inzamamul Haq of Pakistan, who is out because of his over-reaction on the field. I wonder if ever before as many as three captains have found themselves in such a situation simultaneously. It looks like a record of sorts.
With such fine-tuning, we have come to a stage where decisions taken by match referees are not generally contested by the players or by team officials. And this is so despite the fact that the referees are now getting tough and taking decisions that are somewhat harsh. This is like the ICC having the best of both worlds. And the main reason behind this visible calm on all counts, I guess, is the ICC Code of Conduct, which has been so appropriately worded that it leaves little doubt in the minds of all concerned. All possible actions and reactions have been covered, and the penalty for every breach has been outlined. We are not far from the stage where the player concerned would himself know his fate while committing an offence!
