da mrbet： The ICC as always has shown how reluctant it is to take any kind ofaction based on reason or fair play
da bet7： Woorkheri Raman23-Nov-2001
©CricInfo
The cricket world is in danger of being split into two as a result ofthe ICC backing the decisions of the match referee Mike Denness atPort Elizabeth. There are a lot of issues in this episode, which wouldgive birth to all sorts of arguments and in a way every argument wouldhave its justification. What has happened over the last three days issomething, which will alter the functioning of the apex body ininternational cricket if not the history of the game.Mike Denness has gone by the book in meting out sentences to theIndian cricketers. There is nothing wrong with that but the main boneof contention is that he has not been consistent in punishing anyoneand everyone guilty of going against the ICC code of conduct for theplayers. There has been mixed opinions from across the world about theBCCI and the Indians over-reacting because Tendulkar has beensuspended and fined for allegedly “tampering with the ball”. That’ssheer nonsense. The point here is that six players have been broughtto book.
©AFP
Tendulkar, at worst, can be deemed guilty of cleaning the seam withoutinforming the umpire. Yes, there is some logic in that ruling. But toaccuse him of ball-tampering and imposing such severe fines was goingover the top. There have been instances when past conduct (good orbad) has been taken into account before fining or banning a player.Some referees have even taken the inexperience of a player intoaccount. In the case of Tendulkar, it is a fact known the world overthat he would be the last person to resort to cheap tactics. A finewould have been more than adequate if the referee wanted to get intothe limelight. Sehwag, meanwhile, has just got into internationalcricket and to ban him almost straightaway is being far tooridiculous.The final straw was the sentence given to the Indian captain, SouravGanguly. There was no word from the umpires on the field that his boyswere appealing either excessively or menacingly. That being the casethere was no way Ganguly could have been fined and suspended for notcontrolling his team. Thank God that Denness did not fine Dravid andDasgupta for playing too sedately on the final day! The one thing tobe considered is that going by the book is alright but when theplayers have no right to even fend for themselves, it would be prudentto bring common sense into play and also go by the spirit of the laws.Going by the way Denness has gone about things, it seems that commonsense was something he chose to ignore completely.The ICC as always has shown how reluctant it is to take any kind ofaction based on reason or fair play. It was not a surprise that ICCsupported Denness to the hilt, for if at all any organizing body isfull of double standards, then it is the ICC. If the ICC’sinvestigating authorities can take a single word “NO” to absolvecertain players regarding their alleged involvement in match fixing,then what prevented the ICC taking Tendulkar’s word when he said hemerely cleaned the ball, not altered its condition. Then, of course,the English authorities have always adopted the “holier than thou”attitude towards the rest of the world and even more so in the case ofthe sub-continent.The BCCI should be appreciated for the stand it took and it was timethe bubble burst. There has always been a general feeling backed byenough evidence that the Indian cricketers were hard done by onseveral occasions by the match referees. That the UCBSA has askedDenness to step down is almost a fierce slap on the face of the ICC,which goes to show how strong the international cricket body is. The”Denness Drama” will continue for a fair period of time and it willinteresting to see how the plot unfolds in the next few weeks. At themoment the ICC’s power and its very existence is in question and it isa case of acting now to restore some sense back into this game andavoid further embarrassment in the future.
