Boards face severe losses if final is abandoned

The final of the Videocon Cup may be another rain-hit affair and the boards of the three participating countries are likely to incur severe losses as a result. The Pakistan, Indian and Australian cricket boards stand to lose around US$2million of the guarantee money for television rights if the final is abandoned, according to the Karachi-based The News daily paper.

All three matches have been affected by the rain, and only one of them, the high-voltage opener between India and Pakistan, had a clear winner. The second game was washed out in the 32nd over, while the third was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

However, these losses could be reduced by nearly half a million dollars if the match is completed. As per the original agreement, the three boards will share the earnings from the tournament equally, while the Dutch cricket association will keep the gate takings.

Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, lamented the crisis and said there was also a suggestion to reschedule the whole tournament, which would have extended it o August 29. "But Australia rejected both proposals for different reasons. They said they could not ask their players to play three games in four days as it would be taxing on them. They also said they could not go for an extension because they had scheduled warm-up matches in England in the lead-up to the ICC Champions Trophy."

Sony Set Max, the Indian company that won the broadcasting rights, was reported to have paid approximately US$6million for the television and other rights for the tournament. "As per international regulations and contractual obligations," Shaharyar continued, "the broadcaster has the right to reduce the guarantee amount if matches in a tournament are not completed properly for any reason."

As if by divine intervention, the rest of Holland had been affected by very little rain in the last week. Shaharyar said: "Only the part where the ground is located in Amstelveen the rainfall has been up to 36mm." He added that the showers weren't expected at this time of the year and concluded, "I would not say the planning was poor on part of the boards for scheduling the tournament in Holland at this time of the year."