The Surfer

You will find very few networks on cricket broadcast actually taking on matters of this sensitivity. So, for example, you won't find anyone talking about why a Pakistan player shouldn't be in the IPL. [These are] very sensitive matters that you have got to be careful not to inflame. In my case, I am very clear that my job here is not to be an opinion-maker, but to be a storyteller. I believe I am an opinion-maker on Twitter, in my articles. But, I have never ever been told, 'You will not say this'. I have just been told, 'Let's not say something that might offend.' That was a long time ago. In recent times, I haven't been told that.

These are dark days indeed, with darker ones ahead. Leaks are flying everywhere, and Chris is being nailed in the court of public opinion, without a chance to answer, as the ICC circumvent him. That in itself is appalling. They simply must wind this matter up and make a decision. They act as slowly as a hedgehog in a thoughtful meditative state. The longer they carry on at this roadkill pace, the sooner they destroy the very game they supposedly govern. The ICC are serious serial offenders in gifting their wicket, and this is one of their worst innings.

So the World Cup, contested in two countries populated mostly by hard-nosed players for whom a world title is more than just an opportunity for graft (of the palm-greasing variety) may not only re-assert the virtues of the 50-over game, but it may also help save cricket. There will be millions watching for any sign of a rogue no-ball, coloured bat handles and surprising errors in the field.

With power comes this responsibility and at the first whiff of impropriety, they need to come down hard. The BCCI can argue they did precisely that by banning Sreesanth and the others almost immediately but by their opposition to the Mudgal Commission they have got the public concerned. Like all organisations they must feel the pulse of the consumers, the fans, and while the public enjoy watching the IPL, as indeed I do, there is a growing feeling that the BCCI isn't trying hard enough to convince them that they are watching a fair contest everytime. And as more revelations, like those from Vincent and others that gave testimony, tumble out, the need to reach out to the public must grow even stronger.

In practice, match-fixing is a betrayal - of the game, the spectator, the players and the human spirit. The fan feels as the thwarted spouse who discovers the last 20 years of jolly family photographs have been a sham. You can never again conjure up happy memories of the moment, the day, the man without thinking of the reality -- the past is forever spoilt by knowledge gained in the present.

Were the approaches reported by Shane Watson, Mashrafe Mortaza, Paul Nixon and so many others insufficient proof? Or is it that cricket, the community around the sport, is still in denial about the extent of the problem it is facing?

"The team also represented something so unique, so loved and longed for - the diversity of people, ethnicity and religion and how we manage to understand and value each other and perform so well. That instilled a sense of responsibility in us.

In the end, you have to empower players to make decisions on their own. They are in the middle and they have to make choices and decisions. All we tell them is to make smart decisions and back themselves to execute those decisions. It may not always work and we may not always succeed, but as long as our players are making the right choices with the bat or the ball, or at least the right choices in their opinion, there is a logical thinking behind the decisions that they are making in the middle.

After last season when Delhi Police charged some of their players with colluding with illegal bookmakers and co-owner Raj Kundra with placing illegal bets, it was only fair to expect RR team management to take extreme care in not providing any grist to the grapevine. Sadly, that was not to be.

When AB sits in the team meetings, and talks, without giving away his secrets, it's amazing to know how he wants to hit the ball. He wants the bowlers to bowl at him in his areas. Maxwell too is in the same category, but AB collects runs initially before hitting around in the end. When you plan against guys like AB and Maxwell, especially AB because AB goes both sides of the wicket - he laps this way and laps that way. You gotta try and stick to one field, and minimum strategies. What I am saying is, for these kind of players you shouldn't overplan, but try to keep it as simple as possible because bowlers shouldn't have five complex plans but two simple plans to execute. Why are bowlers not trying yorkers these days?