The Surfer

Repeatedly we are told that there is far too much at stake for too many people, for the IPL Board to even so much as contemplate the idea of such a postponement or a cancellation. But who are these stakeholders, and why should elected governments stretch their security apparatus dangerously thin in order to protect their interests?

And this must not happen. In the Test match context, in particular, world cricket is fragile and needs Pakistan to be conspicuous and competitive. And, to this end, Australians can assist by supporting the home series with Pakistan later this year. Whether the game can survive in Pakistan, let alone prosper, with the elite players playing all home games out of the country is problematic.

Has there ever been a more wrong-headed reading of a major incident surrounding a sports team? How could a senior administrator put both feet knee deep into an issue where sensitivity would have seemed essential? It may be that Butt felt his country's security forces needed some verbal support in a time of stress. Or it could be that in terms of possessing a skerrick of diplomacy in his veins, he's on a par with a goat.

Television rights deals alone are worth $1 billion (about £708 million) and income from merchandising and gate receipts are vital to the eight regional teams, which have invested $720 million in their franchises buying star players from around the world, but which have racked up financial losses from the inaugural tournament last year.
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The patience of the tycoons bankrolling the series, such as Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, who bought Mumbai Indians for £112 million and has since taken a battering on the Mumbai stock exchange, will soon wear thin unless they get rapid assurances that the tournament is guaranteed to offer a return on their ambitious investments.

Theirs is a war against joy, a crusade against union, a jihad against humanity. After the terrorists — brave souls prepared to risk a battle against men with cricket bats while armed only with rifles and rocket launchers — made their attack on the Sri Lanka team, we have to wonder if big-time sport will become a worldwide target. If so, sport as we know it will be changed for ever. Big sporting events as we know them will no longer be feasible.

All the evidence of the series so far is that England need as many bowlers as they can muster to take the 20 opposition wickets to level a series they were expected to win comfortably.
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As he spoke, it was as if he was computing in his brain the cards bearing the names of the players. If five bowlers is the preferred option, he must leave out a batsman from the previous match – a straight choice between the two friends, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara.

I notice he wanted Andrew Strauss to tell him where he stands, but that reaction is just the same old Harmison. He shouldn't be asking other people where he stands. He should be looking in the mirror and asking himself whether he's done enough to help this team. The stats suggest he hasn't. England have to think long and hard about his future – and it should not include today's game.

He's determined, but not too determined, to come good when hostilities against South Africa resume in the second Test on Friday. "I'm trying to go the other way and stay as relaxed as possible," Hussey said when asked if he had analysed the reasons for the first horror run of his Test career. "I had a good look at myself in the series back home against South Africa. I think, in the first two Tests anyway, I was really trying so hard.”

Touring dangerous countries was previously an occupational hazard for elite sportsmen and women. After Tuesday's events, it has become a threat to the existence of professional sport in large parts of the world ...