The Surfer
Jones eyes place on Cricket Victoria board
Dean Jones is pushing for a spot on Cricket Victoria’s board but there are concerns over a conflict of interest because of his role in the Indian Cricket League
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Dean Jones is pushing for a spot on Cricket Victoria’s board but there are concerns over a conflict of interest because of his role in the Indian Cricket League. In the Age Martin Blake talks to Jones, who says the series is hosting “glorified exhibition matches”.
Full postWhy England must turn to Monty Panesar
Michael Atherton says in the Sunday Telegraph that England must pick Monty Panesar as he is potentially England's best modern one-day spinner
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Michael Atherton says in the Sunday Telegraph that England must pick Monty Panesar as he is potentially England's best modern one-day spinner.
Two things must happen over the next three years if England are to go to the next World Cup in India with an attacking spin option and, therefore, a realistic chance of winning. Panesar needs to understand himself that he is an aggressive rather than a defensive option ... he needs experience. Collingwood and the coach, Peter Moores, should now make a pledge to themselves that in all but the most extreme conditions Panesar must play.
And Vic Marks of the Guardian also argues for Monty's inclusion.
Full postHow BCCI slept over its own 'ICL'
Chandresh Narayanan, writing in the Times of India , traces the origins of the Indian board's own professional league.
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Chandresh Narayanan, writing in the Times of India, traces the origins of the Indian board's own professional league.
The ICL was an idea initially floated by current board vice-president Lalit Modi way back in 1996. He had registered a company called Indian Cricket League with the late board president Madhavrao Scindia as chairman. That ICL was also supposed to be a six-team city-centric league to be played under lights with four foreigners per team. Teams like Mumbai were to be called Mumbai Lions and the stage was set for the league to be rolled.
Coverage on Mascarenhas
Sports sections of the London dailies have left Alex Brown rather unimpressed after they failed to mention the successes of Dimtri Mascarenhas, who according to Brown, "might sound like an outdated 1990s dance fad, but is making all the right
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Sports sections of the London dailies have left Alex Brown rather unimpressed after they failed to mention the successes of Dimtri Mascarenhas, who according to Brown, "might sound like an outdated 1990s dance fad, but is making all the right moves for England's one-day cricket team". He writes in the Sydney Morning Herald:
Mascarenhas's story is one of perseverance, commitment and sacrifice - a kid who left his home in Western Australia to pursue a dream, only to realise it a decade later than originally planned. But, hey, he isn't dating an Atomic Kitten, so good luck finding a mention of him outside the details page.
This week, the latest chapter in Mascarenhas's remarkable cricketing story was penned with the wicket of Rahul Dravid, his first international victim, to seal a comprehensive win for England. For a nation that ought to count limited-overs victories like dogs count years, this should have been a moment to savour (on the Paul Collingwood-MBE scale, there may even have been grounds for knighting).
Full postProtection of umpires
Richard Boock looks at the practice of denying basic technological assistance to umpires and referees in sports with a jaundiced eye in New Zealand's Sunday Star Times .
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Richard Boock looks at the practice of denying basic technological assistance to umpires and referees in sports with a jaundiced eye in New Zealand's Sunday Star Times.
One day, hopefully soon, we'll be able to speak with feigned disbelief about a time when the only person who wasn't allowed access to all the information in a multi-million dollar operation, was the one person who was charged with running it competently.
"Why ever did you do that?" the children will chorus, and the answers will surely have them doubled over in near fits: "Well, we wanted to retain a certain human charm ... we didn't want to slow things down ... it would've detracted from the tradition of the game ... haven't you heard of the `glorious uncertainty of sport'?"
And in the Sportstar Ted Corbett wants to know why there isn't a Society for Protection of Umpires in World Cricket.
Full post‘I don’t play for the camera, I am not scared of anything’
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
After an indifferent Test series, Sreesanth is not in the Indian ODI side playing a seven-match series in England, but he's not short on confidence. Back home in Kochi, Sreesanth says he has a point to prove again, in South Africa, with the Twenty20 side. Read his interview in the Indian Express.
In his column for the same newspaper, Harsha Bhogle says that the Indian board (BCCI) may be forced to look at the reality of Indian cricket in the eye rather than offer it a bored, distracted glance. A good Indian Cricket League (ICL) debut will be good for Indian cricket and best for the BCCI, he feels.
Full postAll sport has to be about three things. Revenues and therefore, profits; the players; and the spectators. Normally, in a good competitive environment, the first of those should derive from the second and the third.
The odds on BCCI and ICL
The BCCI-ICL face-off continues and who will emerge the winner among two is a favourite question with comment and leader writers.
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
The BCCI-ICL face-off continues and who will emerge the winner among two is a favourite question with comment and leader writers.
Aminah Sheikh works out the numbers in the Business Standard
The advantage for ICL players is that the amount in the contract is a guaranteed sum, as opposed to BCCI fees, which require that players be in the team for the match in question.
Therefore, factors like being dropped from the team and injuries could impact the fees of players affiliated to the BCCI. The prize money, however, at Rs 4.2 crore is the same for both sides, though the BCCI revised it yesterday.
Full postICL will unlock hidden value in cricket
Nandan Kamath, the director of an advisory firm for sports persons, believes that the competition from the ICL will be good for Indian cricket
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Nandan Kamath, the director of an advisory firm for sports persons, believes that the competition from the ICL will be good for Indian cricket. D Murali interviews him in the Hindu.
Stating that the BCCI was a completely independent “society” registered under the Societies Registration Act, the majority judgment of the Supreme Court held the organisation not to be “state” under Article 12 of the Indian Constitution. The flipside of this decision is that the BCCI’s practices do not enjoy the immunity from anti-monopoly, competition and restrictive trade practices laws that all state functionaries do. As a result, the BCCI’s actions would be subject to the general competition laws of the land.
Which means the recent reactions of BCCI can be questioned?
That’s right. The player and service provider bans, discriminatory denial of access to stadia and revocation of benefits could be challenged in a court of law by aggrieved parties based on legal principles such as unreasonable restraint of trade, unfair competition and the “essential facilities” doctrine.
Full postAustralia game for video technology
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Peter Lalor writes in the Australian about Australia’s high-tech computer games that double as training tools. Each squad member has a PlayStation to watch digital footage prepared by the coaches.
Nathan Bracken spends hours studying himself bowling and Matthew Hayden spent an entire flight from St Kitts to St Lucia examining digital images of himself batting against South Africa before a critical return match against the Proteas during the World Cup.
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