Ali Bacher For ICC Chairman (09 Feb 1996)

Friday 09, February 1996

Ali Bacher for ICC chairman

Ali Bacher for chairman of the International Cricket Council. He should be the next nominee for this exalted post.

Former South African cricket captain and now its cricket boss, Bacher must be admired and appreciated for the outspoken stand he has taken on the pulling out of Australia and West Indies from the World Cup games here.

As it stands the present ICC President Sir Clyde Walcott and his men, seem unable or disabled to take a stand on the stubborn stance taken by the Aussies and the Windies. .

GOVERNING BODY

As the governing body for the established game, the ICC has a right to assert its authority and order its members to play the game. They can see for themselves the lame excuses that are being adduced to skip Sri Lanka.

As it is, the ICC has allowed the pulling out fiasco to fester and at the time of writing, have not moved to prod the boycotters to change their stance.

From information, ICC lords are expected to gather in India for the opening ceremony of the World Cup and then subsequently have a meeting. The ICC chairman has gone on record saying that there are considerable efforts going on behind the scenes to find a solution to the present difficulties.

FORMAL ONE

Graham Halibish, the ACB chief executive believes that the ICC meeting is only just a formal one at the WC opening with no decisionmaking powers.

If Halbish is to be believed, then that belief that the ICC meets only to decide when to meet again, and nothing beneficial is ever done for the game, holds good.

Now is the time for the ICC to show its bite. Otherwise former Aussie captain Richie Benaud must be awarded a merit for tagging the ICC a toothless tiger. .

SPOIL SPORTS

While the Aussies have now been tarred as spoil sports, it was surprising that the West Indies too pulled out. However their game against Sri Lanka is a long way off, and it is everyone`s hope that the glory boys of cricket will calypso sing their way to play us.

Ali Bacher and his record for the tremendous improvement of their game speaks for itself. He has put on the assembly lines several projects for the improvement and development of the game and their recent beating of England in the Tests and whitewashing them 6-1 in the one-dayers shows that all his hard work is beginning to tell. .

ON THE UP AND UP

In South Africa not only is cricket king. So is football and rugby. In this push they have the great Nelson Mandela as President who is 100 per cent behind sport promotion in the country. Mandela along with other sporting heads in the country has kicked out the dreaded apartheid and today not only sport but everything is on the up and up in Mandela`s South Africa.

Ali Bacher is not afraid to play in the riot-torn port city of Karachi. His words are worth repeating. `We are going to play cricket and will concentrate on cricket. We will leave the security to the host country.

Bacher also has no doubts that India too will provide them the necessary security. .

TALL SAILING SHIPS?

Our Minister of Sports, S. B. Dissanayake and the government has promised the Aussies all security. In fact it was even offered that they could stay in India and travel to the game by helicopter. What more do they want. Tall sailing ships?

If South Africa can play in riot-torn Karachi why can`t the Aussies and the West Indies do so in Sri Lanka? Surely the ICC must realise that these are double standards these cricketers are taking.

Anyway cricket is too good a game to be vandalized. Those attempting to do this must be given the leper treatment.

Source :: Lake House/Lanka Internet Services