ICC meeting: Officials should put aside differences

Will the match fixing scandal be swept under the carpet? Will there be some dramatic or even drastic developments? Will the meeting turn out to be a slanging match with racial overtones? Will the problem be solved? What steps will be taken? These are some of the thoughts in India on the eve of the all important ICC meeting at Lord's on May 2 and 3. Going by the recent utterances of some of the administrators billed to attend the conclave, and the developments since the match fixing scam broke last month, some explosive action cannot be ruled out.

Ever since the scandal blew open last month, the onus has been on the ICC to come to terms with the fact that - to put it mildly - all is not exactly clean with international cricket. This has been known even to the average cricket fan for some time now. He is aware that there cannot be smoke without fire. But the ICC, out of touch with the grim reality of the situation, had for too long been dormant. Last month, faced with the scandal blowing wide open, and confronted by governments wanting to get to the bottom of the truth, the ICC had no option but to swing into action belatedly. But since the meeting was called, there have been various developments all around the cricketing world - most of them unhealthy - leading most cricket fans to believe that Lord's could be just another meeting where allegations are hurled at one another, where nothing concrete will emerge or worse, things could degenerate into a shouting match between white and non white countries.

But then one was sceptical on the eve of the meeting the Indian Sports Minister SS Dhindsa convened with players and officials on April 27. Something concrete however emerged with the government announcing that a CBI inquiry would go into the match fixing scandal in India. Whether this is the panacea for the problem or not, it has been acknowledged as the best way to deal with the situation. So perhaps one should not be unduly pessimistic about the outcome of the Lord's meeting.

A point of some concern is that every country seems to be having some problem on the match fixing front. The scandal has spread like cancer - India, Pakistan, England, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa. And as recent as yesterday there was a report that Sri Lankan players had also been approached by bookies. So it is not an easy task that the ICC administrators face. And they will only be making things even more difficult if they indulge in ego clashes and base their arguments along regional or racial lines.

The match fixing scandal is a cancer which has assumed menacing proportions thanks to the lethargic approach of the ICC. If the New Delhi police had not stumbled upon the Hansie Cronje transcripts, the ICC officials would probably still be sleeping over the matter in their ivory towers while it continued its malignant growth. Now however all the administrators are aware of the potentially explosive situation. ``It's the biggest crisis in the sport in decades,'' Ali Bacher is quoted to have said and he could not have described it better. He also said that there will be an opportunity in London for an honest and open discussion on the issue.

So long as the deliberations are `honest' and `open' it is fine. And the assurance of amnesty for anyone coming forward with information on match fixing is to be welcomed. This, besides encouraging those wanting to give information, also makes the atmosphere properly benign. Now it only remains for the men at the helm of affairs at cricket's governing body to rise to the occasion, put aside petty jealousies and racial or regional arguments and tackle the menace head on. It is not just the players who are under scrutiny but also the administrators themselves - perhaps even more so. The officials who will deliberate at Lord's would do well to remember that the game will be the loser if they don't put aside their differences.