Of greed and stupidity

So the Indian board have backed Cricket Australia’s decision to charge agencies for the privilege of reporting matches, have they? Two outlandish wrongs never did come remotely close to making even a semi-acceptable right.

The immediate and shameful result of this utterly indefensible policy – and I say this even more as a fan than a journalist with a defensive axe or three to grind - may well be a blackout for the most eagerly-anticipated and poignant feat of the century to date, arguably in any sport: Muttiah Muralitharan’s attempt in Hobart later this week to harvest the seven wickets he needs to overhaul Shane Warne’s Test-record tally.

The broader picture is even more scandalous. In heedlessly, greedily following the lead of the Rugby World Cup organisers over the use of photographs on the web, and the flat racing authorities in Britain before them, Cricket Australia have chosen to ignore an inescapable verity. To wit, the written media provide the best free advertising in town. When newspapers here were asked to stump up a fee to print racing cards a few years ago, a one-day blanket blackout by the editors was all it took to force a rapid rethink and red-faced retraction.

Can you imagine a world in which Warner and his multitudinous Brothers charged correspondents for the privilege of sitting in dingy screening rooms and reviewing their movies? Or where Sony imposed a fee on those charged with reviewing their CDs? Or where correspondents were obliged to stump up money to cover a General Election? Easier to picture a racoon winning the Tour de France without the aid of a copious helping of drugs, right?

The ultimate sufferers in this case, of course, are not reporters, editors and filthy-rich newspaper magnates, but cricket lovers across the world, notably those millions without access to broadband connections and satellite dishes. To impose accreditation bans for publications and agencies that refuse to pay for this alleged privilege is to deny the public the detailed, insightful reports that deepen their knowledge and fuel their interest. In other words, to put it in a way that might chime rather better with contemporary mentalities at board level, to deprive the public is to risk alienation and an almost certain drain on future profits.

Of course, we all know those boards tend to focus on short-term forecasts and jam today, but still. However impractical it might seem, a suspension of newspaper coverage might be just the ticket. All you editors out there: come on, take a stand – and teach these buggers a lesson.