Will his deeds match his words?

"I never worry about action, only inaction" said Sir Winston Churchill. The same expression can be used on the 'Hansiegate' scandal for on Monday there was no action on the match-fixing front. With no significant developments from any part of the world and virtually no news whatsoever on the Indian front, it was a barren day following a series of action packed weeks. Even the customary press meets for briefings on the progress of the case were not held, except for the testimony of Hamid Cassim in the King Commission.

The coming weeks should see some action with the crucial ICC meeting currently underway. With a former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Condon being appointed as Director of the ICC's anti-corruption wing, things seem to have really hotted up at the ICC. Despite opposition from Pakistan, Condon has been given full powers and heads a team of four which is independent of the ICC's executive board. The team will report directly to the Code of Conduct Commission. Condon has a reputation for his tirade against corruption during the years in the Metropolitan police. This can be seen as the first positive step by the ICC in their effort to wipe out the spread of the cancer from the game.

Condon who had his appointment questioned by some member countries, said "I profoundly respect those views, but I've been satisfied by the President today that there is a critical mass of support and all the constituent boards will support the endeavour that we're talking about.'' He added ``This is about cricket and not about colour or race. Everyone is aware of the challenges I've been through in recent years and if anyone is sensitive to the need to treat everybody fairly regardless of race, colour and religion, then hopefully it's someone like me. I bring to this challenge that experience and that sensitivity."

Condon was of the opinion that universally all those who love the game want something to happen to eradicate corruption. He said "There is an absolute resolve within world cricket to deal with this, the alternative is really unthinkable. All the legitimate stakeholders in cricket want something to happen, whether they are players, fans or administrators - it's in the interest of everyone to get this right."

On his role, Condon said "My role will be to make sure there is proper co-ordination of the endeavour around the world to deal with these issues, to make sure we get in place the best regime within cricket so that these sort of things cannot happen so easily in the future."

Condon has his task cut out right away with UCBSA managing director's Ali Bacher's testimony to the King Commission where he alleged that the World Cup 1999 match between India and Pakistan was fixed. It was subsequently referred under protest to the ICC by India. He also has to check the authenticity of the tapes with regard to Salim Malik's alleged conversation with an undercover journalist of the News of the World newspaper.

The former policeman has voiced his opinion confidently to start with, but given the situation with vote bank politics playing a big way within the ICC, one has to see whether he will be given a free hand which he would like to have. With the racial divide clearly evident, one wonders whether he can really get the necessary help from the member countries. Under the circumstances, with an agenda on match-fixing, one can look forward to a stormy session at the ICC meeting in the coming days.

In India, there seems to be a lull for the past few days. One of the reasons for the sudden dullness could be attributed to the King Commission inquiry. But things can move rapidly with a sudden burst of statements from any one of the major players in the ongoing match-fixing scandal to keep the pot boiling. Surely one can expect more drama once the investigative agency summons three former captains for deposition. As William Blake put it in his essay `There is no natural religion' - Reason, or the ratio of all we have already known, is not the same that it shall be when we know more.