Wills Cup Snippets (31 October 1998)

31 October 1998

Wills Cup Snippets

Syed Ashfaqul Haque

Has Gordon Greenidge really tendered his resignation? This was the talk of the stadium arena yesterday.

A leading Bengali daily ran a story on the Caribbean cricket coach of Bangladesh yesterday, suggesting that he had submitted his letter of resignation from the post of Director of Coaching. Greenidge is neither happy with how the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is treating him, nor with its initiative for the development of the game nationally, the report cited those as the principal reasons for his resignation.

With the wet field keeping cricket at bay, newsmen engaged themselves in a race to dig out the truth, if there really was any, from the Board officials. Greenidge did not turn up at the stadium to watch the match yesterday, probably due to the cloudy sky or sensing a media mob. He also could not be reached for his comment over telephone.

When approached, top BCB officials expressed their ignorance about any such information.

A BCB source however confirmed on condition of anony-mity that Greenidge submitted a letter indeed on October 25; but it was certainly not his letter of resignation. Although he did not know the exact contents of the letter, he hinted that it could be yet another Greenidge-warning sent to the Board. Cricket's ruling body in the country has long been criticised for its lack of drive for the development of the game as well as making virtually no use of the talent of the West Indian great.

So, the report of the Bengali daily is probably smoke without fire.

South African batsman Daryll Cullinan made his century appearance in one-day cricket against Sri Lanka yesterday. Cullinan, coming in as an opener, celebrated the personal mark with 30 runs from 43 balls. The stocky right-hander has scored 3092 runs in the abridged version of the game with the help of three centuries and 20 half-centuries. He reached the 3000 club on October 25 when he hit 69 in the quarter-final against England.

The giant Pepsi trolley was not allowed on to the field during the drinks breaks yesterday. The outfield, close to the VIP end, remained a bit soggy even after the hectic efforts put in by the groundsmen led by their chairman Enayet Hossain Siraj during the long dry-up operation. The Tournament Grounds Committee imposed a temporary bar on the trolley in a bid to prevent further disruption of the sodden surface.

Banana has been banned at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. A section of senseless spectators seem to be very fond of throwing peels of the delicious fruit inside the field whenever comes an occasion of celebration or dejection. Sensing that the peels might cause trouble to the players, the Pepsi ball boys and the on-duty persons inside the field, BCB has quite sensibly banned bananas. But the players are always privileged across the globe. The Sri Lankans had bananas during the drinks break in yesterday's match.

A few buoyant South African supporters gathered at the Special Enclosure of the gallery. The fun-loving Proteas got along well with Bangladesh's cultured crowd. They clapped, chanted, fluttered flags and generated Mexican waves along with the majority of the fans.

Is Bob Woolmer's heart going out for Warwickshire? The South African coach has got a few lucrative offers at hands. It was learnt that Woolmer, whom South Africa has retained up to the 1999 World Cup, has neither accepted nor rejected any of those propositions. Woolmer coached county club Hampshire before taking over the mantle of South African cricket. Source said, he has an inclination for Warwickshire.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)