Call it boss’s nuisance value

The International Cricket Council’s penchant for creating trouble has been as legendary as the game of cricket is. From racism charges to spineless decisions, from West-tilted moves to mishandling of issues like the Oval fiasco, the apex cricketing body has been at the receiving end of subcontinental scorn, thanks to its poor set of decision makers.

However, this time round, the ICC’s more than ridiculous list of greats has crossed all limits of sanity.

After dropping Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara from its top 20 greats, the ICC has now been fumbling for an escape route from this harakiri. They blame a weird points system that has led to this apparent anamoly. Of course, no one is even bothering to ask who devised this laughable system and, how come, the ICC mandarins did not feel awkward about the howlers’ list before making it public.

That the ICC is now on the backfoot doesn’t really exonerate it but then the best way to deal with such a messed up move is to ignore it as a folly of an unthinking set-up.

Not that the ICC has not blundered earlier. I still remember how, during the Champions Trophy in India, the ICC was in the thick of the Darrell Hair controversy, sitting on a decision to remove him from the elite panel of umpires for his larger than life role in the Oval fiasco.

Hair being a White Australian was naturally a favourite with two plusses —— one because of his skin colour and the other because he hailed from a champion nation.

The ICC dragged its feet and decision on him till the very end. They made it so very apparent that it was killing them to sack him. After all, he had not ruffled any Western feathers but had dealt badly with a native subcontinental Pakistani team.

When the issue could not be stalled any more, the ICC bigwigs, for the CT final in Mumbai, hurriedly called a Press conference to announce their decision on Hair. The conference was headed by then ICC president Percy Sonn with CEO Malcolm Speed in tow, besides others.

Sonn, may God rest his soul now that he is no more, was unusually harsh and offensively defensive from the very start. He told journalists that they were basically there to merely listen to him. He announced the decision to axe Hair abruptly and then ticked off a journalist for asking a particularly difficult question. He said he would not give any explanations and whoever did not like that was welcome to leave, including the gentleman who had put him in a spot.

Of course, it is another matter altogether that none of the attending journalists stood up to protest at such dictatorial demeanour, but that is another story of ignominy.

Sonn, often regarded an unguided missile, was just portraying how illogical the ICC can often be and how it’s propensity to self-importance has regularly been exposed, though to no avail. Incidentally, Hair made news over a year later when he was reinstated by the ICC.

Coming back to the present and the list of greats it has come out with, there is nothing really that the ICC can now do to undo the damage.

As far as the Indians go, the body has messed with their God. As far as logic goes, they have messed with all greats —— demeaning Lara to a 20 onwards position is as wrong as upping a Graeme Pollock to the top 13 bracket. Both would be surprised, and one is sure the South African would be even more so.

As for Sachin Tendulkar, a list of any importance cannot cut down on his celestial status —— not just among his fans but also among former players, former greats and every section of the cricketing domain.

Published on January 18, 2009 in Sunday Pioneer http://www.dailypioneer.com/150644/Call-it-boss’s-nuisance-value.html