Iain O'Brien's Cricket Blog

Of Heartbreakers and Pulsating Hearts

By Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

First it was Test cricket that was said to be under threat. Now it is the ODIs that must defend themselves but they may have suffered a football injury!

 

WICB At Loggerheads with ODI survival

The football injury has nothing to do a la England’s Joe Denly whose knee kept him out of the first ODI. In fact this is more like foot in the mouth disease. Every time a resolution is said to be around the corner the West Indies cricket comes right back on the table.

The ICC is backing the ICC Champions Trophy and hoping that the much criticized tournament actually proves to the vehicle that will deliver the ODIs a fresh lease of life. However, for that to happen, it would have to involve only the top teams. West Indies would have been one, with the team led by Chris Gayle.

One conundrum after another is threatening to topple the train of West Indies cricket that has already derailed as seen by the performance of the team over the last decade. Can they who cannot save themselves save the ODIs? That is the worrying dilemma. An intervention is in order.

 

Ashes? Far from it.

The Test series may be over but cricket in England is very much alive, despite the fact that England got drowsy chasing Australia’s target in the first innings only to topple backwards.

England did not want Australia to win any series. They managed that with the pulsating match at the Oval in the final Test of the Ashes. But there were no roofless buses offering gallons of booze because England, thanks to the ECB, had a date to keep with Ireland.

And rain and controversy over the soggy bowler’s run ups ensured the Twenty20 matches were a no go.

Time for the ODI's England did well to restrict a scratchy, circumspect Australian batting but could not stop Callum Ferguson in the end. Blame him then as England went from caution to unconscious as they allowed themselves to drift. Perhaps they were stuck in the Test mode. Left with a gigantic proportion, credit must go to Luke Wright and Adil Rashid for making the most of their opportunity and waking up Australia this time who thought their job was done.

Their heroics brought a great finish but sadly for England, their drowsiness cost them the match that they should have won simply because of the way they bowled and fielded and kept the Australians in check. If they could have come within touching distance of three runs, perhaps it is time for reflection for some of the top order batsmen before Australia run on momentum.

 

NZ Do it Best!

But the best has been saved for last.

Everything about New Zealand was different – their talk, their body language, their attitude, perhaps even their fighting spirit. Smarting from the grueling Test series in a tough terrain as Sri Lanka, New Zealand had perhaps used the slip stream of captain Daniel Vettori’s century in the second Test in trying circumstances as inspiration to fight back.

The Twenty20 matches have brought life back into the fighting New Zealand cricketers and the cricket world reveled in it. Jacob Oram appears to be a confidence oriented player. It was then perhaps his innings with Vettori in the same Test that also showed in his bowling in the first Twenty20 match and in the celebration of New Zealand fighting tooth and nail, his hat trick nearly slipped under the radar! Apparently his dad’s congratulations email made people aware of his son’s feat. Good on you, dad. But then what are proud dads for?

Jesse Ryder needs special mention too. He  has shown a rather side to his cricket career that began with controversies. But he appears to be settling into a role that is rather reminiscent of that performed by Craig MacMillan, aka Russel Crowe of the New Zealand team. Ryder’s cool, calculated presence has been very refreshing and his talent has not gone unnoticed even when India toured New Zealand earlier in the year. The road ahead appears rather interesting and Ryder, the man to watch.

It also brings another thought to mind – it is true that New Zealand may have perhaps suffered from inexperience. But the other side of the coin is – if the team is persisted with and the members themselves are persevering, there could be a New Zealand team on the podium of topmost teams in a few years’ time

More from Sreelata. Again the views from Sreelata may not necessarily be those expressed by Iain.

 

Four lettered words seem to be the theme of the cricket world at the moment. See for yourself.

 

DRAW/RAIN

I am not going to be one for saying that Test cricket draws are a bore. On the contrary, unless it has meant rain has ruined a contest or pitch preparations have marred a keen battle, a draw usually represents grit of one of either or both cricket teams to fight it out over five days and yet yield to none.

But draw seems a pre-decided word at Edgbaston and that explains why the fans were more in the frolicking mood, except when they booed Ricky Ponting on and off the field, as the third Test of the Ashes reached its eventual conclusion.

It would have been interesting nonetheless to wonder what would have happened had rain not washed out the third day’s play. Now we shall never know and once again cricket has had to give in the vagaries of the weather.

What a delivery from Graeme Swann to get rid of Ponting. Though Swann is not quite in the same league as, say, Shane Warne, it certainly reminded me of Warne’s delivery to Mike Gatting to bowl him around the legs. Stunning! Some ‘bowlers’ do have ‘em. But yes, the batsmen will have to live with the ignominy for the rest of their lives. No wonder, the poor dressing room door took the brunt of Ponting’s ire.

 

WADA

This has become a taboo word with the Indian cricketers and in turn, the BCCI. And what a conflict it has raised! The Indian cricketers are not only getting flak from the FICA or the ICC or other sports but also, from other sporting disciplines within India where Indian athletes have subjected themselves to WADA’s whereabouts code without question.

But the question is: are Indian cricketers behaving like Prima Donnas? It is hard to be judgemental either way. It is commendable that other cricketers around the world have complied with the norms without a hassle. However, while the Indian cricketer’s complaint of it being a violation of privacy may appear flimsy but it is a point raised by tennis players such as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams amongst others. But as Roger Federer puts it in his own owrds, it is a small price to pay for playing the sport.

The Indian cricketers, the BCCI and the ICC will have to seriously have a rethink because the Asian Games, the Olympics games and every other major sporting event that cricket aspires to be a part of will need players complying with rules that ensure the sport remains drug free with a zero tolerance policy.

 

WAGE

The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) may be sticking to its guns about having a professional contract in place but it also means that until the mediation through the Guyana President brings fruit, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will be keeping the players out, which explains why the big names are missing from the probables list for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

The danger: The ICC is desperately trying to salvage the Champions Trophy which in the past, has suffered from tediously long tournaments with mismatched line ups. Now with the ICC aiming to make it a prestige event with only the crème de la crème (although it is hard to have such a term in a sport that has a smaller Test playing nation population) competing. The danger is that now there will be a weak link : a second string West Indies line up.

 

RIFT

There is a reason why the term ‘mercurial’ is almost always applied to Pakistan cricket. There are rumours that Pakistan wanted to boycott all major events, including the ICC World Twenty20, the ICC Champions Trophy and the 2011 World Cup over a wide number of issues ranging from being overlooked in the FTP (Future Tours Programme) by other cricket boards, of being relinquished of hosting rights of both, the Champions Trophy as well as the 2011 World Cup, amongst others.

But Pakistan were on a high after winning the ICC World Twenty20 in England. Suddenly the fact that Pakistan had played next to no cricket in the past year had been banished and everything appeared to have clicked into place. Fast forward a month later and the picture is far from rosy. Pakistan’s batting collapses marked a disastrous Test series on the tour to Sri Lanka and their bowlers are unable to save the ODIs even if their life depended on it.

It has led to the typical speculation floating of rifts within the team, dissensions against the captain and groupism by the senior members of the squad. While Younis Khan has squashed all rumours but hinted at a disorganized administrative cricket structure, the former chief selector, Abdul Qadir, has come up with another embarrassing scenario: the possible of match fixers within the Pakistan team!

When Pakistan go down, they take the structure down with them.

 

TW*T

What was that? There must be a dangerous disease afloat in England and it’s not even the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. The word last came into prominence just days before when Britain’s Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, let it rip in a radio interview when expressing what he thought of Twitter.

Now Shane Warne is apparently afflicted as he tried to describe the technicality by which Andrew Strauss would not have been allowed to whack (so much the better word, and rather appropriate in impact, wouldn’t you say?) the ball that slipped out from Ben Hilfenhaus’ hand because it had not crossed the bowling crease.

Perhaps Warne's cue card should read: please stick to the non offensive, printable, and air worthy four-letter words!

More from Sreelata and once again these views may not necessarily be those expressed by Iain.

 

Why is No One Looking at Test Cricket for Answers?

It is hard to imagine that any present crisis within the game of cricket can be monumentally bigger than the one that threatens to disfigure Test cricket. This numbers game has everyone jittery (and plausibly twittering as well) and one can bring most other critical issues about the game to the one subject – the sustenance of Test cricket. As a cricket aficionado, it bothers me that Test cricket may need to become a circus clown if only to survive and that Twenty20 is now the puppeteer that is running the show.

 

Bottom Line – The Only One that counts?

The popular ABBA song ‘Money, Money, Money’ begins like this,

             “I work all night, I work all day,

              To pay the bills I have to pay.

              Ain’t it sad?

              And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me.

              That’s too bad.”

 

If Test cricket was about charitable cause, a fund raiser such as the one-off Twenty20 match between the Rajasthan Royals and the Middlesex Panthers at Lord’s for the British Asia Cup last month would have done the trick. It was rather surprising personally, despite the immense popularity of Twenty20, that crowds turned up as they did and the amount of interest generated by that single match alone, stealing the thunder right before the Ashes!

But coming back to the point, if facts were to be faced, sustaining Test cricket by the gate revenue now appears a utopian dream. That is also perhaps the single most telling reason why the ICC has even concerned itself with tinkering with the most traditional form of the game. Were it not for the money, perhaps more voices would have a valid case for casting aspersions of blasphemy upon those that would even consider Test cricket as susceptible to the vagaries of time. Sadly in the face of money, the voice of the Test fan is drowned in the hoarse cheers of not Twenty20 fans necessarily, but of those that are actually minting money from the game (and they are not even the cricketers).

              

Test cricket in a year could be…

The proposals in front of the ICC are enough to send a shiver down the purist’s back. The ICC President, David Morgan, has suggested reducing the Test format from a five day fixture to a four day affair. His argument, and a fair one, is that this change would require the least amount of adaptation on the part of the cricketers as far as their game is concerned.

ICC’s General Manager, Dave Richardson, had another take – that of developing a two tier format wherein the non performing teams would be relegated to the lower division, much like how football clubs are run around the world. It is not hard to see why this format would work. It would mean more evenly matched teams would compete with each other, raising the level of the game, and reducing viewer fatigue watching five mindless days of watching the lion devour the lamb.

Close on the heels in terms of idea is the proposal to have a World Test Championship that would not only determine the true champion but also, sift the contenders from the pretenders, and raise the interest levels of the cricket loving crowds as the contest reaches a climax. But if indications being sounded are to be believed, some boards are more reluctant than others to subjecting themselves to this global cricket contest simply because they feel they have a greater pull in terms of the gate revenue and therefore, should be entitled to a bigger piece of the pie. The pie, as it stands, is proposed to be equally divided amongst all Test playing nations.

This is perhaps a take from the ordinary but the MCC, the Marylebone Cricket Club, is awaiting the ICC’s approval to, hold your breath, hold a Test match under lights with cricketers in coloured clothing!

For sheer novelty value, even the IPL fades before it. But for viability, this Kerry Packer-like agenda needs a lot of reworking. It is not as simple as getting a sponsor to brand the company’s name on the back of a colour stained shirt or of moving in floodlights as they have already at Lord’s.                 

The most worrisome aspect, I think, is, if the general perception is that the cricket loving public is an impatient lot that would kill for Twenty20 but would rather be dead when faced with the prospect of sitting through a Test match, it has to be a myopic view because overcooking a meal never tasted good or right. What makes one think that the same crowd would sit through a Test match just because the cricketers were now wearing something other than their traditional flannels? While the aim is obvious – to target the after office hours, how many people would enjoy the game where the day and night factor played tricks on batsmen, where dew would have the say in whose factor the match would tilt and how light conditions would affect visibility to sustain play through the entire day, oops, or night and how many experiments with the coloured ball would determine the most appropriate one? Think back to the Twilight Zone.

 

Can't IPL money be equated with Test cricket pay outs?

Gary Kirsten is sounding like a man waging a lone battle telling the Indian cricketers to think twice between wearing the Indian cap with pride and falling for the lure of Twenty20. Some would say pride in playing is a redundant value, others would call it plain silly to be letting easy money go when the proverb urges to make hay while the sun shines. Would it be valid to say that Andrew Flintoff was making hay by retiring prematurely when he is dozing off at night to the sound of machine alternating and compressing his knee in order to play through a Test?

To me, it is inconceivable to think that every aspiring cricketer or current Test cricketer is in the game to become another Sachin Tendulkar in terms of his bank balance. Yet it would be disconnecting from reality to think that cricketers are only idols and that they do not have a family they are also responsible for and for whom they owe it to provide a life of reasonable comfort.

Can Lalit Modi be expected to understand the pedestal value of Test cricket? Not likely. But can a cricketer be lured back to the game that he would love to play but cannot sustain either because of the grueling demands or the rather disproportionate wage he is currently being paid? Most certainly. Can’t cricketer play for pride and also, make a respectable earning out of it?Is that not a win-win situation for all concerned?

 

Why not check Test cricket itself?

Can the ICC guarantee that a day and night Test would address all the problems that ail Test cricket in respect of its ability to raise gargantuan revenues? And what happens to a two tier division or a world contest if problems between the boards and cricketers ensue in the stalemate that is West Indian cricket with both, WIPA and WICB, holding their ground and not in favour of a compromise? I was not quite sure watching the Test series between Bangladesh and West Indies whether to applaud Bangladesh for playing beyond expectations or moan for the sad funereal feeling about the game in the West Indies.  

The question not many people seem to be asking is: why not raise accountability for Test cricket? It may sound revolutionary but it really is not. When Australia lost the second Test of the current Ashes to England at Lord’s, Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, stated what was the bare truth – Australia did not do the basics right. Perhaps the ICC and the respective cricket boards that constitute the Test playing nations should wonder if they are indeed doing the basics right.

In order to get the radar right, key factors must come into consideration. Pitch conditions that are sporting even if slightly biased in terms of the home advantage (who wants monotony? But no one wants the Kanpur pitch laid out for South Africa or the sham that was the Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua), timing of series that is more in alignment with the prevailing weather than the monetary and financial implications of sealing the deal (weather is unpredictable anyway, why add by having a washed out series in the monsoons?), ensuring better over rates, contests between teams that would draw the crowds, better decision making with or without the Umpire Decision Review System. The list seems endless. And not one is an issue that is being seriously debated, not from the angle of how it will actually impact Test cricket.

The Ashes are showing that people who love Twenty20 will come to the Test cricket if it promises a feisty contest. People who lapped up Pakistan’s performances in the ICC World Twenty20 were less reluctant to follow their escapades in Sri Lanka because of the fallible aura that accompanies Pakistan cricket in recent times when facing up to larger tasks. And despite the obvious shortcomings, the series had its moments and as Andrew Strauss spoke about Australia’s aura in the Ashes of 2006-’07, Sri Lanka always had the air about them that they could come back into the team no matter what Pakistan threw at them.       

This is not to imply that change is bad or that closeted thinking would help Test cricket. But change for change’s sake is now a redundant idea. Test cricket is in a need for a lift of spirits. But is that change being proposed in the spirit of the game?

 One can only leave this discussion with the chorus of the same ABBA song:

 

        “Money, money, money,

          Must be funny,

          In a rich man’s world…”

 

  Go figure.

Sreelata S. Yellamrazu does what she loves best to do – write about the game she is so passionate about. The born spectator in her has helped her shape an impressive career out of her passion and in a free wheeling manner, pens about the sport that she is so enthusiastic about.

As interested in another’s view point as she is in expressing her own, she can be reached at sreelata9@gmail.com 

Again Sreelata's views may not necessarily be the same as Iain's. Let us know what you think of Sreelata's post.

 

Is Cricket Feeling a Little Tizzy?

 

Murali Calls the Shots, Indians say – Shots Being Called

Muttiah Muralitharan has a thing for accuracy –whether it has to do with his bowling or thinking. The only time Muralitharan is hilarious when being erratic is when he is holding the bat in hand. It is not surprising that he has laid down his retirement plans and it will not be surprising if he executes it.

Muralitharan announced that November 2010 would be the right time for retiring from Test cricket. It sounded as ominous as the dime-a-dozen astrologers across another a-dime-a-dozen news channels in India predicting doomsday scenarios even as the world reveled in the spectacle of the solar eclipse. Murali’s torn tendon did not hold up for the series against Pakistan but he is confident of seeing out the home series against West Indies in his final Test endeavour.

Typical of Murali’s spirit, he intends to take his cricket career in the one day internationals to the 2011 World Cup, perhaps like a swansong at home. The man who openly admitted to wanting 1000 Test wickets in his kitbag is, however, keen to extend his run in the Twenty20 format. Age has nothing to do with appetite, apparently. 

Speaking of the World Cup, Pakistan certainly know how to drive a hard bargain, never mind that their own country is in the throws of a major civil upheaval, not to mention political. They are yet to affirmatively stick to their stand as to whether the terrorist (gunman as Ajmal Kasab is referred to in American media) is indeed of Pakistani soil, but they are determined to enforce upon the ICC the need to insist on other nations to tour Pakistan as one of the demands to keep the issue of the World Cup hosting rights out of court, monetary compensation notwithstanding.

Unfortunately, it would take more than the threat of a court case to convince nations to tour the troubled region. New Zealand escaped what could have possibly been a disastrous scenario as a bomb went off outside their hotel on their last tour, and the fears only became too real as the Sri Lankan cricketers and cricket officials came face-to-face with the worst case scenario and were congruent in their stories of having being lucky to have cheated death.

But coming back to the subject of unforced retirements, the uneasy crown though appears on the Indian selector’s head at the moment. While Sourav Ganguly has indicated that he would have prolonged his career if not for the pressure from the selectors, Yousuf Pathan expressed bafflement about why younger brother, Irfan Pathan, was left out of the ICC Champions Trophy. Both later denied having made the statements. Perhaps that is one way to beat the gag.

But the cake still belongs to Vinod Kambli. He not only allowed the television media play out to the reality television promotion of another copycat of American television but also, used the medium effectively to highlight how the bad boy image was really the picture of boy gone wrong and further wronged. Perhaps that was why Sachin Tendulkar  had no qualms when Kambli told ‘The Moment of Truth’ audience that his friend could have helped him more. Maybe friendship is thicker than blood and definitely thicker than reality television hoopla.           

 

Australia –Ingenious or Muddled?

The Ashes series could well turn on its head and Australia may win at Edgbaston to even the contest, but it does not exonerate them from the baffling policy they appear to be carrying around. One would not expect Australia to slip up but they apparently have.

It is hard to understand how contrasting the two series against South Africa and England are. Australia had a plethora of fast bowlers kicking at the heels of Brett Lee against South Africa. In England, Australia appear almost forced to carry on with what’s on the platter. It is unclear why Australia have not toyed with the idea of using Stuart Clark but perhaps there is something about his injury that is not clear to the rest of the world. Mitchell Johnson appeared distraught in the second Test at Lord’s and that did not change in the tour match against Northamptonshire with Allan Border even asking him to volunteer to stand down for his own sake. For Mitchell’s sake, one hopes he can make a decent case for himself and validate his inclusion in a Test that now assumes crucial importance.

Australia have virtually shot themselves in the foot. Ian Chappell’s tirade against the selectors’ thought process to go on a five Test tour with just two specialist openers fell on deaf ears. Almost ominously Phillip Hughes has been found wanting. Call it perfect timing then that Shane Watson returned to full fitness in time for the third Test. Was Hughes warming the bench then? ( Are you wondering : how did Australia time this? Maybe they did seek time with one of those astrologers after all. No pun intended.)

Watson appears to have vindicated his selection as opener on the first rain-afflicted day of the third Test in Birmingham. But was he always the fall back guy or did Australia not see the possibility of the necessity of a third opener coming? Australia certainly did not falter on personnel and their respective specialty when they were truly on top of their game. Tiny trips and stumbles but can Australia stand on their two bruised knees?

Talk about timing! When the sun came out, Brad Haddin was forced indoors with a possible broken finger. Ouch! Anyone get the feeling of the solemn Flanders Field visit? An injured field on both sides (though personally I think there can no comparison between an actual battlefield and a cricket field) with Andrew Flintoff on a NASA deployed machine for his busted knee and Kevin Pietersen dodging questions on crutches. The doctor’s dispensary is handing out medicines, dare I say, a-dime-a-dozen?

 

Twittering – For Better or For Worse

This has to be the lighter moment of the day. Talk about leaks – deliberate or not. Phillip Hughes twittered away, or rather his manager did, and unwittingly let out what was rather well speculated news. Hughes’ omission from the third Test was announced even before the rain clouds even contemplated relenting.

I am not sure England were particularly banking on Hughes making it or not, no offense intended. Cricket Australia certainly thought it was an undesirable leak but let Hughes off the hook on grounds that he was still inexperienced in the ways of dressing room manners. But as the cliché goes, it’s not rocket science.

Twitter away, er, I mean, take it away, Watson!

Suneer Chowdhary is a freelance writer from India. He shares his thoughts with us on a few things topical in the cricket world at the moment. Let us know what you think of Suneer's views which are not necessarily those expressed by Iain. Have to put the disclaimer in :-)

 You can contact Suneer at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com

Johnson and the Aussie soap!

If Andrew Flintoff’s clarion calls for retiring from the most traditional form of the game could have distracted the English team from their bid to regain the Ashes, Mitchell Johnson’s family drama has already made for prime-time viewing – and dissection – and couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment for the tourists. While one could never be so harsh to blame a singular performance for the loss of a series or even a match, Johnson himself, would be in total cognizance of the fact that things have drastically spiralled down from where they once were in South Africa only a couple of months or so, back.

Australia, I think, had earlier erred in not picking up Stuart Clark in the first game. Even with Johnson being at his wicket-taking best, it wouldn’t have done anyone any harm if the English runs could have been throttled. But with Johnson not exhibiting signs of improvement – as the 0/42 in seven against Northamptonshire shows – it makes it doubly imperative to have Clark hold one end up and buy some wickets; for himself or for the other bowlers. While the Lord’s pitch has always assisted the batsmen in raking up the runs, this one did not seem to be the one in which 736 runs should have been allowed to be scored off 174 overs at an almost ‘T20esque’ run-rate of 4.2!

Despite what happens in the second innings at Northampton, the English batsmen will go after Johnson at Edgbaston – jelly pitch or not – and my surmise is that run-scoring can be controlled better by getting in the line and length bowlers, than have fielders everywhere except the slips and the gully.

One other thing is for sure, it couldn’t have been a tougher baptism for Mitch, and if does get through this phase of cricket, I get a sense that he could emerge a stronger bowler over the time.

Now, only to get out of this quagmire!

 

Back to square one and into a hole for Pakistan

Some place else, Pakistan cricket has gone through another circle. Around two months ago the things had degenerated to the extent of murmurs doing round that Pakistan may not feature in the 2011 World Cup because of the rebuff by the ICC. Some others said they may not even play the ICC World T20.

They won the tournament – and rather ironically at that, given that it is a format which is highly unpredictable, a trait it shares with the Pakistani team.

A month later, Pakistan has been routed by Sri Lanka in the test series, there are talks of in-fighting, lack of support for the captain, a low-on-confidence opener or two, selectorial dramas...you get the gist? Rather thankfully, the much awaited fuel to fire, that a Geoff Lawson or a Javed Miandad comment could have added, is rather conspicuous by its absence because of the presence of Intikhab Alam, a genial man without too many illusions about the post he has been assigned.

Everything else has been a shocker for the World T20 champions on the tour.

However, if they were to reflect back at the three games, the 0-2 could have easily been reversed, and if I were to stick my neck, with a slightly more experienced bowling line-up, read a clean sweep for the tourists. In the hindsight, it was the pitches that seemed to have taken the Pakistanis by surprise, a far cry from what one has come to expect from the Island nation. The ball swung – both conventionally and otherwise – on most days, and the spinners required guile and subtle variations – of the Daniel Vettori kinds – to have any kind of success on them.

That a quick bowler even ended with a Man-of-the-Series award and the most part-time of medium pacers in Younus Khan scalped a wicket in almost every spell he bowled, said a lot about the greenish tinge on most days of the series. Quite simply, Pakistan were outplayed in their minds.

 

Now for another second-string West Indies!

Okay, so the crisis is purportedly over. The WICB and WIPA have figuratively shaken hands. The West Indian players are ready to bat and bowl again. But, then why has Bangladesh been afforded another opportunity to win another series against a current-test playing nation is beyond me. The second string Caribbean side may still win a game or so, but they had been found out of their depth in the test matches and there is every likelihood that Bangladesh may make a clean sweep of another series.

‘Former’ West Indian captain, Chris Gayle, not known to mince words on most occasions, says it as succinctly as the 140-character Tweet could permit him to, "They are not picking us for the first two games; so I guess that sums up the situation. They are the boss playing hardball"

Worse still, the Champions trophy may also be shorn of these West Indian stars, taking the sheen off the tournament in its own way. With due respects to Floyd Reifer and his troupe, a team that can be upset by the current Bangladeshi line-up will do nothing but embarrass the echelons of the West Indies Cricket Board, and quicker the main guys get back, better it is for cricket.

Talk about bad advertisement for cricket and you get a perfect example here.