The ICC must expel Zimbabwe in the wake of a damning audit and sanction Sunil Gavaskar, chairman of the ICC's cricket committee, for his newspaper column in reaction to match referee Mike Procter's imposition of a three-Test ban on Harbhajan Singh, says Malcolm Conn in the Australian.
If it does not, this hopelessly compromised organisation will reinforce its ruined reputation as a bunch of serving cronies with no interest in the good of the game.
Should Zimbabwe stay intact as a full voting but non-playing Test member of the ICC and Gavaskar not be punished for claiming that white match referee Mike Procter is racially biased against Indian players because of their colour, then the very worst fears of cricket's present and future will be reinforced.
South Africa's Times claims that the forensic audit will slam the Zimbabwe board.
It is known to paint a damning picture of Zimbabwe cricket’s finances. Singled out for particular censure are ZCU president Peter Chingoka and CEO Ozias Bvute. Depending on the severity of the penalties against the two, they could be removed from their positions on the relevant ICC sub-committees.
Bvute sits on the chief executive’s committee, while Chingoka sits on the governance review committee, a rather rich state of affairs given that corporate governance does not appear to be Zimbabwe cricket’s strongest suit. The final report represents at least two years of arduous work by the ICC and the auditors, in which they have received very little help from the ZCU.
The ICC, like FIFA, has to take control of the game and make it possible for the players to earn good money while still playing for their country, says Tony Becca in the Jamaica Gleaner.
Monday, March 17, 2008
It's not often that the selectors get it right, but in ruthlessly dropping Harmison and Hoggard, they played a masterstroke, writes Vic Marks in the Guardian.
After the Hamilton debacle it was generally agreed that someone would have to go - and that someone would be Steve Harmison. But the simultaneous dropping of Matthew Hoggard took most by surprise.
A great deal will depend on the result in Napier as to how England's winter will be perceived, writes Simon Wilde in the Times:
It is the men with the new faces, untainted by the catastrophe in Australia last winter, who have enhanced their reputations ... Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Tim Ambrose to name but three. Of the famed Ashes winners of 2005, life has been less rich.
There has been little joy for Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Matthew Hoggard or Steve Harmison. Hoggard and Harmison are ending the winter outside the XI and have just watched James Anderson and Broad bowl England to victory with control and skill. Hoggy and Harmy may be back, but they may not. Napier may tell us that.Having spent some time at the Basin Reserve over the weekend I’d have to say many of the memories indelibly etched in my memory come back to one group of people: the English (and occasionally Welsh) fans, writes Paul Holden in his blog on the Stuff website.
The English fans know how to support - their backing of their team is undiminished no matter how hopeless the state of play appears, or how many runs Monty Panesar leaks whilst trying to be hidden at mid-on. Their pain threshold knows levels much higher than any this NZ side can possibly inflict in a three-Test series.
After the Hamilton debacle it was generally agreed that someone would have to go - and that someone would be Steve Harmison. But the simultaneous dropping of Matthew Hoggard took most by surprise.
A great deal will depend on the result in Napier as to how England's winter will be perceived, writes Simon Wilde in the Times:
It is the men with the new faces, untainted by the catastrophe in Australia last winter, who have enhanced their reputations ... Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Tim Ambrose to name but three. Of the famed Ashes winners of 2005, life has been less rich.
There has been little joy for Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Matthew Hoggard or Steve Harmison. Hoggard and Harmison are ending the winter outside the XI and have just watched James Anderson and Broad bowl England to victory with control and skill. Hoggy and Harmy may be back, but they may not. Napier may tell us that.Having spent some time at the Basin Reserve over the weekend I’d have to say many of the memories indelibly etched in my memory come back to one group of people: the English (and occasionally Welsh) fans, writes Paul Holden in his blog on the Stuff website.
The English fans know how to support - their backing of their team is undiminished no matter how hopeless the state of play appears, or how many runs Monty Panesar leaks whilst trying to be hidden at mid-on. Their pain threshold knows levels much higher than any this NZ side can possibly inflict in a three-Test series.
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