Volume 1 December 01, 2010 Issue 14

Don to Dust …

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Some unanswered questions - Editorial

Don to Dust

Best possible selection

Legends – Arjuna Ranatunga

Spirit of the Game Award

 Some unanswered questions Editorial by K.C.S. Rao

After every major event there always remains at the end some
questions unanswered. That seems to be the nature of things and Cricket
is not an exception.

Pakistan cricket is always on the news mostly because of individual and

team indiscipline and related activities, both on and off the field. There are times
when Pakistan cricket is on the news for their sterling performance on the field.
But these have become rare now-a-days. Nonetheless they seem to be newsmakers
in International Cricket.

Pakistan cricketers walked out of a Test match in England, resulting in their

Captain being axed. After that the bombing incident that took place in Pakistan
involving Sri Lankan Test cricketers much to the annoyance of every cricketer in
the world. Pakistan cricketers hit the world news headline again with one of their
cricketers allegedly being caught in middle-east for drug trafficking. Within a short
time after that, Pakistan national players were allegedly involved in bowling no
ball intentionally in England. The latest being that a Pakistani cricketer seeking
asylum in England because of an alleged threat to his life at home.

One wonders about the relationship between all these incidents and England. With
the exception of the bombing in Pakistan and the incident in middle-east, all other
incidents took place either in England or playing against England.

In view of the foregoing incidents, no international team wanted to play in

Pakistan. Pakistan lost the opportunity to host the next World Cup in 2011.
Bangladesh lucked out and got the opportunity to host the World Cup. Does this
mean ICC has punished Pakistan for their actions? It does not appear to be so. It
appears that ICC has condoned their action and allowed them to play their fixtures
in a neutral venue, such as Dubai. Logically it does not make any sense how ICC on
one hand condone the action of PCB players, allow them to play international
games and, on the other hand, not allow them to play in their own country. Once
ICC allows Pakistan to play, they should be allowed to play anywhere and
everywhere.

Political climate in Pakistan and the management of it is Pakistan Government’s

responsibility and not that of ICC. ICC should be concerned with the visiting
players’ security and should therefore seek the local government’s cooperation in
this matter and then decide.

In this delayed process, people of Pakistan are the losers. They are only deprived of
witnessing some good cricket on their soil but cricket development there suffers. It
is not clear what steps ICC has taken and is taking to bring back cricket to Pakistan.

Is ICC looking at Pakistani Cricket Board (governed by the local government) as an

incapable body to administer cricket in that country? If so, what action is being
taken to rectify the situation?

There are many more unanswered questions pertaining to cricket in Pakistan. It is

high time ICC looks into all aspects of the problem and resolves the same soon.
Don to Dust Prakash Krishnagiri

Don Lockerbie was ousted as Chief Executive of the USA Cricket Association unceremoniously
under unexplainable circumstances, just before the scheduled Board Meeting in Florida. Until
now, the mystery of his ouster still remains unresolved.

Is it a coup by Gladstone Dainty or is it simply that the Board had have enough of promises? If
it is the latter, then surely the Don should have been allowed to put forward his case in the Board Meeting.
With news of a probable 8 digit deal in the corner, was this the right move by the Board? Will this Deal ever
happen? Who will take the USA Cricket forward? Is Don’s removal good for USA Cricket? Many such
questions creep in the mind.

“We are just not together anymore” is what Dainty had to say. The silent operator, he is, does he want to
resume control of USA Cricket, which saw two suspensions by the ICC during his previous attempts.

Lockerbie, the over-ambitious, took charge of USA Cricket with extravagant plans which failed to take off.
When he spoke of his plans, he often sounded that he could make things happen. The USD 10 Million per year,
budget that he wanted to run the Association, which hardly had close to half-a-million budget, was something of
a dream goal rather than a practical one.

His connections in the ICC have failed to save him and are currently on a ‘Wait-and-Watch’ mode. The red
flags came up as soon as the T20, he organized, featuring Sri Lanka and New Zealand, got over. The empty
stands meant huge losses. There is still no transparency on the financial outcome of the Tournament. With
expats in the region predominantly from the cricket playing nations of India, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
almost in that order, even a rookie businessman will tell you that it was not the right choice to have invited Sri
Lanka and New Zealand for the tournament.

What is going to happen to the future of USA Cricket? Can we expect a free and fair election for the Post of
Chief Executive? Who is going to be the interim CEO. Will Dainty try to flex himself through to the helm of
affairs again? Will the ICC support Dainty as CEO? A serious question Dainty needs to think off before
putting his hat for the post of CEO.

Meanwhile, Nabeel Ahmed, who resigned as the Senior Vice President of the USA Cricket Association in
November, has expressed his willingness to stand against Dainty for the Post of President in the next year’s
Elections. Even if he manages to overcome Dainty, does he have the requisites to push USA Cricket forward?

May be the USA Cricket should take a leaf out of Karnataka State Cricket Association in India, where Anil
Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, all former Indian Cricketers, who have won elections to run the
State Cricket Association.

USCA will be better off if the Board consists of Ex-Cricketers who then can appoint a full-time CEO with a
Lalit Modi business mind. The National side has seen some good victories in the recent past and possesses a
good Team which can travel the distance. For the sake of the National Side and other stake-holders, a good
Board with an able CEO, elected with utmost transparency, is the need of the hour.
Best possible selection Dr. V.V. Giri
Once again Krishnamachari Srikkanth and company have done well in selecting the best team to the tour of
South Africa in December. I am unable to find fault as he has not only considered all aspects but has also done
justice to all.

The selectors have to be congratulated for having full faith on the seniors. I was worried a bit that there could be
some pressure from various quarters to axe some of the seniors in the name of “going for youngsters”.

Srikkanth took exceptional care in handling Dravid. Unlike his predecessor – Vengsarkar who humiliated this
cent percent team man, Srikkanth respected Dravid’s class, commitment, perseverance, and utility value and not
once embarrassed him when Dravid was struggling for form. Because of Srikkanth, Dravid could get back his
rhythm and proved the country that he is still “the wall”.

The selection of seven batsmen was an expected one. I am glad the selectors made no mistakes by including
Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma or any other player due to pressure. Similarly, the spinners selected are the best available
in the country today.

I feel terribly sorry for the most unlucky cricketer in the recent times – Badrinath. He is extremely talented and
has been scoring tons of runs against all sides, but just couldn’t get the nod. He is very fit and is the best
batsman we have after the great seniors.

Regarding the fast bowlers, I have my doubts on Yadhav about Unadkat. You cannot experiment debutants on a
foreign soil that too against such a tough side like South Africa. I feel the experienced Ashish Nehra and R.P
Singh should have been picked for this tour even though they are not in the running.

These two south paws have always bowled well in hard bouncy wickets. Now that it has become a habit for the
Indian pacers to get injured frequently, both Ashish and RP would have been more than useful.

Once again Sehwag is our trump card. If he gets going, the Springboks will have no chance. Dravid and
Tendulkar must bat positively in this tour instead of giving too much and unwanted respect to very ordinary
bowlers like Paul Harris.
Legends - Arjuna Ranatunga Staff Reporter

As Arjuna Ranatunga turns 47 years today, we wish him a long life and take a look at
the life of this living legend. Arjuna Ranatunga was born on Dec 1, 1963 in Colombo.
Arjuna hails from Gampaha, a town twenty miles north of Colombo.
He along with his brothers studied in Ananda College, Colombo. The Ranatunga
brothers polished their cricketing skills there. Arjuna in particular was shrewd from
the very beginning. He was a left-handed batsman and a useful right arm medium
pace bowler. He played for Ananda College for the Junior and Senior Teams and also
captained the Senior Team.
Arjuna made his first-class debit in 1981 at the age of eighteen and a year later he was
selected to represent Sri Lanka in their inaugural Test match. He scored the first half
century for Sri Lanka in the inaugural Test.
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Though Arjuna did not make big scores in Test matches, his knack of building partnerships and stealing singles
often changed the complexion of the game. Arjuna went on to captain Sri Lanka in 1988 and was one of the
most successful captains of Sri Lanka for the next 11 years, making the Lankan team into a force to reckon.
He was a great reader of the game and belligerent leader, one of the best in the business during his era and
probably one of the greatest thinking captains the game has ever seen. He always defended his players at all
times irrespective of what they did. A quality that brought him great respect from his team-mates.
The heavily built Arjuna, had few problems in taking quick singles and playing longer innings, he made it up by
keeping the scoreboard ticking through deft placements. At times, during long innings, he has called for a
runner by reporting cramps. His scientific approach, percentage game and ability to find gaps, made him a great
ODI player. His shrewd captaincy led Sri Lanka to their World Cup ODI Title against all odds in 1996. This
started a new era of competitive cricket from the Lankans.
Arjuna had his share of controversies in the game, especially with the Australians and Shane Warne in
particular. He criticized the Australians when they called Muralitharan for suspect of action.
Arjuna was truly a great leader who put the Sri Lankan cricket in the world map. He lost his captaincy in 1999
after Sri Lanka’s poor showing at the world cup in England. He retired from playing cricket in 2001.
Arjuna was chosen as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the year in 1999. He has the distinction of playing
the first and 100th test of a Country. Arjuna had his stint as a Cricket Administrator as Chief of the Sri Lankan
Cricket Board till Dec 24, 2008. He went on to join Politics and became the Deputy Minister for Tourism in Sri
Lanka
He commands a lot of respect from the Cricketing community the world over and very popular for his critical
analysis and frank one-liners.
In all Arjuna played 93 Tests scoring 5105 runs with a Test Best of 135 not out. He scored 4 centuries and 38
fifties. He also played 269 ODIs scoring 7456 runs with a best of 131 not out. He scored 4 centuries and 49
fifties.
Spirit of the Game Award Staff Reporter

HOLLYWOOD CRICKET CLUB

WINS THE COVETED PHYLLIP LYNCH
SPIRIT OF THE GAME AWARD
This trophy has been instituted this year by Corinthian Cricket Club in memory of one of their members,
Phyllip Lynch, who passed away in the beginning of this year.

This trophy is awarded to a club in Southern California Cricket Association League for playing the game in the
right spirit and for their best behavior throughout the year, both on and off the field.

Hollywood Cricket Club is the first and proud winner of this Trophy for 2010 cricket season. Readers and
administrators of Weekend Cricket magazine congratulate HCC on their success. Keep up the good work and
win many more laurels in the future.