Lodha et al: Exposing Indian Cricket’s Can of Worms

Gideon Haigh in The Weekend Australian, 2 January 2016, where the title is “Three Judges opening the tin on Indian cricket’s giant can of worms”

When he retired as India’s Chief Justice in September 2014, Rajendra Mal Lodha, a frugal, pious Jain from Jodhpur who regards judicial office as a “divine duty”, had in mind a quiet life, during which he might write a book. A different ­literary work is about to make him among the most important men in cricket. On Monday morning, Delhi time, Lodha and two other retired judges, Ashok Bhan and Raju Varadarajulu Raveendran, will present to the Supreme Court the final fruits of a year’s examination of the workings of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the de facto seat of power in world cricket.

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West Indies Rift means Split from India … and Boost to Sri Lanka

Nagraj Gollapudi, in ESPNcricInfo where the title is “West Indies pull out of India tour”

 Dwayne Bravo said at the toss that it was “time to make a decision”

The West Indies tour to India has been called off suddenly due to the ongoing payment structure dispute between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and WIPA. The fourth ODI in Dharamsala will be their last game of the series, which was scheduled to have a fifth ODI, a Twenty20 international as well as three Tests.

India will now play five ODIs against Sri Lanka between November 1 and 15, after Sri Lanka Cricket accepted the BCCI’s invitation to fill the void.

R. I. P. Cricket ….. courtesy of Indian hegemony in the ICC

Arm-Twisting? Bindra accuses BCCI of squashing adverse report from SLC during Indian tour of 2010

Courtesy of The Island, 3 June 2013

 bookie Ashwin Agarwal under guard — Pic by AP

Even as the spot-fixing scandal rages on,  Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) President Inder Singh Bindra has created a  fresh controversy by claiming that an official of the Board of Control for  Cricket in India (BCCI) had arm-twisted the Sri Lankan cricket board to withdraw  a report which violated the anti corruption regulations during India’s tour of  Sri Lanka in 2010. Bindra is a former BCCI president and has a formidable  reputation as a good administrator. In an article on his website, he made three points in the wake  of the spot-fixing scandal and recounted an incident involving corruption during  India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2010.

David Warner needs thicker skin, says Mark Waugh

Peter Lalor in The Australian 21 May 2013

DAVID Warner will tomorrow face charges of breaching Cricket Australia’s code of behaviour after engaging in a very public Twitter spat with a journalist.  The Test opening batsman will appear via video conference before a commissioner as he is on a flying visit to Australia. Warner is on his way home from a stint with the Delhi Daredevils but flies out soon after to play for Australia in the Champions Trophy.

Sri Lankan Cricket as Entertaining, Vibrant Fun

Harry Solomons, with his title being “The Entertainers”

If there are two things I can say about the Sri Lankan cricket teams of recent years it is that there is never a dull moment about their cricket and that this current team has, win or lose, made all Sri Lankans very proud. Last Saturday I bumped into Mitchell Starc (Australia’s young fast bowler) at a cricket dinner. Mitchell had just lost his place in the finals of this Tri Series due to a fair “touch up” he had playing Sri Lanka. He told me that the Australians actually enjoy playing the Sri Lankans because while they play their cricket hard, they were friendly, relaxed, smiled and even spoke to the Australian players.

In Sri Lankan cricket lingo, there are two very jovial sayings which have been in use for more than 50 years.  .  .  and that is as far as I can remember. My Sinhalese (official Sri Lankan) is not the best and I stand corrected, but here goes

Näva gilunath.  .  .  Band Choon – meaning, even if the ship goes down, the band will still play (or is still in tune)

Win or Lose  . .  .    We Booze! – pretty self explanatory, but very true.

This typifies the way Sri Lanka play the game and the way the Sri Lankan supporters enjoy the game. Whether their team is winning or losing, you will see the Sri Lankan spectator still smiling and still “bopping” away. No doubt, many of us cricket followers have seen this all over the world.

India’s Cricket Debacle mirrors India’s Poor Governance

Ramesh Thakur, in The Australian, 16 January 2011

THE sense of let-down from Team India’s Test performance results from the yawning gap between reputation and results.  The humiliation could yet be channelled constructively to address clusters of failures at three levels. Most critical commentary has highlighted individual failures, technical deficiencies and flaws: dependence on ageing superstars, repeated failures by newcomers to stand and deliver, substandard fielding, a casual approach to training and practice, the absence of strike bowlers, etc.

The positions of captain and coach need urgent attention, including splitting between long and short formats. M.S. Dhoni has been brilliant in the one day international format, where the task is to restrict the opposition and blast a big score amid fielding and bowling restrictions. In the Test arena, with the requirement to bowl out opponents twice and build an innings amid testing conditions, he is ultra-defensive and lacks creative flair.