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Lord Paul Condon: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Lord Paul Condon Has ‘Separate’ Plans For T20
What he said:
"You can either say T20 is such a crazy form of the game, you quarantine it.”
Lord Paul Condon, former head of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, believes that the T20 format has engendered the growth of corruption in the sport.
Speaking to The Cricketer magazine, Condon said:
Probably the greatest trigger point (in the rise of corruption) was the explosion of T20.
The ‘anything goes’ party atmosphere allowed some really bad people back into the game. Some of the notorious fixers from early years started to re-emerge on the circuit in India, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia and the UK.
It almost legitimised the bad guys being back around cricket again, and fixers were even seen in promoters’ boxes and at matches. What up to then had been pretty tight and regulated, suddenly became a free-for-all.
Condon believes that players felt that as long as they were not throwing a game, it was alright to spot-fix.
Condon said:
"I think the temptation was to do a little fix here and a little fix there and still win the match – and they were not seeing it as criminal."
In another interview to the London Evening Standard, the former Metropolitan police commissioner said:
I remember saying (at an ICC board meeting in 2008) you’ve got two choices.
You can either say T20 is such a crazy form of the game, you quarantine it. If current Test players go into that, they can’t come back to Test. But that would never work.
You’ve got to have a fit and proper regime, as you would with gambling, and a proper anti-corruption endeavour to monitor tournaments.
However, there was a lot of anger from the Indian representatives who said I had no right to suggest that. They felt I was challenging the legitimacy of the Indian Premier League.
Lord Condon urged present-day cricketers to aid the fight against corruption.
Condon said:
"In recent years, there’s been very little whistle-blowing from current players."
What Lord Condon really meant:
“I’m all for segregation—cricket-wise.”
What Lord Condon definitely didn’t:
“Would we need the ACU if not for T20?”
India Cricket: Rajeev Shukla Promotes English Cricket
What he said:
"England have been losing for the last 10 years, most of their teams, and at football also. So therefore we’re absolutely happy because we want cricket to grow in England."
New IPL Chairman, Rajeev Shukla, is a jolly good fellow.
Shukla’s horizons have broadened since ascending the BCCI ladder. The IPL chief believes that the recent victory over India at home will benefit English sport.
Shukla said:
“As far as the fans were concerned they were not very happy, but in games, defeat and victory go together, you lose and you win, that happens."
Ironically, Shukla is troubled about the deleterious effect of IPL on Test cricket:
The effect IPL is having on Test cricket is also our concern. That is why we are doing our level best to promote Test cricket now.
We are playing more Test matches, there will be a focus on the Tests. We need to promote all three forms of the game and we are not thinking only from the position of money. There may be more money in Twenty20, more money in one-day, but it does not mean that we should compromise with Test cricket.
We are thinking that we should organise more Test matches in B towns because in the populated metropolises people are always in a hurry, they’re busier, they want Twenty20, they want the one-dayer. But in B grade cities in India where they hardly get any international cricket but still have large populations, if a Test match is organised people will want to watch it.
What he really meant:
“We don’t mind losing on the field; we’re winning in the board room.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m just learning the ropes; that’s the best positive spin I can put on an unmitigated disaster of a tour.”
Better cricket at the CWC but more money at the IPL
Image via Wikipedia
The ICC ODI World Cup or simply the CWC may have better quality of cricket but it is the Indian Premier League (IPL) that will have more eyeballs and larger wads of advertising money thrown at it.
The big losers during the 90-day cricket extravaganza are entertainment channels,films and multiplexes.
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