Sporting An Opinion

As we near the World Cup, announcements have started that promise players the world and a galaxy nearby if they bring home the trophy. Kicking off the announcement season are Bangladesh and Pakistan. But there is a difference. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a prize for winning the cup while the Bangladesh board has announced cash prizes for winning a match.

While the announcements may make the Pakistan team hard-done when the compare it with the Bangladesh deal, it cannot be helped. Bangladesh players will get $2,000 each for winning one match (best chance versus Bermuda) in the first round. If they make it to the next round, the will get $3,000 each. It is not clear whether this is over and above the $2,000 or it is the addition of just $1,000!

By you must be wondering why Pakistan should feel bad. Here’s why: They will get any money (bonus money) only if they make the semi-final. That means they need to win almost eight matches to stake a claim to that money. So what if the amount is ten times of what Bangladesh are supposed to get for a match? It’s just too unfair.

There is further ambiguity in the PCB announcement. While they have clearly mentioned $20,000 per player for making the semi-final, the bonus for winning the Cup has been announced at $1.2 million. And then there is a part which says Rs 50,00,000 per player. Now is this with the view in mind that the exchange rate may fluctuate and the PCB will make the most of whichever suits them? Not fair. Plus, what about taxes? Okay, let’s not go there!

But here is the real reason why the PCB has announced the bonuses. Umpire Daryll Hair announced that he would not be suing them for racial discrimination. This immediately meant that funds earmarked for the case that they may have potentially lost (please read carefully: potentially. It is 50-50 at the start, no?) are now available and in a moment of absolute magnanimity, they decided to share it with the players.

Sure enough, other boards are bound to follow and one will keenly follow the numbers the BCCI throws up. After all, it is the richest cricket board and it needs to keep up its image.

Michael Holding has been a little harsh on the lesser teams of the World Cup. Now do we mean harsh or honest? There are 16 teams in all in this tournament, of which Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland and even Zimbabwe will be at their best when facing another team from this bunch. When they come up against one of the big boys, they will wither. No doubts. Having said that, Kenya did beat the West Indies in 1996, Bangladesh beat Pakistan in 1999 and Kenya made the semi-finals in 2003.

From a purist angle, one may argue that only the Kenya win over West Indies in 1996 was in a match of consequence. Bangladesh beat Pakistan when they had already qualified for the next round in Kenya made the semis only because some teams refused to play all their matches and the rules of the World Cup are a little messed up.

Coming back to what Holding was saying, though, it really is a tough job for the ICC to handle the ‘minnows’, make sure they improve and one day, come to the same level as the major countries. And in true chicken-and-egg style, they won’t get better until they play with the big boys and the big boys won’t play them till they are better. So we have a situation! Not so much a situation, really, but an inconvenient occasion like when the host says something bad to a guest at dinner! The guest has the option of retorting or getting up and leaving.

Holding’s remarks were made as a speaker and he does represent the host country. These remarks have obviously hurt the associates (I know, minnows is not the politically correct term!) but there is some truth in what he says. The minnows do devalue the tournament. They don’t bring any more excitement. Their game is not as developed to play with the best and call us a bully, but we think they need to play some more with boys their age before coming to play with the big boys!

The ICC’s qualifier tournament has thrown up these many countries and perhaps it is time to re-look at the format of the World Cup. Spread over two months, the event begins on March 13 but to be honest, the real action starts only from March 27 when the Super Eight begins. The ‘Super Eight’ term is an elitist connotation and it was the ICC who came up with that! One senses a bit of conflict of ideology here!

Let’s face it. The teams that will make it to the Super Eight will not include Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland or Zimbabwe. These teams will offer extended warm-up matches for the major teams (ok, I will refrain from using “Big Boys”). What will they have learned? Apart from exposure, they would have gained nothing.

The ICC seriously should reconsider the format and maybe have a qualifier from among the top 8 associates to bring through only two. Hang on… isn’t that what happened in 1996? Maybe it’s time to turn back the clock.