ICC

TimesNow

Is the BCCI victory on the DRS issue proof of India’s clout in world cricket?

In what came as a shot in the arm for the BCCI, on Tuesday (October 11) the ICC  reversed its earlier decision of making the controversial Decision Review System mandatory by leaving its use subject to bilateral agreements between the participating boards. The ICC decision, reached at its Executive Board meeting, was a reversal from the agreement reached between the world body and its member Boards at the annual conference in Hong Kong, when Hot Spot was made mandatory subject to its availability, though the use of ball-tracking was left to the playing boards to decide.

TIMES NOW’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami debates the issue with Mihir Bose, Former Sports Editor, BBC and Author; Bishen Singh Bedi, Former Indian Captain;  Arun Lal, Former Test Cricketer and Boria Majumdar, Cricket Historian.

Debate: BCCI gets its way on DRS – 1

Debate: BCCI gets its way on DRS – 2

ECB Cricket Podcast – Episode 56

England take top spot in the world Test rankings after victory over India at Edgbaston – latest from the npower Test Series with both captains, plus Alastair Cook, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Hugh Morris, Mihir Bose and Podcast Pundit Mike Gatting.

Mihir and Stephen Lamb discuss India’s loss against England in the Series.

(Note: the relevent section starts at 20:00)

Click here to listen or download the podcast in full

Evening Standard

Seat of power: Clive Lloyd holds a top role within the ICC after years of helping the West Indies rule on the field. Image courtesy of Evening Standard

Clive Lloyd, who captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 – arguably the greatest ever Test side – would loved to have been a lawyer. Growing up in Guyana he liked nothing better than to go to the Georgetown courts and watch the captain of his team, the Demerara Cricket Club, perform.”He was a QC and I loved listening to him,” he says. “I would love to have been a QC.”

This ability to argue a case has proved very handy for Lloyd in his role as chair of the cricket committee of the International Cricket Council. The big issue for the world body’s annual meeting in Hong Kong this week has been to convince the Indians to accept the Decision Review System.

For Lloyd the issue is a no brainer. “I don’t see why the Indians won’t accept it,” he says. “If you are in a league like in football and the rule is a goalkeeper can’t pick a ball up with his hands when it is kicked back to him by one of his own players, then everyone has to follow that rule. You cannot have one match where that rule is observed and another match where it is not. Similarly, with cricket you have to have consistency. You cannot have a Test series between England and Sri Lanka where there is a review system and then between England and India where it is not.”

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Evening Standard

Taking a stand: Jacques Rogge says the IOC only tackled corruption within their organisation after they faced up to the fact that they had a problem. Image courtesy of Evening Standard

Next July, as Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, opens the London Games, he will have one eye firmly on the cricket.

The Olympics have only had one cricket match, Great Britain beating France in the 1900 Paris Games, but for Rogge, the leader of world sport, this is still the greatest of games.

We are in his offices in Lausanne and he is telling me how he combines his love of cricket with work. “Whenever I can, I catch up with some cricket.

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Evening Standard

Taking a lead: Andrew Strauss may be confident about England's future on the field but he is deeply concerned over corruption in the game. Image courtesy of Evening Standard

There is one thing Andrew Strauss is determined not to become. England’s Ashes triumph has made him much sought after as a celebrity. But, mention the word, and he recoils and says: “No, no that’s not my style.”

A few days before we met, Strauss had been guest of honour at a ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

As Eric Clapton, Sir Tim Rice, Bill Wyman and Dennis Waterman told their cricketing tales, Andrew Flintoff, raised money for his charity. Strauss almost had to be dragged on to the stage by Rory Bremner.

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