The hotly contested tour itinerary of the Indian cricket tour later this year suggests that playing for a Currie Cup may be more apt than something milder than a Bombay special.
The ructions and rumours concerning the Indian cricket tour to SA and the future of the Super 15 reminds me of the days when we were outcasts in international sport. Is it good or bad?
According to the media, the Indians are continuing their bullying tactics, but is this really the case? From my perspective, a tour schedule should be agreed to by both countries. If they decide that they have other ideas, it is certainly their right to suggest an alternative?
Their suggested itinerary will result in the legendary Sachin Tendulkar playing in his 200th test in India. When our own living legend, Jaques Kallis, is in sight of such a milestone, it would only be right if we plan for him to achieve this at home, not so?
My colleagues Bobby and Henk, disagrees 100% with me.
India bullying CSA in the boardroom by Bobby
In my humble opinion, I think the BCCI makes the appointment of Haroon Lorgat as CEO of CSA, cloud their judgement and makes them out to look bad when it comes to cricketing matters and the viewing public.
The financial stronghold in cricket has always been India and they are using their position to bully other nations when things don’t go their way. The radically reduced scheduled tour to South Africa is hardly worth anything to get excited about. Their reasoning – they are complying with the minimum requirements of the ICC future tours program to give their players a break. Yet they recently committed to an ICON (5 test match) series with England…
The last time I checked, the Proteas were the best test team in the world, and CSA has rightly made time available for contracted Protea players to play in the IPL – unlike the England and Whales cricket Board has done.
It’s obvious the BCCI is upset by Haroons’s appointment and is now behaving like a spoilt child by withdrawing support from the South African tour.
I think the right way to go about this, is for the SA Cricket Players Association to stand together with CSA and show that two can play this game – make no mistake, some of the Protea players like AB, Kallis, Steyn, Albe Morkel, Morne Morkel etc. are huge draw cards in the IPL and getting them to start voicing their unhappiness at India might just get them to take note the game is bigger than one nation.
Referee Controversy
Alex Bax very kindly sent me a link which sets out how the referees viewed last week’s controversial TMO decisions. Thanks Alex, it certainly provides a more balanced perspective on the matter.
The rugby spotlight shifts back to the Rugby Championship this weekend, with the Springboks eager to break the Brisbane voodoo. Have we chosen the right team?
Showdown at the Suncorp Corral
This famous gunfight in Western history (it apparently only lasted for 30 seconds) ended with the good guys winning the fight, despite three of the four being wounded in the process. The two bad guys who were not killed or wounded, actually ran away from the fight.
I must admit that my natural inclination is to view the Springboks as the good guys, but after the team announcement, I started to wonder. Would the inclusion of Flip van der Merwe change the image? Then I remembered that Wyatt Earp appointed Doc Holliday as a special marshal just before the fight, so I reckon we are still on the right side.
The make-up of the team would suggest that possession will be the main focus – securing our own, and slowing down theirs. Kirchner will address the wobbles under the high ball, and Willie le Roux will still be able to weave his magic from a position where he is quite used to playing.
Jake White is of the opinion that it was a mistake to leave Juandré Kruger out of the starting line-up. Heyneke’s option is, of course, that he can always replace Flip van der Merwe if it does not work out.
