After he leaves, Lawson has ideas

In an older post, I had talked about the importance of taking a professional approach to the training of the squad. It appears that now that Geoff Lawson has some ideas, after being let go as coach.

He speaks the importance of having a team psychologist to help the players. It can't hurt. The shenanigans of Shoaib Akhtar (I'm injured, I'll hit team mates with a bat), the travails of Mohammad Asif (steroids or opium, name your poison), and even the hare brained things Mohammad Yousuf (ICL or IPL? Should I see or should I pee) and Younis Khan (Don't make me captain, PLEASE CAN I BE CAPTAIN!) have been upto all scream for some kind of psychological intervention. Whether its egos run rampant, or just confusion after coming face to face with the trappings of success in sports, the happenings of the last two years speak to the importance of some kind of help for the players. Even after the sudden and shocking death of Bob Woolmer, there was no help for the players. I can see for Geoff Lawson is coming from. Trainers, physios, position specific coaches and team counselors are a must in the modern game.

India, the Asian Cricket Council and the Worst Case

In this article, in the times, there is genuine fear that if the ICC does something silly, like ban Inzamam or not do something about the Darrell Hair issue, which they already have said they are not willing to do, the Asian Cricket Council, currently the highest revenue generating arm of the ICC, could very well just simply walk away and tell the 'roos at the ICC to go lump themselves.

What makes this unlikely though, is that India has already come out and said that they support whatever the ICC chooses to do in this situation. I was hoping for a stronger stance from India,
but it appears that India has their own axes to grind here, rather than standing up for principle. Wonder how they would feel if on the next tour, Rahul Dravid is treated this way.

Now this is why the ICC needs a brain transplant.

What is up with the ICC? Is the current drama already not enough? Now, suddenly Ranjan Madugalle has a personal crisis, and is unable to conduct the Inzy hearing on Friday. Is that because Inzamam has stood and told the ICC that if they convict him in a kangaroo court, he'll take his men, who I am sure will stand behind him through this entire thing, and go home? Costing the ICC and the ECB millions of pounds in revenues from the ODIs? Or is it because the PCB has hired a lawyer to ensure that Inzamam gets more than what passes for justice at the kangaroo ICC?

And now, while tensions are mounting, the ICC has gone ahead and told the PCB that they can take their concerns about Darrell Hair and lump it where the sun don't shine, because the ICC lives in a world far more draconian than even Darrell Hair's. And if Pakistan feel he is unfair, then well they just don't get Darrell Hair's personal brand of justice. What a crock. Is the ICC forgetting that England had all but forgotten cricket prior to last year's Ashes? And the future of the game is in Pakistan and India, not in the tiny little island off France's north coast. Get your
act together ICC, or I will have to start referring to the ICC as the roo boys.

Wasim Akram and the ICC

Over the last few days Wasim Akram has made some interesting and stinging comments about the ICC. First, he came out and said that ICC's policy on chucking was not only difficult and hard to understand, its implementation was perhaps blatantly biased. Chief amongst Wasim's accusations was the lack of English/Aussie/NZ bowlers who have been investigated for chucking, while the process seems to mostly effect bowlers from the subcontinent and the West Indies. Now, Wasim seems to allude that this may be the case because there is no effective representation from the subcontinent on the ICC. I'm not sure if this comment really has merit. Sunil Gavaskar is chairman of the cricket committee, Ihsan Mani, who's merit Wasim appears to question, is the ICC president, and Faisal Hasnain is the CFO. Sure, high profile players like Imran, Kapil and Javed are not represented, but that doesn't necessarily mean the ICC is not representative. The chucking issue needs to be looked at in more detail, as well as the rules which govern chucking but do comments like this help? Not sure.

Combined World Cup Bid?

Now that India has stated that they want to bid for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan has stated that Pakistan is interested in a combined bid with India/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh. It would definitely make for an interesting World Cup, with four involved nations. India is not very likely to agree though, as this may be there chance to highlight their stadiums and their cricket infrastructure. Also, if Australia/England/New Zealand are not interested in playing in Karachi and Peshawar, how likely is it that Pakistan could mount such an event successfully? More thought and consideration is needed.