From Ashes to Dust-The wonder boy of Bangladesh cricket and an ailing system!

Bangladesh as a cricketing nation has never garnered much attention in the international arena apart from its fans and by god we are a passionate lot!! I have spent the last 11 years in India and despite the constant ridicule I stood firm in my passion and belief in this team. Sometimes we are rewarded with a good victory which helps reaffirm our faith in this team.

The picture above describes a painful scene for any Bangladeshi as recent as 2-3 years ago. But in recent times a wind of change was felt in our cricket circle. A lot has been achieved in the last 2 years and finally the team began to perform on a more consistent basis. But much like a drunken habit you can’t shake controversy comes back to hound us.

Latest to bit e the bullet is the wonder boy of Bangladesh cricket Ashraful. A player recognized by all as the most adept but at the same time someone who has frustrated people to no end by his seeming inability to achieve consistency.  In 2001 with Bangladesh still in its infancy in the game Ashraful became the youngest centurion in test, but as well documented has been his rise the fall was more gut wrenching. Ashraful in full flow will always be a delight but soon these moments became few and far in between.

Somehow or the other Ashraful found his way in the team and we as fans prayed that this would be his moment only to be disappointed.

Coming to match fixing an issue that has dogged the game on and off for the better part of the last 13 years. However, by fortune or otherwise had left Bangladeshi cricket relatively untouched.  Not to say we didn’t have our own problems. A cricket board being run by politicians and interests, a board that removes its best opener on the behest of the president and then have the prime minister step in to resolve the crisis are never good signs. Selections were often made and later changed on behest, and the less said about our domestic structure the better.  Off the field we seem to be stumbling from one controversy or the other and on it our forms remained mercurial.

We have been beginning to see a slow change over the last two years. Under coaches like Stuart Law and Shane Jurgensen the team began to show forms of consistency but even in these times off field issues kept taking precedence. First there was the tour of Pakistan and the claim that the BCB president agreed to undertake the tour in return of Pakistan’s support for his own candidacy for the post of ICC President. Fortunately, due to public outcry and a saner head at the helm of BCB the tour was cancelled. The issue of hiring Richard Pybus as head coach and his resignation within weeks with claims of non-payment and a lack of proper contract only tarnished the image of the board further. For a team to succeed the most ingredients are stability and consistency on and off the field, two things that has been sourly missed in cricket. These issues I highlight alas are common to the entire sub-continent and yet cricket goes on.

Coming to the BPL, organized on the lines of the IPL and the Big Bash League with the hope of creating a new talent pool and providing financial security to the players at the same time. While it has had relatively good success in the former the latter has been an abject failure with payment issues still lingering from the first edition. And here the issue of fixing becomes a little easier to understand. In a country such as ours the truth remains that most cricketers come from semi-urban areas and modest backgrounds. Carrying the dual burden of a nation’s expectations and gaining economic stability through the sport can be daunting for anyone. Couple this with the young age that many of these players are induced into the setup players become easy prey to the unsavory elements of fixing.

I think what hurt the common man was it was Ashraful who was involved in the scandal. The poster boy of Bangladesh cricket has long divided opinions and now let an entire nation down and that hurt. Rumors in the media about involvement of former crickets such as Rafique, Khaled Masud and Khaled Mahmud only worsened our pain. Given how our domestic sport structure is run the prevalence of fixing is not surprising and various cases have been reported in football over the years. So shouldn’t it be a surprise how cricket has remained clean for so long?

 I am in no way justifying Ashraful’s action. But you have to give credit to the amount of guts he showed by confessing on his own accord knowing what it would entail. Given the circumstances surrounding the game in this country is it really the lightning bolt we make it to be?

What should concern us all is how the issue will be handled by the board. The silver lining here being a recent change to positive outlook amongst its official towards the betterment of the game but a lot of the key figures remain the same and entrenched in the system so the ultimate result remains to be seen. When your star player says that he was not match ready and telling the board would not make a difference either ways goes on to show how the system is viewed by the players in the general sense.

Bangladesh as a cricketing nation is slowly gaining acceptance after 12 years of being taken lightly and ridiculed in the international arena. A time has finally come when we can stand with our heads held high and look forward. Dealing with fixing now is an opportunity for the board to set a trend on good governance and management and to root the issue for good once and for all. Steps should be taken for the greater good and not under influence and vested interests.

Rich-Richer-Richest-& it starts crumbling down!!

The cricketing world is like private club. A select few gain admittance (your full members today!) and there is always a long waiting list for entry. (the associate countries). The one's inside make their own set of rules on how to run the club and you find some are more powerful/popular than the rest who has a "bigger pull". This is how I see the universe of cricket today. Now before fans start calling for my head; I love the game, have played it from when I could hold a bat in my hand and have too many bruised and broken bones from diving and being hit for a count but let's be honest, is the ICC really anything less than the crude analogy I refer???

But I digress. You or me have no powers really to change (no matter how much it needs to!)how the game is run. What I want to go on about are the bouncers that we as fans are served with increasing frequency.

In April of 2000 the cricketing world was rocked by its first major storm when the South African captain and one of the game's most respected figure Hansie Cronje admitted to taking money from Indian bookies to deliberately underperform and encourage teammates to do the same thereby  fixing matches South Africa played in. I still remember the TV coverage and his tear stricken face something a 12 year old me could not really grasp but it saddened me even then. This ensured a period of promises, soul searching on how the game is run and steps to fix the gentlemen's game and 13 years later I am still unsure what if anything these steps have achieved.  We did get some years of normalcy and then came the cricket world cup of 2007 and we got strike 2!!! Two major upsets in the form of India and Pakistan losing to Bangladesh and Ireland and the "small" matter of the Pakistan coach who incidentally is a South African found dead in the team hotel and the words match fixing and betting syndicate were being uttered in hushed tones again!!  *Inset own  conspiracy theory about the evil Indian bookie market and how they clear away anyone who stands in their paths here……

Before I continue an honorable mention needs to be made of three Pakistani players including the captain being banned for various periods for spot fixing… an issue I will try coming back to later.

I think a major issue here is that cricket to an extent has always played 2nd string to football.. Be that in terms of popularity or the financial incentive involved in the sport. All this changed with the advent of cricket's newest baby T20 and the advent of the premier league system. Finally cricketers the world over had a stage to showcase their talent and for many it gave a chance to consider taking up this sport as a serious career. 

I won't go into the BPL and all the sordid financial mess it is in but let us start with the birth place of this system in India. A 'rebel' league called the Indian Cricket League(the same concept as the later day IPL) was started. The BCCI first cried foul as it was not their idea….. then resorted to huffing and puffing and using their pull to discourage players from joining. They threatened and got bans enforced on national and international players who didn't  follow the line. Finally coming up with the 'innovative' idea and dubbed it the Indian Premier League cricket's ultimate glamour baby filled with Razzmataaz!!

Ignoring the slightly dubious circumstances of its birth only a cynic will ignore the good sides of this system. Regardless of the Indian, Australian, Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi model the financial security and the confidence it gave to the youngsters are undeniable. From the glam of film stars to serious cricket entertainment; from the brutal hitting of Gayles and Maccullums to the successful purist approach of your Dravids and Kallis the IPL offered something for everyone. The organizers got a pat  for a good job and for us fans all was well again in the world…

Small hiccups existed in the league but as they were off the field we lived with that. But like a bad habit you can't hide spot fixing  resurfaced. Three players an Indian international included was arrested for spot fixing and now the flood gates just burst forth. A so called "team owner" Gurunath Meiyappan stands accused of being directly involved in the scandal. The BCCI President who himself has a murky relationship with the most successful franchise in the league happens to be Meiyappan's father-in-law. Their elite team of spin doctors are trying to put different spins to the issue each more ludicrous then the last! Saying a lot of things without really saying anything. Like a child they believe if you pretend it never happened. IT NEVER HAPPENED. We hear promises of impartial commissions strict actions against guilty are all well and good but given BCCI's known money muscle!!! I wonder what lies down that road?? Last checked two top BCCI officials have resigned on their own. But how many have the decency & courage like them?

So in the end we have the richest sports body in cricket…running the most expensive league some say as their own "fiefdom"  and we find ourselves in this incomprehensible mess that we are in.

This begs the more interesting question why despite being in the age of live television and social media people have been largely silent. In a country where you have riots in stadiums and streets because of their favorite player failed there hasn't been any squeak of protest in public.  Have we as a society reached a moral saturation and accept fixing gate as normal??? Or have we just gotten sick of cricket?? These are questions that needs answers and no manner of aggressive posturing can hide these real issues. Oh!! How I wish now for a simpler times when this game was a "gentlemanly" pursuit ONLY!!