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| Tuesday, 7 December 2004 |
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Sad on Lloyd by Elmo Rodrigopulle Former West Indian skipper and now ICC match referee Clive Lloyd must be a very upset man after his decision to suspend Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly for two matches had been overruled by the ICC Code of Conduct Commission. Lloyd going according to the rules, slapped a two match ban on the Indian skipper for time wasting tactics against Pakistan which did not allow him to bowl the stipulated number of overs in the time allotted. Ganguly had the right to appeal, and the Indian Board made a forcefulappeal and the ICC Code of Conduct man who heard the appeal, Tim Castle of New Zealand ruled in favour of Ganguly and allowed him free. With this reprieve Ganguly was able to play in the Two Test series against South Africa and lead them to a victory in the Second Test afterthe first one ended in a draw. With Castle siding Ganguly, it was obvious that Lloyd at some stage of his report had blundered. Castle after going through the papers would have seen that various circumstances that deprived Ganguly of not finishing the overs on time. So he had no other alternative but to clear the Indian captain. Lloyd the former dashing left-hander and illustrious cricketer who was always an example must be rethinking his role as match referee. He probably becomes the first match referee to have his ruling overturned. The bottom line is that Lloyd as match referee did his job. So didCastle. Being a top class sportsman Lloyd has it in him to take the reversal with a smile. Lloyd as captain of the mighty Windies of that era knows that one must be humble in victory and determined in defeat. Ganguly has a knack of always getting on the wrong side of the law. Not long after he was cleared by Castle, he ran into trouble in the Final Test against South Africa for showing dissent and had to pocket out a fine.Ganguly as we all know is one who plays the game hard. Obviously it is his over enthusiasm that is plunging him into trouble. One thing that the ICC must remember is that cricket is not a game played by sissies. A bit of verbals and aggro are a must. Marapona in the ICC Scanning through the list of ICC Code of Commission members, it came as a surprise to note the name of Gamini Marapona from Sri Lanka in that list. A pleasant legal luminary President's Counsel, this former Thomian has what it takes to be in that exalted company. Marapona kept wickets and opened batting for the school by the sea in1960 and the Thomians were led by Lareef Idroos. Marapona did not have an easy job to do as wicket keeper, considering that he had to keep to top class leg spin/googly bowlers of the class of Lareef Idroos and B.W. R. Thomas. Marapona was also outstanding with the curved wand playing for STC ML. Marapona can proudly hold his place in the illustrious company of the rest of the ICC Code of Commission members. The SLC must be congratulated for nominating Gamini Marapona. Arnold deserves recall Russel Arnold from the time he sported Peterite colours showed promise of turning out into being a top allrounder. He captained his school with distinction and if the form he showed as a schoolboy was an indication then national honours should not have been long in coming. He did not find it easy getting into the national team. But once therehe grabbed the opportunity with both hands and began to perform and cementhis place. But then a sudden slump, most excellent batsmen suffer this, and hischop did not take long in coming. That was unfortunate. Some cricketers seem to be blessed, in the sense that selectors tolerate failure and continue to persist with them. Arnold is not in that chosen lot. Some are not that lucky and a solitary failure and out they go. I was there in Bulawayo when Arnold notched up one of the best one-daycenturies seen in the game. That was enough for him to hold his place. But that was not so. Anyway now that the selectors have seen reason and recalled him for NZ, he must make it his business to cement his place. Chandana cleared Good for the game and for him that Upul Chandana the Lankan leg-spinning allrounder had been cleared by the medicalmen in Singapore and to rightfully take his place in the team to New Zealand. But what was funny was that while he is in the one-day squad, his place in the Test line up will depend on the form and fitness of Muralitheran. In Murali's absence Chandana spun, batted and fielded beautifully in Australia and the experts there commentated and described his performance in glowing terms. In Pakistan he was discarded while the Pakistanis persisted with their leg-spinner Kaneria. Now the country's number one allrounder cannot find a place in the Test squad. How funny!Chandana must be wondering what else he has to do to secure a permanent place. Jonty Rhodes rates Chandana as one of the best 11 fielders he has seen during his career. |
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