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Journalism of Courage
On a grim day for the region as the tsunami terror struck, the one spark came from the least expected quarter: Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka, where the hosts beat India in a thrilling cricket encounter. While Indian fans spent the evening moping, the neutrals celebrated a win which, while it wouldn8217;t change anything in the long run, followed sport8217;s basic precept which dictates that the team that plays better should win. And, on Sunday, Bangladesh simply had more hunger for a win.
This was not, however, a win out of the blue. TV only shown us, as the run-up to Sunday8217;s story, Bangladesh floundering at the highest levels. It hasn8217;t shown the genuine desire among administrators to change the game, the groundswell of support among ordinary players and members of the public for a sport India seems to take for granted. Indeed, beyond the boundary, cricket here has been making far greater strides than its more accomplished neighbour. To compensate for a limited talent pool, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has chosen to focus on developing the game from the grassroots upwards. In doing so, they8217;ve wisely adopted the Australian model 8212; professional administration backing professional coaching 8212; rather than the Indian method. A global tender was floated to hire CEO Macky Dudhia, whose initial decisions included dividing the game for administrative purposes into broad professional and amateur categories, both handled by qualified people. Zimbabwe-born Dudhia8217;s catchphrase offers an insight: 8216;8216;High-performance is a sprint, development is a marathon8217;8217;. The focus is on both. He8217;s brought in respected Aussie pros as high-performance manager who will do for the domestic players what Dav Whatmore is doing with the national side.
