Everywhere you look, cricket is headed Asia-wards

In the words of New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden, the passion for the game in India is more than a religion; what it has become, if we are to believe one aphorism, is that ‘‘without cricket there is no life’’. Extreme perhaps, but it expresses the thinking of the masses with their largely gentle approach yet sense of heightened curiosity.

Or, in the words of Denis Lindsay, a former South African wicketkeeper and match referee, ‘‘Discover India and learn all about the new rulers of the game’’.

A couple of weeks ago, the picture was radically changed. The edifice that is the BCCI was decidedly tarnished and tottering. Worse still, Team India had suffered humiliation on the field at Bangalore by an Australian side seeking to win a series on the sub-continent for the first time in 35 years.

The current potpourri background overlooks one of the most important meetings in modern ICC history. This weekend the big names who run the world game and promote its image are taking a serious peek at the future structure of Test and limited-overs cricket at a meeting in Lahore. And no one needs reminding that Asia are seriously affected.

Just what are we looking at here? Why is Lahore going to be such a watershed meeting?

How many still remember that before CWC99 in England, the ICC passed a long-range resolution advocating that by the time CWC07 was held in the Caribbean, the number of Test countries would be increased by four or five? It is a serious reminder that the game is not all about glamour, glitz and TV contracts.

Anyone who has been looking at the new first-class structure the ICC have introduced cannot but help but be impressed at efforts made in this bold venture.

In this countries such as Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Scotland, Malaysia, Holland, the UAE and Nepal all vie for the honour of winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

It is a competition given little publicity because it is about developing the smaller nations, those with associate membership status. Essentially a first-class competition for countries below Test match level.

It contains any number of innovative playing conditions including a points system specifically created for the event, giving players the chance to develop their skills in the longer version of the game, and assist in the progression to the next level of competition.

The series is linked to the high performance arm of the ICC’s development programme, launched in 1997 to develop cricket as a global sport.

Its inception, the development program has helped the number of ICC members increase by over 40 in the past seven years. Notice if you will that three are Asian nations on the list.

Lahore offers the ICC Board its first opportunity to consider the future structure of the programme of Tests and ODIs and follows discussions by the CEOs of all countries at their meeting in September.

The ICC Board will consider a range of alternatives identified by the Chief Executives’ Committee and provide direction to ICC Management as to which, if any, it wishes to be examined further in terms of planning the granting of future Test status with a possible two-tier system.

If India want to become masters of the ICC universe and lead the way in the globalisation game, it is time to adopt a mature approach. So far they have been culpable of a number of acts that suggests the board is run by a bunch of juveniles on probation with their L-plates.