Road to Morocco will set cricket on a new pitch

Next week a new international venue makes its bow: Tangier in Morocco, where Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa play in an international stadium which has earned praise from ICC match referee Mike Procter.

In the 1890s, Lord Harris, then Governor of Bombay, did as much as anyone to popularise the game in India; all, he said, are equal in the eyes of cricket laws. During the last four years, through the efforts of Abdur Rahman Bukhatir, the father of cricket in Sharjah, the sport has been popularised to the extent that a major international stadium with five turf pitches and practice facilities have been built. Cricket in Northern Africa? Amazing.

What it does show is what can be done in areas where the game was once the playground of British and Asian diplomats. Curious Moroccans became interested and, as Hoosain Ayob, the ICC director in charge of African development, expressed a year ago, there’s been impressive growth in the area. A former fast bowler in the segregated days of South African cricket, Hoosain suggests that in the case of Morocco, a French-speaking country, development is more than words: there is plenty of action as well. It will be interesting to see how the stadium in Tangier handles its first international event.

Although in the initial stages (1996 and 1998) geographically some of the countries taking part in Asian tournaments were hardly Asian, it does show there is a fairly loose link under the ICC’s global zonal plans for a further expansion of the game. In June, during the annual Lord’s gathering, a decision to split the game into zones and divisions moved into the 21st century.

These days the tournaments are split into Asian and Pacific/East Asian regions. Then again, such common Hong Kong, Singapore or Thailand names as Mohammad Jamshaid, Gary Meyer or Mark William might explain the demographics of those nations being fully represented. After all, Titsaro Juji (Japan) and Sourav Ganguly (India) as captains of their respective countries can also claim a sort of ‘‘Asian’’ bond as can someone claiming to be European such as Peter Edwardes (a bank clerk from South Africa playing for Switzerland in the European championship) along with Iqbal Arif (a Pakistan pastry chef) representing Denmark in the same tournament.

From all accounts the ACC Trophy has become as important to the ICC, as has their bid to get the US involved in the Caribbean along with Argentina. If the polite noises coming out of the ICC development office at Lord’s explain anything as well as those comments uttered by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, Asian countries playing in the Singapore/Malaysia tournament have key roles to play in the globalisation policy. Back in April the three qualifying countries from the ICC Trophy tournament in Canada were given a window to shake up their form and improve their levels with a minor tournament in Windhoek, Namibia. Potential champions such as Kenya, Holland and Namibia were taught lessons in skills and technique by Zimbabwe A and Sri Lanka A. Six weeks down the road we have the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka: reformatted and revamped, the idea is to give all the sides a chance to hone some skills for big event, World Cup 2003. They will be using two venues in Colombo as a matter of logistical and cost effectiveness. Why on earth India turned it down is one of those conundrums the board needs to explain — if they care to.

Well, Morocco seems to have gone one step better than most associate and affiliate member nations; it seems that desert camel races have given way to a new international sports craze. Anyone know the French for lbw?