Wide deliveries

Someone 8212; or make that, some many 8212; in the Indian cricket establishment has been dusting the cobwebs off his copy of J.R.R. Tolkien8217;s children8217;s classic, Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;The Hobbit. In this television age, when out of sight is immediately rendered out of mind, Tolkien8217;s advice on how to remain part of the contemporary narrative is evidently being heeded. 8220;Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to,8221; wrote that great man many decades ago, 8220;while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.8221; Accordingly, the dramatis personae in this sordid post-Cronje cricketing saga are exploring the limits of their creative powers to 8220;make a good tale8221; embroidered with the uncomfortable and the palpitating, so that the rest of us are given 8220;much to listen to8221;. So, if success is to be judged by the newsprint devoted to exertions by BCCI officials, A.C.Muthiah and his men are achievers yet again. As is the sometimes tearful and normally aggressive Kapil Dev. If intrigue and petty politics are to be deemed essential magnets to attract popular interest, the whole lot of them can be said to be making signal contributions to the cause that is Indian cricket.

But if any of this one is seeking a glimmer of hope, an odd signal that the once much loved game will be returned to its old glory, he is not likely to find any happiness. Just survey the wreckage this weekend. First, the coach, and the man who brought us the World Cup 17 summers ago and who is now battling the worst charges a sport icon can dream of, has made public his lack of faith in the BCCI. Board officials, he says, are not professional enough to negotiate the responsibilities of sport administrators and 8220;it8217;s no use having honorary people who are not accountable to anyone8221;. Wise words, even if they are aimed at stymying the issuance of marching orders. Then, Board officials, who are genetically inclined to lapse into a comatose state when crises like the Cronje tapes and the income tax raids on key players and fellow officials occur, react with uncharacteristic alacrity 8212; thereby casting doubts on their own priorities. They may have simultaneously issued the Code of Conduct, but it would take anoptimist indeed to make a link between the guidelines and a match-fixing-free future.

And then, if any more bad tidings were required at a time when the Board and the coach are embroiled in a self-seeking, self-destructive spat, derision is heaped on the skipper. Just in case anyone has been harbouring hopes that an Indian revival would be initiated by a player, what with the elders having proved themselves so ineffectual, she had better banish them, pronto. Sample the British media8217;s response to the Prince of Calcutta8217;s much hyped stint with Lancashire: 8220;He stands accused of being aloof, not shouldering enough responsibility and failing to produce his best form when it really matters.8221; Can things get any worse? Unfortunately, yes. Ganguly may get his act together, but Indian cricket needs to be delivered from an unaccountable administration and a coach forever on tenterhooks. But for that, inspired changes in procedure are required, not another round of musical chairs.