India manipulating the draw for own benefit has turned T20 World Cup into a farce

[goose]

 

From the start, it was clear the tournament was set up for Indian TV, not players or fans, as Thursday’s semi-final illustrates perfectly

 

Nick Hoult

Chief Cricket Correspondent

Telegraph

 

There really is no excuse for India this time if they fail to win the World Cup. The game’s financial behemoth has been handed an advantage by the structure of a tournament skewed in favour of one team for financial reasons.

England qualified for the last four by midday on Sunday but more than 24 hours of chaos ensued as they waited to discover where they would play their semi-final.

They had to wait for India and Australia to play out their group game on Monday. If Australia had won, they would have faced an even longer wait until Monday’s evening game between Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which finished after midnight local time, before discovering whether they were heading to Port of Spain, Trinidad, for a semi-final on Wednesday, or Georgetown, Guyana, on Thursday.

The scramble has prevented any media travelling to Guyana, including the BBC commentary team, and there will barely be a handful of fans there either because of the late notice and lack of flights. Georgetown has few hotel options and with limited airline carriers between the Caribbean islands, it is hard for supporters and media to ensure they could be back in Barbados for Saturday’s final.

Staying outside the main hotels is risky but they were block booked by the International Cricket Council, sponsors and India supporters, who had months of notice. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises caution in Guyana. “There are frequent armed robberies, hold-ups, carjackings and other violent crimes, often involving two or more attackers.”

 

India have known for months their semi-final would be in Guyana, because it has a 10.30am start time, suiting the Asian broadcasters who prop up the game financially, whereas Trinidad is a night game. They have been able to plan for conditions from the start. After all, it is even explicitly written into the playing regulations that a different set of rules apply to India regarding the semi-final under article 16.10.6: “NOTE: If India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in the second semi-final scheduled for Guyana on the 27 June 2024.”

 

The semi-finals have different playing regulations, too. Trinidad has a reserve day, Guyana does not. It rains on average 23 days in June in Guyana. If the semi-final is washed out, India will go through because they topped their group. That is fair enough, but only one semi-final having a reserve day will be difficult to defend if that scenario unfolds in the Caribbean wet season.

It is unclear why both semi-finals could not have been played at 10.30am or even hosted on a different day on the same island, which would have enabled easier planning and repeated the model of the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup played in the Caribbean at a similar time of year.

Players are used to flying, unpacking and playing a game of cricket. If England lose, it will be because India are the better side, but Twenty20 is often about small margins and to be able to know right from the beginning where you will play each game is an advantage.

It comes down to money and television. This has never been a tournament for the local ticket-buying audience or the players. The ICC’s broadcast partner, Disney Star, is king. It paid $3 billion for a four-year deal and wants the India matches to hit prime-time audiences in Asia.

It is why India are the only team at this World Cup to have played every game with a 10.30am start while others have had to adjust to afternoon and evening matches when conditions can be very different in the Caribbean, especially in the wet season.

 

Around 90 per cent of the ICC’s broadcast deal is predicated on the Indian market, hence the ability to call the shots and influence the structure of a premier global tournament. The ICC’s events staff have to then deal with the logistics and do a fine job of putting on a tournament in very difficult situations.

All the decisions regarding logistics and start times were waved through to suit television by the ICC’s board of directors, made up of the chairs of individual countries’ governing bodies, such as the England and Wales Cricket Board. That is where it could have been opposed, but the reality of who pays the bills was accepted long ago.

It is difficult to balance the mission statement of making cricket a global sport, taking it to the United States so it can expand into a massive market, only for the premier tournament of a format designed to appeal to new audiences being tilted towards one team. It undermines the integrity of the competition.

It is hard to see it happening in football or rugby union. Those sports have the benefit of not being dominated by one big power, which is the reason why this could all happen again in cricket and probably will.

The thing is, India are so good they do not need assistance. Jasprit Bumrah can bowl any team out, Rohit Sharma take down any attack. They are the form team. But the broadcasters insisting on an early start time could bite them if it rains in Guyana and the match is shortened to a 10-over scramble because there is no reserve day. There will not be much sympathy.

 

 

[diga]

How is that manipulation ? Its the broadcasters who are insisting on that scheduling and not the Indian cricket team... an article for eyeballs

[nevada]

Why did England have to wait to know where they would play their semi final? India getting favored treatment has been a complaint as far back as the 2007 50 over WC. But despite all the support, India went out early then, losing to BD and SL. 

[jf1gp_1]

Not India's fault if NZ , SL and Pak failed to make it into super 8. Again not India's fault if Aussies and WI failed to make it into semis or final. 

[goose]

india knowing in advance it will play in Guyana is is problematic. I don't like it one bit. however if the game is washed out and india progress to the final it cannot be said the rules favoured the indian cricket team. you can argue indian viewership is being prioritsed over common sense scheduling more broadly. no doubt the fall out from the washout will inspire more articles like this one, especially from the English media, the bastions of all things fair and proper.

[Gollum]

Hosting every WTC final in England is fair for these English pricks?

[goose]

1 minute ago, Gollum said:

Hosting every WTC final in England is fair for these English pricks?

that is an excellent rebuke!

[Gollum]

This craze for Indian TV/streaming rating points messed up our 2021 T20 WC, where we had long gaps between our games. Works both ways.

[diga]

1 hour ago, goose said:

india knowing in advance it will play in Guyana is is problematic. I don't like it one bit. however if the game is washed out and india progress to the final it cannot be said the rules favoured the indian cricket team. you can argue indian viewership is being prioritsed over common sense scheduling more broadly. no doubt the fall out from the washout will inspire more articles like this one, especially from the English media, the bastions of all things fair and proper.

I am sure you will not pass the Tebbit test ... 

[Mariyam]

1 hour ago, goose said:

india knowing in advance it will play in Guyana is is problematic. I don't like it one bit. however if the game is washed out and india progress to the final it cannot be said the rules favoured the indian cricket team. you can argue indian viewership is being prioritsed over common sense scheduling more broadly. no doubt the fall out from the washout will inspire more articles like this one, especially from the English media, the bastions of all things fair and proper.

Well, India didn't know in advance that she would qualify for the semis.

 

The fault here lies solely with the ICC who chosen to maximize their TV revenue instead of using the tournament to showcase cricket as an alternative mode of entertainment to various deplorable forms of entertainment that exist in present day Northern America.

[Gollum]

Olympics also panders to Americans who form bulk of viewership count as well as live attendance. Whether it is timings or events (imagine aquatic events having 40 different gold medals for grabs just to prop up US above China and Russia), or even judging.

 

Eyes on TV matter at the end of the day, ICC sees Indian population as a cash cow, of course they will milk us dry whether it be via scheduling for peak Indian TRP window (8-11 pm) or somehow inserting Ind vs Pak in every event.

 

 

Edited June 26, 2024 by Gollum

[goose]

9 minutes ago, diga said:

I am sure you will not pass the Tebbit test ... 

don't get me started. the Tebbit test is fundamentally racist. Kiwis and Aussies settled in Uk that carry on supporting those countries are never expected to 'prove' themselves.

[neel roy]

1 hour ago, goose said:

india knowing in advance it will play in Guyana is is problematic. I don't like it one bit. however if the game is washed out and india progress to the final it cannot be said the rules favoured the indian cricket team. you can argue indian viewership is being prioritsed over common sense scheduling more broadly. no doubt the fall out from the washout will inspire more articles like this one, especially from the English media, the bastions of all things fair and proper.

Australia knew in 2022 if they were in semis they ll play in sydney.. its another story that they didnt qualify..

[goose]

6 minutes ago, neel roy said:

Australia knew in 2022 if they were in semis they ll play in sydney.. its another story that they didnt qualify..

interesting. as usual there is always an extra dollop of allegation when Asia countries are involved.

[mishra]

It will be fun to witness the meltdown if match gets washed out.

[maniac]

Simple solution to those whining  : suck it up

[coffee_rules]

40 minutes ago, goose said:

interesting. as usual there is always an extra dollop of allegation when Asia countries are involved.

You should include the link to the article instead of cut n paste. I didn’t realize it was an article until midway.
 

Telegraph is a major leftist media who hate capitalism, BCCI money, franchise sports etc., would naturally whine about venue selection. It was not to maximize India’s chances to win the WC, but to grab eyes of all India matches to the maximum. They are all scheduled day matches made for prime time viewership in India. These racist colonialists still live in 70s think England, Australia and MCC dominate Cricket rules and can’t digest that India is a Cricket powerhouse and that ICC bends down to BCCI. Article will be a hit in the green ghetto!

Edited June 26, 2024 by coffee_rules

[rkt.india]

Only if scheduling could make teams win.

[Prabhdeep Singh]

If these western countries had an issue they should have raised it before tournament, no point crying now.

 

It is only a issue now is because India finished top in their super 8 table, England is the opponent, if it gets washed out, India will go straight through to final.

 

[gattaca]

lol @goose it was England team who only played in few venues where Bamy army travel in this WC. This scheduling of the ground is more favorable for England than india. England only played in st Lucia , Barbados where English fans travel more. This opinion of the reporter is trash.

Edited June 26, 2024 by gattaca