Harsha Bhogle hits back at Tony Grieg and India bashers

[CoverDrive]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/570326.html

Is India a convenient bogeyman? It's all too easy to lay the blame for all the game's ills at one door Harsha Bhogle June 29, 2012 If the objective of the DRS is to ensure fairer decision-making across the board, it must be allowed for every decision The interesting thing about Tony Greig's Colin Cowdrey lecture was not that he took off on India - he can be quite predictable that way - but that it took so long coming. It's a pity, because Greig, whose stature as a player, observer and thinker is not in question, has gone after the easy target. Increasingly India has become the decoy, diverting thoughts from deeper problems that affect the foundation of cricket and come without nationalities Yes, many, including me, disagree with the BCCI's position on various issues, but those relate to domestic cricket, scheduling and preparation for international cricket, utilisation of funds by state bodies, aspects of corporate governance and so on. Those are problems of Indian cricket. If they make Indian cricket weaker, it shouldn't really matter to those looking in from the outside unless it is to express glee. The DRS and anti-doping issues are relatively minor. There are bigger issues - for a start, due to demographic issues and changing lifestyles, Test cricket is gasping. In the home of Test cricket (and I say this with all respect and no sarcasm) a Test series between the world No. 1 and No. 2 will be played over three games and a cash rich five-match one-day series has been slotted in. Also in England, first-class cricket is increasingly being played in April and May to allow T20 to be played in the middle of summer. In Australia last year, home batsmen who were out of form had no four-day cricket to go back to because the Big Bash was on in the middle of the season. It is happening everywhere. The greater issue of concern, therefore, is whether the same changes that saw the death of inland letters and long-playing records, that are seeing dangerous shifts from living within your means to living off your debt, are now encircling Test cricket. There again, India is the enemy. But India is one of ten countries that play Tests. Even if India is the big bad wolf, that still leaves 36 encounters not involving them. Surely those should be in the pink of health. They aren't. Looking at India is fast becoming the lazy solution; there is a far more critical global problem. But didn't the BCCI scuttle the World Test Championship? Now that is an interesting, if inconvenient, one. The WTC was not part of the television rights deal and the rights holders, who have invested a lot of money, and are not in the business of losing it, suggested that they would recover more from the Champions Trophy than from the WTC. My information is that they asked the ICC if they could make the relevant deduction in rights payable, and if so, they would be happy to include the WTC. The ICC was unwilling to take that stance; in effect, they wanted their share of the rights but wanted someone else to take part of the losses. In business terms that is untenable. If the ICC, and member countries, were so deeply committed to the WTC, they could have put in the money. As they can with countries that cannot afford the expensive equipment that is needed for the DRS. So on that count, we now have a situation, agreed to by all, where the richer countries have access to what most believe is better decision-making while the poorer nations have to make do with what they have. It was budgets that came in the way of DRS for Sri Lanka versus Pakistan. It is an old issue. The ICC wants television companies to pay for DRS equipment. On the DRS itself, there is a deeper issue. If the objective is to ensure fairer decision-making, it should be allowed on every decision, not one or two. As it stands today, it doesn't eliminate the howler for No. 9 or 10 if the two reviews have been used up. The lesser batsmen effectively live in a non-DRS system. We have created a hierarchy - haves and have-nots. I must admit, my own stance on the DRS is to look at it as a work in progress. I thought it was a good idea, but in the three series I saw the most, the World Cup and India v England and later Australia, the DRS wasn't in top form. If it had been a cricketer it would have been dropped. I can see the merits but I am yet to be convinced that it delivers too much more than line calls and pitch maps can. But my point of view is not the issue. The other countries can isolate India on this front but they choose not to vote. They too put commerce ahead of conviction. And then there is the IPL, the plague and AIDS combined, Genghis Khan and Idi Amin reincarnated, the evil monster that raids countries and steals their players, and which has this stupid clause that requires players to get a no-objection certificate from their home boards. Again, if the IPL is so bad, unlike Packer's WSC, which was such a breath of fresh air and reinvigorated world cricket, surely the rest of the world can fence India out. The IPL needs overseas players and it will be substantially reduced in stature, might even die, if they don't play or are not allowed to play. Again, you need to act not just complain. And I presume asking the IPL to share its time and revenues with other countries was no more than a little aside - like the Premiership sharing its profits with Luxembourg, Belgium and Iceland, the NBA with Honduras, Costa Rica and Cuba. The truth is, and Tony Greig is both intelligent and shrewd enough to know it, that independent of cultures, civilisations and people, organisations with power behave similarly. Forget the global political reality, even in our tiny little cricket world, Australia has behaved that way, England has, and South Africa has too. (India, for example, was wrong in supporting those who were then running Zimbabwe cricket, as were England and Australia in supporting cricket in apartheid South Africa.) The accent that power speaks in is not Gujarati, Midlands or Afrikaans, it is universal. But across cultures and civilisations, people have stood up and fought what they perceive to be wrong. If India is indeed wrong, the rest of the world can come together and alienate India. But they don't. Because they want Indian money but not an Indian point of view. Are they guilty of complicity then? I am writing this because I am disappointed by the ingratitude of world cricket towards the Indian fan who spends hard-earned money, braves difficult times, and whose enthusiasm for cricket survives many ordeals. He, and indeed she, plays a big role in keeping global cricket alive. If Namibia and Bermuda, and Japan and Italy, receive assistance, the Indian fan contributes to it. A little occasional thank you from brethren across the world might be gracious. I hope Tony Greig, and some others blessed with equal experience and insight, use their skills to enrich the game as they have in the past. They waste it now by taking the lazy option attacking someone they believe is an opponent. We are too small a game to be caught up and driven astray by an us-and-them attitude.

Good one Harsha - while people may have genuine concerns i feel there is planned effort to malign Indian cricket first Tony goes on his rant and then next day Mark Nicholas (who incidentally was hosting the Cowdrey lecture thing) comes out with this article back patting Tony Grieg http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/570263.html I liked the following lines from Bhogle

I am writing this because I am disappointed by the ingratitude of world cricket towards the Indian fan who spends hard-earned money, braves difficult times, and whose enthusiasm for cricket survives many ordeals. He, and indeed she, plays a big role in keeping global cricket alive. If Namibia and Bermuda, and Japan and Italy, receive assistance, the Indian fan contributes to it. A little occasional thank you from brethren across the world might be gracious.

[Number]

Tony Greig ‏@greigtalks 11:25 PM 2 Jun 12 If the Indians don’t get their way on these issues @bhogleharsha and co start whingeing. :hmmm:

[MCcricket]

Mark Nicholas is a racist mot@#$ FUC#$%, HE WAXES ELOQUENT AND THINKS ONLY WHITE PLAYERS HAVE TALENT, and him coming in to defend Tony Greig only shows what we all know , Tony Greig IS A LOOSER AND HAS NO INTEGRITY AND FINGER POINTING IS ALL HE CAN DO, for someone who took the best players from the game on rebel tours and also ICL what a joke he talks about anything at all, he is a looser.

[goggi]

oh god, not Harsha again. This article is just saw poor and admitting to "you did it in the past, why shouldn't we" attitude is worse than Tony Grieg's timely attack on BCCI. BCCI is run by kleptocrats and robbing Indian fans and cricket in the broad daylight, and then comes an idiot like Harsha defending BCCI. This will tighten BCCI's dirty greasy rules grip and make them feel they have done no wrong. F**k you Harsha Bhogle what a cop out.

[MechEng]

oh god, not Harsha again. This article is just saw poor and admitting to "you did it in the past, why shouldn't we" attitude is worse than Tony Grieg's timely attack on BCCI. BCCI is run by kleptocrats and robbing Indian fans and cricket in the broad daylight, and then comes an idiot like Harsha defending BCCI. This will tighten BCCI's dirty greasy rules grip and make them feel they have done no wrong. F**k you Harsha Bhogle what a cop out.

Another Englishman here.

[vamos_rafa]

oh god, not Harsha again. This article is just saw poor and admitting to "you did it in the past, why shouldn't we" attitude is worse than Tony Grieg's timely attack on BCCI. BCCI is run by kleptocrats and robbing Indian fans and cricket in the broad daylight, and then comes an idiot like Harsha defending BCCI. This will tighten BCCI's dirty greasy rules grip and make them feel they have done no wrong. F**k you Harsha Bhogle what a cop out.

Okay.

[MechEng]

The way world treats BCCI is just the same way spoilt brats treat their rich parents. If things are so screwed up, why don't they come up with an independent idea of their own to solve their issue?. Blaming BCCI just shows that they are badly relying on them.

[MechEng]

The most EPIC part was when Martin Crowe handed his support to BCCI. The reaction of India bashers was PRICELESS......

[bajrang]

oh god, not Harsha again. This article is just saw poor and admitting to "you did it in the past, why shouldn't we" attitude is worse than Tony Grieg's timely attack on BCCI. BCCI is run by kleptocrats and robbing Indian fans and cricket in the broad daylight, and then comes an idiot like Harsha defending BCCI. This will tighten BCCI's dirty greasy rules grip and make them feel they have done no wrong. F**k you Harsha Bhogle what a cop out.

[MechEng]

:haha::haha::haha::haha::haha:

[putrevus]

This article from Harsha makes no sense and is pathetic. BCCI is taking a stance on DRS is well within its right and this attempt of Harsha defending BCCI is very lame.

[jj_28]

This article from Harsha makes no sense and is pathetic. BCCI is taking a stance on DRS is well within its right and this attempt of Harsha defending BCCI is very lame.

so was Tony Greig trying to criticize India for standing its ground

[Zap_Brannigan]

This article from Harsha makes no sense and is pathetic. BCCI is taking a stance on DRS is well within its right and this attempt of Harsha defending BCCI is very lame.

Apart from the last few sentences in which he expects gratitude for being a cricket fan, the article was spot on. BCCI was not the only board in the room while talking about DRS. He asked what were the other 9 members doing? They didnt even pass a notion to vote on it. That basically says that not even a single board wanted to make it mandatory. He also spoke about the absurdity of having just 1 or 2 appeals per innings and the hypocrisy of asking India and only India to give away its money to other boards so that their chairman can take a luxurious vacation. He should have hit home harder on tony's bias against BCCI and his proclivity towards unauthorized cricket leagues. Should have also gone into extremely despicable practices by Eng/Aus back in the day and how BCCI is a saint compared to them. Maybe even point out that BCCI has helped cricket in smaller countries than any other country, ever,esp Eng and Aus.

[putrevus]

so was Tony Greig trying to criticize India for standing its ground

Tony Greig is an idiot everyone knows it and Indians of all people rushing to defend BCCI gives more credence to that A.hole. This stance of Harsha saying alienate BCCI if you don't like them is ridiculous and very undiplomatic BCCI is very pragmatic and is on much higher level than what Harsha is giving them credit for unlike other boards and their mouth pieces they don't shoot their mouths off in the media. They do all their work behind the public eye and certainly don't need mouth piece like Harsha defending them.

[goggi]

Tony Greig is an idiot everyone knows it and Indians of all people rushing to defend BCCI gives more credence to that A.hole. This stance of Harsha saying alienate BCCI if you don't like them is ridiculous and very undiplomatic BCCI is very pragmatic and is on much higher level than what Harsha is giving them credit for unlike other boards and their mouth pieces they don't shoot their mouths off in the media. They do all their work behind the public eye and certainly don't need mouth piece like Harsha defending them.

Exctly, thank you. It's sad so many lalus in here falling for this dinosaur whose insignificant is primarily being the Lankan's holiday rep:hysterical:. Tony Grieg is feeding off the criticism from you idiots and Harsha the moron, this will just give him more fuel to talk nonsense and stay significant and in the limelight. This is an epic fail from Harsha falling for Tony Grieg's PR trap, it's now spilled on twitter. I rather have someone attack BCCI's guardians' illigimate self-interest involvement in IPL, ripping off fans and Indian cricket.

[RedFever]

Exctly, thank you. It's sad so many lalus in here falling for this dinosaur whose insignificant is primarily being the Lankan's holiday rep:hysterical:. Tony Grieg is feeding off the criticism from you idiots and Harsha the moron, this will just give him more fuel to talk nonsense and stay significant and in the limelight. This is an epic fail from Harsha falling for Tony Grieg's PR trap, it's now spilled on twitter. I rather have someone attack BCCI's guardians' illigimate self-interest involvement in IPL, ripping off fans and Indian cricket.

Honestly the current BCCI (however corrupt it might be ) is doing its best for Indian Cricket. Indian Cricket has overall improved in the last decade. It is the best run sports organization in india if u compare it with HI or AITA or other such crap ogranizations. No wonder India will always remain a developing country when its own people always try to bring down someone who is doing good.

[ravishingravi]

Greig is an opportunist and just as greedy as they get. His history is there for all to see and his beef with BCCI is well know. However, Harsha, his stock has fallen so quickly in my eyes, like most of the most so called Indian experts who are on BCCI payroll and refuse to see the damage that this ostrich approach is doing to Indian cricket. So, f**k both of them I say, maybe I would give the finger to Tony.

[maniac]

The way world treats BCCI is just the same way spoilt brats treat their rich parents. If things are so screwed up, why don't they come up with an independent idea of their own to solve their issue?. Blaming BCCI just shows that they are badly relying on them.

Perfect analogy :clap:

[jj_28]

Are you watching BCCI!?! "As a concession to the BCCI how about the DRS system is renamed the DLF-DRS or the Tendulkar DRS?" That might just work Robbie... ' A lot of comments about Hot Spot not picking up faint edges, remember now the cameras are much improved and do pick up the fainter nicks... The DRS debate rumbles on. Here's John Muir. "The DRS does its job again. I don't know why the ICC doesn't develop a backbone and insist that it's used by everybody. Those that don't want it can play domestic cricket until they're ready to accept it."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-australia-2012/engine/current/match/534215.html Cricinfo are certainly not biased Is India forcing other countries to not use DRS, if we dont like it and we dont want it then why should others be able to force it upon us I dont agree with BCCI not using DRS but if this is the reaction for us sticking to our point of view then I hope they stick to it

[MechEng]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-australia-2012/engine/current/match/534215.html Cricinfo are certainly not biased Is India forcing other countries to not use DRS, if we dont like it and we dont want it then why should others be able to force it upon us I dont agree with BCCI not using DRS but if this is the reaction for us sticking to our point of view then I hope they stick to it

It reveals the fact how much the world is reliant on BCCI money. Without us, cricket will only be played b/w SA,England and Australia like in 1930s.