India SACRIFICE Sydney Test

[guju24]

SYDNEY/NEW DELHI: India's tour of Australia, facing sudden death after atrocious umpiring and a three-match ban on Harbhajan Singh, limped back to life on Tuesday as the International Cricket Council blinked in the face of Team India and BCCI's unrelenting stand. Steve Bucknor has been sacked from the team of umpires for the third Test in Perth and Harbhajan can now play, with the ban set aside till the appeal against it is decided. Further, match referee Mike Procter will hear a charge against Aussie spinner Brad Hogg for alleged abuses against Indian captain Anil Kumble and vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni before the next Test. Following these placatory moves, the working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, decided that the tour would go ahead "for the present" and Team India, which had been camping in Sydney after the controversy-marred Sydney Test ended, will move on to Canberra for a tour match scheduled to start on Thursday. It was clear, however, that neither BCCI nor the team was willing to see this as a satisfactory solution to the issues threatening the tour. Not only did BCCI make it clear that it would "review the tour and other developments continuously", it insisted that this was "only an interim arrangement". Sources revealed to TOI that BCCI's tough stance was driven by the team's insistence that patchwork measures will not do and nothing short of Harbhajan being completely absolved of the racism charge would be acceptable. The team is learnt to be unhappy with the flawed peace, but has decided to abide by BCCI's instructions to go to Canberra after being reassured that the board would not let the pressure on the Bhajji issue slacken. The players remained in touch with BCCI officials through the day and confabulations with them continued even during the two-hour meeting of the board's working committee. In another measure to defuse the crisis, ICC announced that its chief match referee, Sri Lankan Ranjan Madugalle, will fly to Australia to act as a mediator between the two rival captains in an attempt to keep tempers under check for the remaining two matches of the Test series. BCCI came out strongly on the proceedings against Harbhajan, describing the charges as "obnoxious and baseless" and the ban as "patently illegal". It insisted that the ICC should deal with the appeal expeditiously "in terms of Regulation H11(e) of ICC's code of conduct for players and officials". The regulation stipulates: "The Appeals Commissioner shall hear and determine the appeal within 7 days of his appointment by the ICC Legal Counsel." Earlier in the day, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed had indicated that a very senior judge would be appointed appeals commissioner "in the next 24 hours". Taken in conjunction with BCCI's insistence on Reg H11(e) being adhered to, this would mean that Bhajji's appeal should be disposed of by the time the Perth Test begins on January 16. According to sources, the appointment of the appeals commissioner would be done in consultation with BCCI. TOI...

[Chandan]

It was clear, however, that neither BCCI nor the team was willing to see this as a satisfactory solution to the issues threatening the tour. Not only did BCCI make it clear that it would "review the tour and other developments continuously", it insisted that this was "only an interim arrangement". Sources revealed to TOI that BCCI's tough stance was driven by the team's insistence that patchwork measures will not do and nothing short of Harbhajan being completely absolved of the racism charge would be acceptable.

If this is true, then I'm happy. So what will be a satisfactory solution in your view? Please mention your points.

[Rajiv]

Actualy, what I am thinking is, if we drew the game "somehow", would this have been an issue as big as now? I really don't think so, I mean the harbhajan plot was to remain but the Bucknor - end of warranty - I don't think so P.S - clanged title, emailed poster..I hope u dont mind