Windies defend their last international cricketer

After the ensuing insanity pants which resulted in the indefinite canning of Steve Bucknor, the West Indies Cricket Board have hit back.

Julian Hunte, WICB President, wrote an angry letter to the ICC.
He condemned the ditching of Bucknor as “extreme”. Not as in skate boarding on a collapsing glacier extreme, more planting daffodils next to snow drops extreme. Another irritated party in this happy episode of pisspoor public relations and insipid administration.

"There is no question that even the best umpires make mistakes. They are human and there are circumstances which may affect their judgement. What worries us is whether the action of the ICC in the case of Bucknor might create even more problems for the ICC and international cricket down the line."

The press has lapped up this ever-growing debacle. I noticed that it was page five in yesterday’s (London) Financial Times and page three news in the Guardian. This is no mean feat, in the context of American primaries, a collapsing Kenya and continued Pakistani bonkerness. Only cricket can cause such an international firestorm. One wonders whether it is a sport at all, and not some sort of geopolitical death match.

I heard Navjot Singh Sidhu give an interview on the radio last night. He pointed out that world create is “dependent” upon sub-continental revenues and, as such, “India rules the roost.” This means that India should get its way in all matters; racism be hanged. This, more or less, is exactly what happened.

The ICC, ever conscious bean-counters, trembled at the BBCI’s chest-beating, and caved in. Consequently, they have annoyed the West Indies, Australia and tacitly condoned racism.

Glad to see world cricket in splendid health.