Sunday, November 30, 2008

ECB shafts players. Again.

I’m quoting cricinfo, here:

“England's cricketers will not be forced to return to India for the two-Test series, Hugh Morris, the ECB's managing director for England cricket, said as the squad arrived back in London on Saturday evening.”

I am considering putting in a Freedom of Information Request to see which tours players are forced to attend. But, although it seems sensible, the response is a typically spineless, confusing and probably the worst possible announcement for the England players.

I strongly suspect that this position was borne out of Captain Fantastic’s recent comments:

“On a cricket field I might ask people to do things in a certain way but I will never tell people to do anything. A man is a man and he can make his own decisions.”

Which is all very good, but leads to a curious overall position. Presumably, if a player wished to withdraw a normal tour, then the ECB would penalise him in some way. Perhaps drop him from consideration from future tours.

But we must assume that if players’ personal perception of the security situation India is unfavourable, then they do not face this penalty.

But, if a player on the margins takes this opportunity to play for his country, then would the established, backer-outter feel obliged to stay on? Oh, I don’t know. But by shifting the responsibility on to the players, the ECB is buggering up with the careers of its most valuable assets.

It’s a mess. The whole thing is a mess.

In fact, just cancel the tour. I, for one, haven’t enjoyed one moment of it. Well, except for its crushing the will of KP. That’s been fantastic.

But generally, this tour has left me numb.

It’s like the emptiness that you’re left with after you’ve failed, for the second year running, to get into Jenny from Account’s pants at work’s Christmas Party, despite the fact that you managed to get her completely plastic.

Isn’t life great?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So with you on this one AYALAC (apart from not sharing your grief over Jenny from accounts). The safety revue the players are promised is schematically impossible - surely things are still in a state of flux - and a half hearted tour with senior players missing satisfies no one at all. Much better to cancel/postpone until a "window" (vile word) can be found next year. I suppose there will be cries of "We're giving in to terrorists" if we don't go - but I do believe the timetable for decision making is just too tight.

Anonymous said...

I thought you worked in accounts. Do you sit next to Jenny?

Damith S. said...

I also hate it when its left to the players, its the board that deals with all these security assessments and it should be them who makes the final call.

By putting it on the players, it makes who ever decides not to go look bad and vice versa.

Looks like it will go ahead though. Which is good, I thin England will be better in the test series than ODIs.

Anonymous said...

If Jenny from accounts ever moves to work at the ECB I suspect she'd be shafted long before the Christmas Party.

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