I’ve never been much of a one for sympathising with the opposition, particularly in cricket.
Brought to awareness of the great game around the time of Allan Border’s triumphantly vengeful sweep through England in 1989, I learnt that when your enemy is down, you rejoice, and when your enemy falls even lower, you laugh uproariously.
This, I have always been given to believe, is one of the joys of sport: the ability to take pleasure in the misfortune of others, just as they take pleasure in yours. After all, when Australia has gone through the darkest of dark times in the past, the rest of the world never seemed particularly sympathetic.
That time in the late ’80s, of course, was also the heyday of the West Indies, and nothing then seemed less likely than a day coming when I would not only feel depressed about the lamentable state of an opposing cricket nation, but that that cricket nation would be the Windies. And yet here we are. I feel almost as sad about the state of Caribbean cricket as I have when my own country’s been losing. What on earth has happened to me?
The ICC Board held its first meeting of 2015 at the ICC Headquarters in Dubai on 28 January. Among the decisions made and reports received were:
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 playing conditions
The ICC Board reinstated the use of a Super Over in the event of a tie in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 final. This now replicates the arrangements for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final and other recent ICC events where a winner will be determined on the day of the final (weather permitting), and a Super Over was the most credible way to separate the two sides.
The ICC Board also approved a change to the application of ICC Code of Conduct offences relating to slow over-rates in ICC events so that captains do not carry any prior minor over-rate offence ‘strikes’ or over-rate suspensions from other series into an ICC event.
St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board Selection Panel today named left arm spinner Nikita Miller to replace Sunil Narine in the West Indies Cricket World Cup squad.
Miller, 32, has featured in 45 One Day Internationals and has taken 40 wickets with a best of 4 for 43 against Zimbabwe. Miller last appeared in ODIs for the West Indies in March 2014, against England.
WICB proposes 'cricketing solutions' - Cameron says agreement bars judgement from Indian courts
Thu, Jan 29, '15
The embattled West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has insisted on a "cricketing solution" to the current impasse with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and has called for a meeting between the two boards within the next two months, as it battles to stave off the US$42 million payout demanded by the BCCI.
The correspondence came on the deadline set down by the BCCI for the WICB to respond to its multimillion-dollar claim arising from the controversial abandoned tour of India last October.
"Our position in law remains as set out in our letter dated November 7, 2014. Without admitting any liability to the BCCI, we reiterate our willingness to participate in bilateral or multilateral discussions, or in mediation or such other suitable form of alternative dispute resolution as may be appropriate, as the alternatives would be of no benefit to either board or the larger cricketing community," Cameron wrote to BCCI honorary secretary, Sanjay Patel.
“We have had a wonderful relationship with the government since we first started planning for CPL games in 2014 and we are now able to bring a team to St Kitts and Nevis,” said CPL’s chief executive officer Pete Russell.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the country as fans get the opportunity to support their own team—we all look forward to the unrivalled passion that will again be evident at the Warner Park Stadium.”
St Kitts did not feature in the inaugural tournament in 2013 but was surprisingly handed several games last year, including the semi-finals and the final.
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