About time BCCI realised one size does not fit all

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has made a rather brave effort to issue the comprehensive standard operating procedures for resumption of domestic cricket, as and when the conditions permit.

The hundred page document outlines the safeguards needed before the upcoming domestic cricket season gets underway. And most hearteningly, the BCCI has agreed to provide all resources to state associations in order to avoid any slip-ups. 

While the appointment of a chief medical officer for each member unit is laudable indeed, some caveats like the age bar on coaches appears to defy logic. 

Coaches come in all shapes and sizes, and some are fit enough to put to shame persons almost half their age. Its about physical fitness and not the number in the age column that should be the determining factor in the such appointments.

After all, its the coach's brain and his analytical as well as communication skills that come into play rather than his physical condition. The ability to spot those little flaws in technique and polish the rough edges is what coaches at the first class level need to do. Tactics and playing strategy is another area where coaches do have a huge contribution to make. And none of these can come without experience.

Rather than a bar on people who have spent six decades or more on Planet Earth, it may have been better handled with an advisory to check on the health condition before making these appointments. The BCCI owes it to the younger lot to give them the best brains to hone their talent!

Another area where the BCCI seems to have gone overboard is the amnesty scheme for age offenders. Under the present missive, there is a one-time amnesty being offered to those that had made false claims about their age without any penalty. Of course, any offender caught thereafter by BCCI faces an automatic two-year ban from cricket at all levels.

Praiseworthy on the face of it, but the amnesty need not be blanket. In the present scenario only those no longer eligible for age-group competitions are likely to step forward and confess. This will hardly help clear the malaise that affects not only cricket but almost all sports disciplines right across the board. And neither is the problem unique to India but is a global malady indeed.

Rather than full amnesty, a rap on the knuckles, like a financial penalty, may help deliver a better message to the budding cricketers. And thereafter, falsifying age should earn a harsher penalty than the mere two-year ban. Something like a life-ban on national selection would help deliver the right message down to the grassroots.

Given the current uncertainty over all things normal, the SOP also appears to be 'work-in-progress" for BCCI, which has even envisaged virtual monitoring of rehabilitation and injury management of players by the Bengaluru-based National Cricket Academy.

It would indeed help the cause of the game if BCCI made more constructive suggestions to member states rather than throw binding conditions for resumption of domestic cricket. 

ICC Test Championship jinx looks to strike again

A dream project of the International Cricket Council, the ICC Test Championships finally got off the ground on August 1, 2019, with the final scheduled for June 10-14, 2021, at Lords. After two failed attempts in 2010 and 2017, ICC had managed to set the ball rolling, despite much criticism of its rather "lop-sided" points system that seemed to reward teams playing fewer Test matches in a bilateral series. 
That said, it was time for on-field action soon and till the forced suspension of all sporting activity in mid-March, India (360 points) and Australia (296) were the top-dogs indeed.
But with international travel extremely restricted and sporting contests coming under new post-Covid19 regulations, it seems the June date for the conclusion of the maiden ICC Test Championships may be pretty ambitious, to put it very mildly.
England are all set to take the field from July 8 at home against the West Indies, followed by Pakistan. 
With teams,however, not able to adhere to the ICC's Future Tours Programme due to prevalent conditions beyond human control appears to have definitely put a spanner in the works. The high powered ICC managing board will have to decide whether to push the entire competition back by a full 12 months or plain and simple abandon it.
The delay will push the next edition back as well in the inevitable cascading effect. But if the Test Championships are abandoned, the signal may not be the right one as ICC tries to gain better following of the red/pink ball cricket, as some have begun to refer to Test matches.
Adding an extra zing to the five-day contests was at the root of the launch of the ICC Test Championships. But it seems there may not be many choices left before ICC as time flies by.

It's more about money than sports

The decision to resume sporting competitions behind closed doors is indeed part of the normalcy that the world seems to be limping towards. But the recent spate of positive tests for Covid19 infection has once again put a huge question mark over the move as wheels seem to be coming off very quickly.
Organisers of major sports events have big contracts for television coverage, which forms almost 75 per cent of the revenue, be it a stand-alone event or multi-discipline. Obviously single sports had a better chance of testing the waters post the worldwide lockdown due to the pandemic and indeed made a cautious start as well.
Things began to come apart after the players tested positive at the exhibition tennis tournament and then followed the golfers at more than one PGA Tour event. Basketball has settled for a July 30 start to the NBA but with 16 positive tests out of 302, the danger still lurks. 
Liverpool in England and Bayern Munich in Germany have done their respective football federations as well as fans a huge favour by wrapping up the title race early. That gives them a much-deserved breather before the European action scheduled for a August resumption. With a winner decided, TV companies are contractually bound to honour the financial commitment even in case of another forced interruption.
Wimbledon had a huge insurance pay-out to take care of the abandonment of the 2020 tournament but the other two Grand Slam events, US Open and French Open obviously did not play it as smart. Now both are staring at a weakened field with continued restrictions on international travel. Cancellation may not be the option for either since they lack the insurance money to fall back upon.
That appears to be a driving force as both the events have plans to go ahead with the competition in the coming months.
TV calls the shots as sports must be played without spectators to limit the chances of another outbreak. That makes the events even more vulnerable as was the case with the Adria Open tennis exhibition so enthusiastically put together by world number one Novak Djokovic, making the champion player a butt of jokes and ridicule, even his nickname of  'Joker' getting the treatment.
Sports is all about healthy competition but current times are not really conducive to one. Lure of money has made several organisers push the envelope but results have been more damaging than even they had imagined.

ICC T20 World Cup good as gone for Circa 2020

Covid19 pandemic has all but put paid to any hopes of holding the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia this year. Given the current scenario, it may turn out to be an entirely loss-making effort to even go ahead with the preparations with just about everything up in the air from travel and visas to hotels, not just for players but television crews as well.
Holding an international game of cricket involves far more than merely putting the two sides on the ground along with supervising crew of officials. With almost zero chances of spectators being allowed to attend games, despite Australia having a rather low rate of the viral infection, the role of TV coverage assumes far greater significance.
To get a world-class TV feed out to the homes world-wide the event would need more than one crew given Australia's geographical size which doesn't make life any easier in so far as travel is concerned. And each crew comprises of around a hundred persons from the loader to the technicians to the production management crew to the former players as part of the commentary team!
Obviously no one country can supply such a large number of people and for an event like the ICC T20 the crew has to be sourced globally. That brings into question the international travel which is NOT open just yet and governments appear to be in no hurry to open their borders. Then follows the quarantine requirements which would mean extra days of stay for the crew members.
So much needed for the human resources!
Then comes the equipment which again must be sourced internationally! Given that the much-debated Decision Review System in cricket, much like other sports, depends solely on the TV coverage, which has all the different gadgets required to assist the on-field umpires reach a definite decision, each crew must also carry with them almost 10 tonnes of equipment.
And equipment is more than mere cameras and lenses. There are replay and graphics machines which are all connected together with more than 8 km of high quality cables. Crew need to time to rig each venue and then dismantle the entire set-up before moving on to the next.
ICC T20 being a top class world event cannot be restricted to only a few venues, say like an Indian Premier League could be. After all IPL is only a domestic competition which attracts participation from all over the world, pretty much like football's Premier League in England or La Liga in Spain.
Given that crew would, in all likelihood, spend nearly a month (15 days each in Australia and country of residence) in quarantine, they would expect to be compensated adequately, further increasing costs.
TV production rights for ICC events are held by one company while another holds the world-wide broadcast rights. Radio rights belong to a third company. Wonderful business for ICC under normal circumstances but in the present situation it could all turn out to a huge nightmare not only for hosts Cricket Australia but all involved.
It may just be a better idea to take a final call on pushing the ICC T20 to next year and allow each country to use the time as they deem fit. 
IPL would be a top choice for Board of Control for Cricket in India. And BCCI will surely not be disappointed if they get enough advance warning about the availability of dates in the international calendar. IPL could be restricted to fewer centres with far less logistics involved as franchisees appear agreeable to the idea of holding a scaled-down event rather than no-event at all!

Like all businesses IPL too needs revamp post Covid19

Circa 2020 has changed the world lives and does business! Social distancing and work-from-home may be the new mantra for life and sports can hardly remain unaffected.
Even as football and golf have set the ball rolling, both literally and figuratively, playing before empty galleries, other sports must too look for strategies to rebound from the enforced closures due to the worldwide Covid19 pandemic. It's not an isolated phenomenon but something that has brought the global community to a grinding halt, locking people indoors when the season was to soak in the sun and enjoy the outdoors!
The new mores that have sprung up globally controls just about everything. Businesses need to re-invent themselves to remain viable and sports cannot afford to ignore the writing on the wall. If professional sport must continue to thrive and entertain, rules of engagement will change.
The Indian Premier League, faced with the prospect of a total washout in 2020, finds itself struggling to slot itself into the cricket calendar as soon as it can find a big enough opening, subject, of course, to health and infection issues being taken care of. IPL is a business that carries with it a fairly large amount of sub-sets through its journey.
Board of Control for Cricket in India has indicated that it was not at all averse to holding the IPL in 2020 behind closed doors, giving out a clear signal to the stakeholders to get themselves ready for resuming business at short notice. And it is never going to be business as usual since the parameters have undergone a sea change!
First things first, number of venues hosting the games may need to be severely curtailed. Given the current scenario, the big four metros are all but ruled out. So the search will be for smaller cities with enough facilities to host more than one team at any given time with plenty of safe places for stay and practice. That, fortunately for the franchisees, is BCCI's lookout and not theirs.
Franchisees need to re-orient their business strategy as there might not be home games at all. Without spectators, there can hardly be any home advantage even if playing in home centre since other teams may also be using the same city and stadium as their base. It will cut down on travel costs but kill the hospitality earnings!
Lots of sponsors cut deals that, in large parts, involve in-stadia engagements. That may not be possible at all but still keeping them involved may be a challenge that franchisees need to start working on. Given the ban on public congregations, fan parks and the like may yet not be feasible options. 
Even a truncated tournament with fewer matches is more than acceptable to both franchisees and broadcasters but BCCI and the IPL governing council are making their best effort to go the whole hog as far as fixtures are concerned.
Its all up in the air but one thing is certain ... It cannot be business as usual in these trying times and only fresh ideas will win the day. Its a challenge for all involved and whoever wins the day stays afloat!

ICC indecision boosts IPL chances

International Cricket Council has deferred till July any decision on the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15, 2020. Not surprising given the current uncertainty over international travel and related matters which are likely to affect holding an event of this magnitude.
The clear October-November window presents an opportunity for the Board of Control for Cricket in India to push the case of holding the 2020 edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League. After all the IPL features players from most countries, except Pakistan, that have booked places in the T20 World Cup.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's letter to all affiliated associations to the effect that the Board is exploring all possibilities, including playing in empty venues, is a strong pointer in this direction. The message is not to hold back on preparations for the upcoming season. After all pitches and grounds get a much-needed make-over during these summer months, in readiness for the new season that kicks-off around mid-September.
IPL's chances of not missing out on the 13th edition is due to the fact that most commercial commitments would already have been put in place by the time that the country-wide lock-down in India came late March. Some re-negotiations may be required but largely there is a basic framework in place to go ahead with the tournament. 
There was also the niggle of the Asia Cup being penciled for September but BCCI's clear stand than 14-day quarantines either side of a 12-day tournament doesn't make sense has all but put a lid on the event. 
India were scheduled to play a series of 50-over as well T20 internationals in Sri Lanka but BCCI has categorically termed it as "not feasible"!
Given the present scenario, with a complete ban on commercial international travel, it will indeed be a challenge to push ahead with anything. IPL may happen in the autumn but all would depend on how the coming months turn out vis-a-vis the Covid19 infection spread.
IPL may be much easier to organise since travel would be all domestic, once the international players wanting to participate reach India. Again that is subject to lifting the ban of commercial international flights, though domestic flights have been operational with severe checks all round.
Life is on hold and so is sport, even though baby steps have begun on the football fields of Europe as well as PGA Tour golf in USA.

All going well, international cricket may return to the tube early July. But the final word on IPL may not come until August, or even later, when there's likelihood better clarity on travel and other related aspects. Lest we forget, movement of television crews will be a key part of all future plans since empty stadium seats must be replaced by eye-balls from home!

Nonetheless IPL stands a better chance with each passing day that ICC doesn't take a firm decision on the T20 World Cup!

ICC making a mockery with restart guidelines

Test match cricket is set to get a new lease of life on July 8, 2020, with England facing the West Indies at the Agean Bowl, Southampton. And the International Cricket Council has gone ahead and issued a fresh set of guidelines which will be in operation for at least 12 months as sport, much like life, limps back to some kind of normalcy.
Southampton and Manchester's Old Trafford have been picked by the England and Wales Cricket Board as both venues have hotels attached to the ground facilities itself. Quite a comedown from the original itinerary that figured games at the Oval, Edgbaston and Lord's but a "bio-secure" environment became the new norm for resumption of international cricket.
What is surprising, though, is the fact that ICC seems to be tying itself in knots in order to support the ECB effort. ICC has published a set of guidelines that will be applicable to all forms of recognised cricket and attempts to address the concerns raised by the prevalent Covid19 pandemic.
First things first, it did away with the posting of neutral umpires for Test match cricket and added a second review per innings for each team through DRS.
One of the most significant guidelines is allowing a team to substitute a player who shows symptoms of Covid19 infection. Its the responsibility of the match referee to ensure a like-for-like replacement as far as possible. But the guidelines are silent on how many such substitution one team is allowed in a Test match or even after how many substitutions will the game be halted as a precautionary measure.
Similarly, use of saliva to shine the cricket ball has been henceforth banned though players are allowed to use ONLY sweat, since application of artificial substances continues to be prohibited. And then follows the almost ridiculous suggestion of fielders asked to sanitize their hands each time they handle the ball.
Is that even possible, or practical? Fielders relaying the ball back to the bowler will each need to clean their hands, or for that matter, does the bowler sanitize hands after the over or after each delivery? 
Umpires are suggested to use gloves when they handle the ball and are also required to keep a sharp eye on ball management. Teams will be docked five penalty runs if found in violation of the saliva-use ban but match officials may have little option but to go with evidence of television cameras! Smelling the ball is OUT, as is checking the feel and texture with fingertips. That leaves a lot of room for a judgement call, especially when home umpires will be officiating the game.
Similarly, social distancing norms to be maintained as much as possible, especially when celebrating fall of wickets, but limiting use of dressing room facilities yet again borders on the absurd. On the one hand, players are restricted from handing over items of personal attire/ use like jumpers, caps and goggles to the umpire, but where does a bowler leave them if not in the dressing room?
Changes for the sake of making changes makes a mockery of the entire exercise. ICC needs to evaluate its requirements in greater detail before launching such guidelines!
Yes, ECB alone stands to lose more than 250 million British pounds if no international cricket is played in the summer but it may have been a better option to restart the game with the shorter format which would entail fewer risks. After all Covid19 substitutions are not permissible for the limited overs contests as these are completed within a single day.
A couple of ODIs and T10Is might have helped test the waters before falling back upon the five-day Tests, given the chance of bigger damage if, heavens forbid, a player or official tests positive for Covid19 infection during a game!
There's still time for ICC to sit down with ECB  and the West Indies Cricket Board along with broadcasters to re-work the schedule for a safer resumption!

Rushed restart for sports may prove counter-productive

A teensy-weensy virus has left the world as we know it reeling. Nothing is like it was before March, 2020, and is highly likely that life would not be the same as before any time soon.

The world of sports can hardly be any different.

Even though attempts are being made world-wide to get sporting contests back into action, it has to be done with utmost caution. One little slip and everything could come crashing down.

Sports have reluctantly accepted empty arenas as the new standard. But for the show to go on at any level, the competition has to be credible. For that to happen, sports persons need to move around from one place to another but with the threat of a Covid19 infection hanging in the air, it may yet be some time before travel across international borders becomes a reality.

For some sports disciplines like football, it is not so difficult to manage travel within a country. That allows the national league competitions in Europe to kick off, though only Germany has seen any real action so far. France and the Netherlands have already called time on their respective leagues but Spain and England continue to push ahead, albeit with baby steps.
Clubs have started training but are careful to avoid any unnecessary contact among players. Physical conditioning apart, clubs need to be more wary of keeping things "clean" since safe travel becomes a challenge, not just for players and officials but also TV crews. After all, with no end in sight for stadium gates to be opened for spectators, TV remains the only medium to carry the action across to the homes. And TV broadcast involves movement of equipment and crew across from one venue to another, thereby further raising the risks and costs.
USA may be slightly better off since their sports leagues feature mostly home grown talent with even the foreign players making the country their home since the competitions stretch into several months.
International sport, however, is a different story altogether. With a ban on cross border travel, sports like cricket, golf, tennis, badminton, etc. which depend on multi-national participation must wait before they can resume action. Low key competition may just not be as attractive to TV viewers, and hence broadcasting channels, to bring in the revenue that would support the event.
Restart may indeed be the buzzword but caution cannot be thrown to the winds. All it takes is one mis-step to bring everything back to a grinding halt. 
Motto must be ... Better safe than sorry!

Strict protocols needed to open sports complexes

The government of India has finally declared it's intention to keep sports complexes out of its list of restricted activities. Great news for both sports persons as well as sports enthusiasts, though there is a clear bar on entry of spectators. But it does raise hopes of sporting competitions beaming into homes rather than a complete blank!
India, though, is the second most populous country in the world. The sheer size of its citizenry makes its bigger in size than entire Europe put together. It also brings along with it unique advantages and challenges.
The biggest hurdle for sports arenas is to regulate entry and keep a strict vigil on those permitted to use the facilities to prevent any spread of the dreaded Covid19 virus. A strict security and screening protocol needs to be put in place to prevent any kind of outbreak of the virus which so abruptly caused a global shutdown like never before!
Its a brave new world that will step out and it must realise that restrictions need to be placed judiciously so as not to put unnecessary curbs on the training regimens of top level sports persons and yet ensuring their safety from the pandemic.
Easier said than done, but professionals need to be consulted before the doors are thrown open. Sports training, by its very nature, is all about physical and mental preparation. Sweat and toil are routine so safety measures need to take that into account.
As the good old saying goes, its horses for courses! 
Staggered training times for different sports disciplines along with time-limit blocks for use of gyms and spas which are more susceptible to viral spread. More than the sports persons, it is going to be a learning curve for coaches and trainers as the regimens will need to be tailored to fit into the new restrictions that will allow for a safe environment for all.
The problem of Covid19 isn't going anywhere in a hurry. The quicker people learn to come to terms with restrictions to keep the viral infection at bay the better opportunities could be there for all. After all there are no national or international competitions round the corner. It allows competitors to ease into their revised training methods and schedules to achieve best results.
Watchword is ... Safety First!

Football steals a march with Bundesliga kick-off

The beautiful game has once again stolen a march on the world of sports. Recovering from the forced shutdown of the earth, the Germans decided to take on the Covid19 virus head-on and ordered a re-start of the Bundesliga.
What seemed impossible only a few weeks ago, has been done, albeit due to economic necessities. DFL, who run the German football league, took the bold step to successfully negotiate the dangerous route of holding games in empty stadia. That television viewing around the world went through the roof should come as no surprise when sports lovers have been denied Live action for more than 10 weeks now!
Cavernous 80,000-seater stadium in Dortmund reverberated as Borussia Dortmund took on neighbours Schalke 04 in the hotly contested riviera derby. But the ghostly quiet that accompanied the game, which would have otherwise found the venue bursting at the seams, adds an altogether new chapter in sporting competitions.
Doing it for TV has long been the watchword in US sports, with every league schedule tailored to suit audience tastes! But for Europe and football, much like the rest of the world including USA, this was an entirely new experience. DFL walked into the unknown and seems to have made a sound start. After all it was a whopping 300 million euros at stake. That's the kind of money DFL stood to lose if the league was not completed as part of the rights holder agreement with TV channels.
Its a brave new world that sport has walked into. 
There were, without doubt, hiccups along the way as well. One club, struggling to avoid relegation, lost services of its newly appointed coach, the man denied his debut only because he broke quarantine rules to step out and buy a tube of toothpaste.
That may have been the exception but it was enforced without any sympathy is evidence to the German steely determination to tide over this global crisis as only they can. Germans have, without doubt, taken the lead and the sporting world now has the brave new moves of the DFL (not DFB, the German federation) to thank for showing them the way.
Sports no longer need to remain in limbo! Heil DFL!!!

Sourav Ganguly could still head BCCI till 2024

Unusual times call for unusual actions. Some of them can prove rather beneficial, as may be the case with the Board of Control for Cricket in India which may see former national team captain Sourav Ganguly's current tenure as president extended till 2024.
Among the reforms mooted by the Supreme Court appointed committee to look into the BCCI affairs was the mandatory one year cooling off period after two successive tenures in office in either state association or the board itself. That would see Ganguly complete six years as head of the Cricket Association of Bengal in September and push him into the "cooler" barely 10 months into his term as BCCI supremo.
Now with the Covid19 pandemic having thrown normal life totally out of kilt, the SC may have little option but to take a lenient view. The December 2019 resolution of the BCCI annual general meeting chooses to treat tenures in states and the board as separate without one affecting the other. Obviously with SC approval awaited, BCCI and Ganguly can do little but wait.
Closures due to pandemic may have answered the tenure question for BCCI as holding an AGM in September or for that matter till the end of the current year may not be practical. And for the sake of continuity, the highest court of the land would do well to allow Ganguly to stay in office for the maximum five years as BCCI boss.
A precedent has already come from international hockey where the FIH deferred its October 28, 2020, congress by a whole year thereby granting a 12-month extension to incumbent Narinder Dhruv Batra and the entire executive board. 
It may be argued that it is too early to take such an important decision. But leaving it late will help none, least of all the game of cricket.
The entire cricket world is looking at the richest national board to show the way out of the present crisis. Ganguly, has been decisive in leading BCCI in these uncertain times, very much like the leader he emerged when handed the reins of Team India, again in rather troubled circumstances!
At least BCCI has indicated to the SC that it hopes to keep Ganguly at the helm. Learned judges will take the final call ... and hopefully allow the Bengal Tiger full five years as BCCI top man.

FIFA gets proactive as football shows the way

Football has taken the first tentative steps towards getting things back on track. Matches in the Korean league started behind locked doors and the international governing body FIFA has been quick to announce rule changes to better accommodate the new circumstances.
FIFA has allowed five substitutes per game instead of the previous three but allowing them to be made only on three opportunities apart from half-time to minimise stoppages in a game. If both teams make a substitution each at the same time, each uses up an opportunity, says the new rule applicable only to competitions scheduled to end in 2020.
The governing body, however, has been silent on the more divisive and potentially dangerous issue of spitting, a common sight in football. An advisory is expected in this regard but how effective will that be can only be gauged after more action unfolds. With so much physical effort being given on the pitch, a spit may be a small issue since all present would have been medically cleared beforehand.
Nothing surprising though about the changes announced by FIFA but the speed with which the proactive decision was taken is a miracle indeed. The International Football Association Board is required to approve all rule changes and it did just that within an extremely short span of time shows that powers that be are fully aware, and concerned, about the damaging effects of long-term closure.
The IFAB comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland football associations apart from FIFA, which represents the rest of the world. 
German Bundesliga faced a prospective loss of about 300 million euros, while Spanish La Liga is looking at an even bigger financial hit. UEFA too pushed its case well and has requested member nations to wrap up their domestic fixtures by July so that the prestigious Champions League can be completed by August 29. England's Premier League can't be kept in suspension for long though it may be tougher to restart the Italian Serie A after almost half a dozen players and staff from one leading club tested positive for the dreaded Covid-19 virus a few days ago.
All this, however, is subject to very tight health controls and, quite expectedly, scrutiny at every level is bound to be tough! Any mis-step could bring all the effort to nought even though TV companies at the moment appear upbeat at the prospect of getting back to Live sports coverage!
The world watches with bated breath as football shows the way. If successful, other sports would be quick to follow!

Cricket needs smart play not a smart ball

ICC's suggestion to outlaw use of natural body secretions (sweat and saliva) to shine the cricket ball has opened the proverbial Pandora's box!
Latest to join the discussion is Australian leg spin legend Shane Warne! He was an innovator if nothing else, using the revolutions on the cricket ball to make it talk! Now he suggests making the ball weighted ... heavier on one side of the seam (sutures) that keep the two pieces of the leather half-globes together!
For the uninitiated, weighting the ball makes it move very differently in the air than simple laws of physics (wind tunnel effect) would suggest. This is where the art of bowling acquires a finesse!
Sowing seeds of doubt in the mind of batsmen is the first objective of a bowler. That done, 75 per cent of the job is over. Remaining depends on the skills of the player(s) in question. Can the bowler breach the defence or will the batsman's innate skill keep him out of trouble?
The idea of a weighted ball has its roots in the "science" of reverse swing!
Laws of motion suggest that any surface with lesser resistance tend to move faster than that providing great friction! So a normal cricket ball tends to swing away from the shiny side if delivered with an upright seam. Reverse swing happens when the uneven distribution of weight of the ball makes it swing towards the shiny (weighted) side, taking batsmen by surprise!
Getting the ball ready for reverse swing is part of the responsibility of the fielding side while keeping all such efforts hidden from the eagle eyed umpires as well as the probing cameras!
For spinners too the slightly older ball with sheen on one side makes sense as it allows drift in the air, depending upon the revolutions imparted! Drift takes the spinners' delivery away from the direction in which the ball is being turned. Warne was a master of the craft as were some of the spin legends like EAS Prasanna and Bishan Bedi.
If the ball is off-balance right from the start, the element of surprise is taken away and batsmen will be able to easily read after a couple of deliveries what is being sent down! 
A bowler's life is tough enough as it is without making it more difficult by these new-fangled innovations that will make cricket even more a batsman's game!

To play or not to play, that is the question

Life has been put in suspended animation since mid-March 2020 when the worldwide pandemic literally blew up in the face of humanity!
Sports, as much of life, went into forced hibernation. The first big casualty, of course, was the Olympic Games in Tokyo which has been rescheduled for a 23rd July, 2021, start though there is no absolute certainty even about that! Neither is there any sanctity to the new 11 June, 2021, revised schedule for the European football championships.
While Wimbledon tennis cancelled 2020, French Open is hoping for a September staging on the Roland Garros clay!
But much depends on the development in the field of medicine and science, both way beyond human control.
One of the options that sports administrators have been mulling over is holding games with gates closed. It has been done ... as a punitive measure against erring hosts, especially in football. But doing it all over the world may just take the needle out of the competitive edge that sports bring to any contest. After all sports people are only human, albeit with vastly superior skills than the average person. But to perform before empty seats may just take the bite out of the high that a roar of a full stadium would bring.
Then there is always the danger of the virus spreading through close physical contact that most sports require!
Added to that is the prospect of costs if TV is going to be the only source of revenue. Someone needs to be paying for moving all the equipment and people into place ... a cumulative 50km plus of high end cables are laid for a single international game of cricket. Besides several truckloads of equipment is required to bring a truly world class audio-visual experience to homes!
Besides there is the small point of rights fees! Since that will be the ONLY source of revenue for the organisers / hosts, they would certainly not want to sell cheap. Neither would TV companies be willing to pay out of their pockets if they can't generate enough revenue from the telecast. So advertisers have to be prepared to bear the costs.
With the world economy reeling from the pandemic, are the big ticket buyers of advertising spots really prepared to go ahead! Doesn't seem likely at the moment.
Safest option would be a wait and watch policy as the summer swings by. May be the balmier days of autumn may bring in more cheer with better opportunities. Till then sports competitions must be kept in abeyance in order to keep them viable!

With all sport suspended, ICC rankings mean nothing

India have slipped to number three in the latest ICC Test ranking on April 30, falling behind Australia and New Zealand. But it was waiting to happen anyway since India was not scheduled to play any Tests after the 0-2 away loss to New Zealand in February!

The highly-valued India Premier League was scheduled for a March end start and would have continued till the third week of May. India would not have played any international games in either of the three formats during this period.

So the drop in ranking was pre-ordained anyway as the rankings take into account only the performance of the previous 12 months, updates happening at the end of each calendar month.

It defies logic, however, that with a global pandemic having brought all sporting activity to a grinding halt why is ICC trying to update rankings as before! If it continues in the same vein, with resumption not likely in the next few weeks either, ICC rankings will become irrelevant.

The administrators need to stay abreast of world developments. Various sports federations have frozen rankings on different dates depending upon the last engagement held where points were at stake. Makes sense since rankings mean more than mere numbers. For some sports disciplines, even Olympic qualification is dependent upon rankings on a particular cut off date!

But cricket? 

With a Test championship already in place, where India incidentally continues to be number one, rankings otherwise lose meaning. ICC should be more worried about the Test championship cycle being interrupted and have a contingency plan in place to take the grand finale well beyond the originally scheduled June 2021.

Even at the recent CEOs conference, such mundane matters were hardly discussed. Focus instead was how to push a Future Tours Programme down the throats of reluctant India, Australia and England. As expected it came a cropper!

Next was the attempt to salvage the World T20 scheduled for later this year in Australia. That India and Australia have expressed interest in a bilateral Test series once sporting activities resume hasn't really gone down well with ICC.

At the end of the day, does anyone really care about ICC and its rankings? Sad to say even ICC doesn't seem too serious so why should nations bother.

Ridiculous of Premiership football to even think of a restart

England's Premier League football, with active prompting from the UK government, seems to be seriously looking at ways to restart the games in order to complete the current season!
Given the prevalent global pandemic, it seems a show of normalcy has become more important to the powers that be. A realistic assessment of  the dangers faced by those involved is a prime necessity. And it needs to involve not only players but all present at the venue(s) including support staff for teams as well as ground personnel. Such a move could put to risk even the families and beyond.
The prompting or encouragement seems to have from across the pond with Nascar announcing races behind closed doors. Fair enough! Some Live sport for aficionados cooped up without their regular fix of adrenaline rushes! 
If anything, auto racing is very different as it avoids need of direct contact among competitors! Even the team crew working on the race can afford minimal contact with each other. Plus the provisio for each team to provide test reports of all personnel likely to be at the race before they are allowed entry to the venue. Any positive test result for the dreaded Covid-19 virus means immediate withdrawal of the team from the competition for the next four weeks till each member has three straight negative results during that period, the last being not more than 72 hours old.
Sounds pretty complex, doesn't it? Well there are no simple solutions to this complex world pandemic.
Travel can be difficult in these times ... containment is the watch-word. 
Even the offer of providing the iconic Wembley Stadium to hold more than one game each day may not meet the requirements. Clubs need to be live and train in London with players and staff mingling freely at sessions to keep the competitive edge. And then one mis-step is all it takes for the entire thing to blow up.
Social distancing on the pitch is not possible, nor would it be desirable if the stakes are as high as they are likely to be in a Premier League clash!
France has declared Paris-Saint-Germain as the Ligue One champions. Dutch Ere Divisie maintained status quo with no titles being awarded. Others are mulling similar options. But what Premiership is trying appears, without doubt, frightening to say the least.
Its like playing catch with a live hand grenade inside a crowded trench! Danger far outweighs the benefits!

Best to leave the cricket ball alone

On the odd occasion that one was at home watching Live cricket on the box, my grandmother would be aghast each time she saw a player using saliva on the red cherry! "Haven't their parents taught them any basic hygiene!" would be her comment in utter disgust.
Seems ICC has taken those remarks from the 1980s rather seriously, having announced its intention to ban the use of natural substances like saliva and sweat to polish the cricket ball. Instead it is mulling the option of allowing artificial substances to keep the ball nice and shiny!
Hopefully, the move was only a knee-jerk reaction to the current Covid-19 crisis and not something the administrators would look to implement seriously, my late gandmom's disgust notwithstanding!
Most players have come out against the use of artificial substances like oil or grease on the cricket ball for the simple reason that it would bring a sheen to the leather alright but ruin the ball pretty quickly. Reason is fairly straightforward. A quality cricket ball is made of leather as its outer covering and, being of natural origin, it needs regular maintenance. Leather needs regular doses of salt to keep it from going soft and limp, something neither bowlers not batsmen like!
Sound of a hard leather ball hitting the willow can send aficionados into ecstasy!
A cricket ball needs to be maintained. And as several former and current players have revealed, only certain members of a team are given the responsibility of shining the ball. Mind you, shining a cricket ball is much more scientific than merely rubbing it on the trouser or shirt. It requires great attention to detail with application of the right amount bodily excretions to keep the shine on one side while also making the shiny side heavier and hence off balance!
While salt helps to keep the leather firm, its a combination of sweat (salt) and saliva that helps bring reverse swing into play! Its a genuine weapon in the armoury for medium pace bowlers ... lingering question always in any big game is how long will it take before the ball starts reversing?  Meaning how much time would the fielding side need to get the ball into the right state for it to defy the normal laws of motion as taught in high school physics!
Already the use of a different ball at each end in the 50-over one-day internationals has all but taken reverse swing out of the equation since the ball hardly gets scuffed enough. 
Now adding artificial substances and totally banning sweat and saliva would leave the red cherry even more vulnerable since leather would go limp with the amount of battering a cricket ball must take hitting ground and wood with such regularity!
Covid-19 has come and will go away as well. Don't let a passing threat ruin the game of cricket forever.

Let 2020 be a zero year!

Japan's medical fraternity feels it may not be possible to hold the Tokyo Olympics even from the rescheduled dates of July 23, 2021 if no vaccine or a surefire cure is found. And organising committee head for Tokyo 2020 Yoshiro Mori is categorical that the games will have to be cancelled rather than find new dates!
It may be a path-breaker for several sports organisations, especially UEFA which has rather ambitiously announced fresh dates from June 11, 2021 for the European football championships. The quadrennial event would mark its 60th holding but the planned rather extravagant 12-city 12-nation jamboree may simply not be possible given the trials and travails of some of the major stake holders on the continent.
La Liga (Spain), Ligue One (France), Bundesliga (Germany) and Serie A (Italy) are some of the major competitions still not able to take a firm decision despite the colossal loss of life and the huge dent to the economy. England's Premier League faces pressure from the UK government to get back to business as soon as possible, a shocking scenario to put it quite mildly. 
Only the Dutch have been sensible in calling an end to the Ere Divisie with no title awarded and neither will there be any promotion / relegation. Its a blank ... or a zero / gap year!
Looking ahead, one thing is certain. The Japanese know what they are talking about. Holding any major sporting contest without a vaccine or even a cure may not be possible given the physical nature of most competitive pursuits. Plus there is also the danger posed to the myriads of fans packing into the venues to catch a glimpse of the live action!
Yes, television can be a viable alternative but only if there is someone willing to foot the bill. There will be no dearth of eyeballs but given the current economic slump world-wide, sponsors may not be the most eager to get involved. And TV networks do not run on charity. Rights alone cost astronomical amounts of money. Added to that is the production and distribution costs. Without someone willing to pay for it all, events could be a non-starter.
Better option would be to start slow, as is likely to happen with the economy! Just as companies get into recovery mode, sports must follow the example with smaller scale individual, stand-alone events to test the waters.
Let 2020 be set aside, just as the last century saw the nearly 10 years affected by the two great wars treated as an enforced break!
The sun is bound to appear after the worst of storms! Skillful navigating through the troubled times must be the watchword!

Being away from what you love can be tough

Sports persons are only human!
Suspension of all sporting action seems to have started to take a toll on the front line performers! The global pandemic has made sure athletes have only the parking lots to keep the muscles from going limp. Or the drills that can be performed indoors help keep the mind focused on the future challenges.
Its a tough one, not knowing when sports will actually resume.
Contracts have already been shredded and binned by the hundreds. 
One thing though is certain! This is not permanent and once action does resume, players will be expected to perform at optimum levels, if not at the peak. Easier said than done after months of inactivity.
USA seems to be showing the way yet again. NFL went ahead with its annual draft via video conferencing, without the usual fanfare than accompanies such big ticket events. NBA has permitted limited work-outs where possible and franchises have, albeit reluctantly, begun weighing various options.
That's what professional sports is all about!
Performance comes first. Rest is sure to follow. But yes ... life will never be the same again!

2020 places sports calendar in a blender

What promised to be an exciting Olympic year, 2020 has turned out to be anything but that.
Every sporting competition has been put on hold, thanks to the global pandemic. Tokyo Olympics have already been pushed back by a whole year to 23rd of July 2021, but other sports have yet to give up on the current year! It takes a brave heart to still hope for sports in such troubling times, especially when the mere thought of packed stands leads to nightmare scenarios.
Following the IOC, tennis was the first to reschedule even as Wimbledon chose to cancel 2020 altogether. Golf hopes for a June resumption of the pro tour! So does Formula One as well as several football leagues around the world.
Why?
Its all about sponsor commitments which appears to put money before safety of both players and spectators! But is any sponsor in a position to cough up good money in these trying times when economy has tanked with little signs of recovery?
Brave decisions need to be taken and quickly at that to remove the uncertainty! Preparations for Tokyo Olympics have already been rescheduled but will the quadrennial games go on even as per the revised time-table? And there is already argument over who will foot the bill for the delay! 
It may just be the right move to cancel the Tokyo Games altogether, much like the gap years due to the two wars. And move all hosts back by four years each so that none is denied!