New Zealand look to make amends in final tour match

MUMBAI:NEW Zealand’s defeat in the first tour match against the Indian Board President’s XI was largely due to their batsmen’s failure.

The Kiwis will be keen to make amends in the second warm-up game on Thursday at the Brabourne Stadium, ahead of the three-match ODI series starting on October 22.

Several batsmen in the Kane Williamson-led team didn’t grab the chance to play long innings, including the captain himself. New Zealand had a tough time coping with humidity and the conditions will be pretty much the same on Thursday.

For the Indian team, despite the win, skipper Shreyas Iyer (17), Rishabh Pant (15) and Gurkeerat Mann (11) fell cheaply and will look to make amends.

All eyes will be on 17-year-old Mumbai batsman Prithvi Shaw, who earned praise from the New Zealand camp, dealing with the short ball and swing with ease while stroking a fine 66. It’s Diwali, but there is little to cheer for domestic cricketers --the primary stakeholders of the game. Two rounds of Ranji this season are over but almost 1000 first-class cricketers are waiting for their match fees based on ‘gross revenue share’ from last year.

Players haven’t been paid for matches in December 2016. Fans, the other key stakeholders, are also wondering whether reforms mentioned in BCCI’S new constitution will be implemented. Stadium facilities are what they were.

Claims of ‘fan-first’ policy remain hollow slogans, like election promises. Will complimentary tickets, as promised, be limited to 10% of stadium capacity? Will names of people receiving freebies be put on the website?

The likelihood of either happening is as much as Ishant Sharma scoring a Test hundred.

LITTLE PROGRESS

While there is no progress on substantive matters (even those that do not require court consent), there is admirable speed and eagerness to move things with PR/ media value.

When Virat Kohli made a request that could not be refused, player fees and the value of annual contracts was instantly increased.

Players were also given R50 lakh for beating Australia, same for women cricketers after the World Cup.

With BCCI technically under ‘President’s rule’, and officials subordinated to a set of administrators, there was hope of greater professionalism.

Much cricket has been played from the time the BCCI was redcarded but a governance review since the ‘takeover’ shows little/no evidence of forward movement.

The promised reforms are a distant dream, like monsoon

DULEEP FIASCO

What happened with Duleep Trophy was another tragedy as the premier domestic tournament was reduced to a farce --first scrapped, then restored and scheduled at a week’s notice. Worse happened to Delhi and Rajasthan.

Two frontline teams, one managed by BCCI, the other by a High Court nominee.

In both states there was no off-season cricket. No tournaments, no matches, no practice nets.

The national domestic calendar was delayed and revised at the last minute to include a combined A and A (Associates and Affiliates) team in the draw.

BCCI named the wrong Chahar (Deepak instead of brother Rahul, the leg-spinner) for the Board President’s team and J&K’S under-23 game was halted (because of a court order) after 23 overs were bowled.

The Hyderabad T20 day/ night game against Australia was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled, even though not a drop fell on match day.

So, 15 months on after the Supreme Court ruling on BCCI, are we one stride forward or two steps back? For latest in sports, go to www.hindustantimes.com/ sport-news