IT'S (NOT) CRICKET

By the time you read this, the entire landscape of cricket may have changed. We will have learnt the outcome of the standoff that took place over the last two days in the deserts of Dubai. Well, it was not really a standoff, and neither was it in the desert, I would imagine. It probably was more like three people with guns staring at seven people with water pistols in an air-conditioned boardroom. Or maybe three dogs baring their teeth at seven whimpering cats.
But since today's past is in the future at the time of writing, what harm could there be in dreaming of the seven cats forming an army that takes down the dogs, or the men with water pistols suddenly revealing Kevlar suits in typical heist movie twist fashion? The underdogs overcome the favourites -- the perfect sporting fairytale.
But alas, there is no sane reason to dream of such sweet endings. Not after the past fortnight. We may wake up today wishing the past fortnight was a nightmare -- won't be much of a stretch because it has been horribly surreal. The draft proposal which I am sure everyone in the cricketing universe is well aware of, brought forward by the boards of India, Australia and England seems like a page out of a George Orwell novel. Its very basis is “some are more equal than others.”
Just to recap for the sake of relevance -- the key aspects of the draft proposal are: cricket will be divided into two tiers with the top eight nations forming the top tier and the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe relegated to playing the Intercontinental Cup with Associate Member nations; India, England and Australia as the financial heavyweights will be exempt from relegation; and key positions in the ICC -- ICC chairman, chairmen of ExCo and finance & commercial affairs committee -- will be nominees of the BCCI-CA-ECB.

Photo: Star

Let us leave aside the immediate worry of Bangladesh's future for a paragraph or two. Exempt from relegation? The universal appeal of any sport is that it gives participants a level playing field. You take that away and it becomes a fixed game. It's worse than match-fixing; it's sport-fixing. And when you combine that with the fact that these three will take all important decisions within the governing body -- well, all seven other full members should be running scared at this prospect of an Orwellian nightmare.
For instance, what is to stop India -- who have never produced a bowler of express speed and so most Indian batsmen look like dodos when playing bouncers -- from abolishing the two bouncers per over rule? Extreme, you say? Well, I think we are well past that at this stage. The MCC is in charge of the laws, but who is to say that India will not bulldoze them when they become the undisputed rulers. It is alarming that the ICC have let things reach such a stage that a nakedly audacious document like this draft proposal could even be floated. And then India obliterated any semblance of democracy by saying that their participation in future ICC events will be subject to the proposals being adopted. In truth, it is only India holding the gun, and Australia and England were given little BB guns because well, India can hardly be expected to turn a profit by playing cricket all by themselves.
But all this is now in the past, and we are either living in a world where India, England and Australia are the new ICC or one in which the other seven members have shown some spine and tackled the bullies to the floor. Or maybe a compromise was reached. Maybe the big three gave up the no-relegation idea but will control all decisions in the ICC. That way if they were in danger of being relegated, they could always change the rules. Maybe the two-tier idea was binned. Which brings us to Bangladesh.
The question we should ask ourselves right now is, does Bangladesh warrant a place at the top table? If you asked me four years ago, I would say probably not. But now they do. Don't take it from me, compare their results over the last two years with other Test teams and you will find that they have not disgraced themselves. They were at a huge disadvantage when entering the Test arena in 2000 because domestic longer version games had started only a year earlier. A whole Test culture had to be built, and 14 years of playing better teams is bearing fruit because Bangladesh now know how to draw Test matches against good Test teams. They already have four victories in the bag -- India and New Zealand had to wait decades before they won their first Test.  
If the proposal is passed as it stands Bangladesh will not play a Test against any of the top eight for eight years from 2015. Players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque will pass quietly into the night. Even if they are there at the end of the cycle, what hope of them playing well against a top-eight team after an eight-year diet of playing four-day games against teams below them in standard? In all likelihood cricket in this country will regress, and that would be nothing short of tragic.
It won't be much better elsewhere. With commercial viability likely to be the only consideration when arranging tours, teams like West Indies and New Zealand will suffer immensely. Think of the cricketers the nations outside the big three have given us -- George Headley, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Malcolm Marshall, Brian Lara from the West Indies; Allan Donald, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn from South Africa; Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, Chris Cairns, Shane Bond from New Zealand; Aravinda De Silva, Muttiah Muralidaran, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka; Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamamul Haque from Pakistan; Andy Flower, Heath Streak, Brendan Taylor from Zimbabwe and the aforementioned players from Bangladesh.
That's what they should have done. The other seven telling the big three to go to Satan's mansion down there. In truth, there is enough talent to go around and attract spectators. Yes, they will be cut off from India's riches, but that will happen anyway if this proposal is adopted. Maybe that is what they have done. Oh well, that is my luxury right now -- to still be able to dream in a time before cricket became an utter sham.

Sakeb Subhan works as a sports journalist for The Daily Star. He has been an avid cricket follower for nearly 20 years and considers himself an armchair cricket expert.