Cricket has only itself to blame for the inflated and impractical schedule: Chappell

[ad_1]

Cricket has only itself to blame for the inflated and impractical schedule: Chappell

Sydney: Former Australian captain Ian Chappell believes cricket itself is to blame for the inflated and impractical schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. Chappell added that the reassessment of the schedule may be the only good for cricket ahead of the pandemic.

“Hollywood comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s signature line, ‘Well, here’s another nice mess you put me in”, could easily apply to the predicament of cricket planning today. In the case of the comedians, it was heavyweight Hardy accusing his clumsy partner Laurel of another blunder. Cricket has only itself to blame for the inflated and impractical schedule the Covid pandemic has detonated like a leftover landmine, ”Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo on Sunday.

“An international program that recently blossomed like a mushroom in the dark now looks like a block of Jarlsberg cheese with its characteristic holes. Nonetheless, this is what is needed – a little sympathy, in light of Covid’s constant disruption on the international calendar. From a cricket’s perspective, the only good that could come from the pandemic is a thorough reassessment of the schedule, ”Chappell added.

Chappell believes cricket programming in the COVID-19 era will become critical when England receives directions for Ashes travel to Australia. “The situation could come to a head when the English players are presented with the restrictions that will more than likely apply on their Ashes tour of Australia. Faced with a choice between a severely curtailed Ashes series or a hastily-curated replacement tour, Australia might feel sympathy for what countries like Pakistan have gone through.

“Could this bring one of the ‘Big Three’ to an ICC crisis meeting with a sense of empathy for the plight of lesser nations? Only an eternal optimist would answer “yes” to this question. “

The 78-year-old has drawn parallels between cricket nations and former US President Donald Trump. “However, this would require cricket countries to come together in good faith with a view to making decisions in the best interests of the game. As we have seen over the years, and particularly in recent times, the likelihood of this happening is about the same as Donald Trump showing humility.

“In the early 2000s, when the game administrators followed the golden rainbow and discovered the IPL at the end, they unwittingly transferred tremendous power into the hands of the players. There is no better time for admins to call for this favor and work with gamers to chart a better and fairer future for the game.

“If this were to happen and the result is a workable timeline that fits everyone, cricket will have to thank the pandemic for helping to extricate itself from a mess of its own making,” Chappell concluded.

Like that:

I like loading …

[ad_2]