BOYCOTT INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

BOYCOTT INTERNATIONAL CRICKET
It is high time that cricket fans worldwide boycott international cricket. It is a sad plight that it the death of a great cricketing brain as Bob Woolmer has brought some visibility into the hugely deteriorating levels of morality and any semblance of gentlemanliness there's left in this game.

ROOT CAUSES:
Some of the fundamental reasons for the tangle cricket is currently in are:
1. The disproportionate amount of cash pouring into media rights and into the game.
2. Heightened media frenzy that spurs emotional nations such as India and Pakistan to a form of frantic passion that is devoid of balance.
3. In short, cricket has become the opium for the masses in the sub-continent, and consequently places tremendous pressure on the players as well.

WHERE THE ICC HAS FAILED:
The administration of the ICC, or the lack of it, has been a critical piece of this conundrum. The ICC has summarily failed, it has not just been spineless, it has been incompetent and impotent in improving the fairness of the game. Here are some reasons why:
- The ICC created its Anti Corruption Unit. If you look back, this body has just worked as a review body AFTER an allegation of match fixing or suspicion was raised! No actions or thought was given to proactive prevention or avoidance. No guidelines were provided to international players on how they should be responding or handling an offer from a bookie or such malpractice.
- Lack of a planned out budget to popularize the game globally, this being one of the stated goals of the body. There's no need to be subtle about it! Draw up a budget, equivalent of a 5yr plan to expand, and then raise funds to just meet the budget & the operating costs for the office bearers, and raise enough funds to meet this budget. If this mantra was adopted, we would not be seeing the disproportionate deals for tele rights.
- Lack of the above has led the game to be so commercialized to the extent that, it needs to be practically rebooted to revive it.
To these, I say, ICC - these are loose ends currently. Acknowledge it, and work towards fixing it. Until you fix it, go into oblivion and take a sabattical!

WHAT CAN WE DO?:
The very fanatic fans and the huge sub-continent populations(read Market as the money mongrels would read) have to rise to bring back the perspective that is lacking currently. The very purpose of the Ads and the monies should be hurt, so that ICC and the sponsors equally well, realize loud and clear, the tangle that they have brought the game into, AND people, the media and the fans realize the mania they've helped create.

I urge every reader to partake in any of the following actions and follow it up with a press release, invite the press to cover the incident/action, so that the public uprising and disapproval are well registered.

A FEW IDEAS TO LODGE YOUR PROTESTS:
Some good avenues to do that are:
1. Drastic reduction in viewership of the games. Say each of us boycott seeing the next few games at least, this will go a long way in making the sponsors understand the disproportionate sums they've paid, and market economics will take care of the rest.
2. People in WI - boycott weekend matches, the stadia should only be half-full.
3. If people can develop pamphlets explaining this stand, essentially against the ACU (Anti corruption unit of ICC)'s effectiveness, against the HUGE $$ in telecasting rights, against TV and print media for the disproportionate furore and against fans without balance. As an action of protest, we should protest and try to stop places that screen the 2007 World Cup ive.

It would be great if local cricket fraternities join in this struggle to restore the game. Press releases of protests HAVE TO HIT THE ADMINISTRATORS & the MEDIA hard.

COME ON FOLKS, LETS TRY TO RESURRECT CRICKET:
As a responsible community, a community should register its protests and disapproval on a system, if it believes so!! If you ask 'what will come out of it', maybe not a change in administration obviously by one gesture of protest, but as more of these happen, it will have its impact and change the way the people think.