Crucket

I’m getting a bit annoyed with all the ads for the HRV Cup around town. It’s been a great competition and all, but these pictures on the ads of players or fans sweltering under the glare of some post-global warming wasteland

with a logo featuring a sun with a golden lustre only possible from filtering through a Western Australia dust storm

… well, that’s not really that much like a New Zealand summer.

And to give us these images this summer – this waterlogged, grey, dismal, abominable summer – it is nearly insulting.

Very interesting piece about Australasian cricket politics by Peter Roebuck:

ICC arena no place for this inexpert right-arm slow

Pakistan’s maddening 0-3 capitulation to Australia has knocked them out of the running in the NZ–Aus–Pak test tri-series. And Australia has shot to the top. It is now all to be decided by the NZ– Aus rubber, with NZ needing a win and Aus needing anything but a loss.

Some very interesting news is coming out of India regarding the Indian income tax department’s assessment of the BCCI’s tax status.

The tax department has looked at the BCCI’s returns and has confirmed what many of us have been suspecting of the BCCI, that they are much more concerned about their bottom line than they are about advancing cricket. They have determined that the BCCI are “totally commercial” and that “cricket is only incidental to its scheme of things.” Despite pulling in 2.7 billion rupees in 06-07, the tax department has noted that the BCCI has not developed any infrastructure or constructed any facilities.

All power to the BCCI for making so much money out of cricket. However, that profit is only a good thing if it is used for the promotion of the game. So it is a crying shame that the BCCI are treating their surplus as a profit.

It is of vital importance to the game that the various cricketing boards operate as charities (or not-for-profit). Profiteering is simply incompatible with developing the game. Developing the game requires investing in youth cricket, improving facilities and promoting the game globally. None of which will draw short-term profit, or even long-term monetary profit necessarily. Running cricket as a business will push the game towards the lowest common denominator.

Also, if the BCCI are conducting their operations on a purely commercial basis, that casts an unpleasant light on their ICL bashing activities. If the BCCI trying to quash the ICL was simply the action of one commercial entity against another, then it looks awfully like uncompetitive activity. And involving other cricketing bodies such as NZC in this looks potentially like a cabal.

But even if you are happy with the BCCI making money and comfortable with cricket being run on a commercial basis, there is still the issue of the BCCI’s tax status. Until it was revoked by the tax department, the BCCI had charity status, presumably meaning its revenue is tax exempt. But if it is operating commercially, it should be paying tax. From its income of 2.7 billion rupees for 06-07 (pre-IPL it should be noted), it owes 1.2 billion rupees in tax.

In my view – much worse than a charity chasing profit, much worse than leveraging your size and influence to stifle competition – the filthy rich not paying taxes is the fricken’ worst.

Wellington score a respectable 161/8 but are still beaten by 68 runs (chasing Auckland’s 229). Gah!

But despite Wellington being on the receiving end, it really is heartening to see a team score over 200 in a match. And good to see Lou Vincent amongst the runs, even if only in his games against Wellington. And Guptill’s 62 off 35 was heartwarming. It would be my hope that Auckland get through to the Champions League so that Vincent and Guptill can be unleashed against the world. (Also want to see Victoria get through, so that Ross Taylor gets a run.)

In championing Auckland in this way, I suppose I have lost hope for Wellington. With 5 games still to play in the Cup, Wellington are going to have to outscore two out of Central, Otago and Auckland by 3 wins and Northern by 1 to make the final. A hard task and possibly numerically impossible. Oh well. Beating Canterbury is as good as making the finals though.

What is this? Make fun of Wellington season?

Awesome evening at the Basin on Friday. Huge crowd – frickin’ huge. Bouncy castles for the kids. Decent weather. A few sixes hit onto the bank. Lou Vincent unveiling his Mongoose and leading Auckland to a competitive score. Then Franklin bringing the game back after early wickets.

The kids were melting down a bit by the end though, so we snuck out with a couple of overs remaining, confident in a Wellington win. About a run a ball required.

Little did we know what was transpiring while we were driving home. Franklin gone two balls after we left and no firepower left in the lineup. Those early wickets really cost us.

Another victory handed over to the opposition. Wellington just can’t catch no breaks this season.