Cricket: ICC facing flashpoint

By RICHARD BOOCK

HOBART - Martin Snedden predicts world cricket will face another flashpoint within a fortnight unless the International Cricket Council takes urgent action.

The New Zealand Cricket chief executive believes the only way the ICC can avoid another standoff when England tour India next week is to convene an emergency meeting of the executive committee - at a neutral venue such as Singapore.

Snedden's concerns stem from the fact that India have promised to consider Virender Sehwag - who has been suspended for one match - for the first test against England at Mohali, having already stood him down for the unofficial "test" against South Africa.

But because the ICC have stripped the South African match of its test status they will expect Sehwag to serve his suspension in the opening test against England starting on December 3, a situation which has the potential to plunge the game back into crisis.

The controversy erupted last week when India threatened to boycott the third test against South Africa unless the ICC removed match referee Mike Denness, who handed out fines and suspensions to six Indian players during the second test.

Under pressure from their Government, South Africa's United Cricket Board agreed to bar Denness from the ground and appoint local match referee Dennis Lindsay as a replacement, resulting in the ICC removing the game's test status.

Giving additional weight to Snedden's stance last night was the news of a six-page letter sent to the ICC by Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in which he confirmed that his board would allow Sehwag to be selected at Mohali.

"Whatever penalty has been imposed [on Sehwag] has finished," wrote Shah, who also attacked Denness' handling of the affair, describing it as "seriously flawed".

Although there have been suggestions that the spat would be a one-off aberration and could be relegated to the past, Snedden said it was vital to find a settlement before England left for the subcontinent.

"If we wait and see what happens at Mohali then we will have waited too long," said Snedden. "It's a complicated issue and I'm not sure what the solution is, but there's no doubt that it has to be addressed before it rears its head again.

"I don't think you want to put yourself in a position where you force a confrontation, so whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter there's probably going to have to be compromises made."

On a personal note, he was surprised to hear about the standoff given that an ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur received a clear mandate to clamp down on player misbehaviour.

"It's very disappointing to see two countries who went along with those discussions now acting as if they never happened.

"They're choosing to ignore the rules and I think that's wrong, but on the other hand we need to be able to resolve the issue."

The ICC's executive committee comprises the various chairmen of the member countries, which Snedden said was the obvious forum for such a high-level discussion.

* South Africa were 261 for four wickets at the close on the second day in Centurion. India were dismissed for 232.