Good, Bad and Ugly ft. ECB’s acumen, Ajax’s misfortune, and BAI’s laxity
We’re back with another weekly edition of Good, Bad and Ugly which is basically a roundup of some of the most startling events that have taken place this week. And that includes the England Cricket Board’s timely actions, Ajax being denied the Eredivise, and pornographic images at an online session.
The Good
ECB’s decision to postpone all cricket until July
Earlier this week, the Chief Executive Officer of the ECB, Tom Harrison revealed that the board values public health over everything else in these unprecedented times and confirmed that there will be no cricket played in the country until it's completely safe to do so, provided the British government gives the go-ahead. "As much as we remain hopeful that we can deliver some cricket this summer, we are in the midst of a worldwide crisis and our priority - over and above the playing of professional sport - will be to protect the vulnerable, key workers and society as a whole," said Harrison.
Considering the situation, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that there will be no cricket till July 1. While also reestablishing that The Hundred, a 100-balls per side competition that is considered to be a major revenue generator, will be prioritised once the season starts. But certainly, there was more thought put into it since the delayed season would also accommodate a curtailed county season by pushing the Vitality T20 Blast to the last order in business.
ICC considering legalising ‘Ball tampering’
Well, amongst the many eventualities that were inflicted by the COVID-19 outbreak was the ICC’s reported consideration regarding the legalisation of ball-tampering. Under ICC’s Law 41, subsection 3 of the Laws of Cricket, the ball may be polished without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed from it under supervision; all other actions which alter the condition of the ball are illegal. In fact, in July 2018, after the infamous ‘sandpaper gate’, the ICC announced that ‘Changing the condition of the ball’ category of ICC Code of Conduct will now incur a Level 3 offence.
The ICC are now considering the legalisation of this act since the coronavirus-induced pandemic has led to a situation wherein the players won’t be able to use their saliva to shine the ball. However, the possible legalisation of an illegal act in cricket can ironically be good the sport itself as it will mean an implementation of new regulations about how exactly to tamper with the ball, while also being monitored, so that it doesn’t become out of bounds.
The Bad
Norwich City defend their decision to furlough staff
Early this month, Norwich City had announced that they will begin furloughing staff in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Going by the British government’s coronavirus job retention scheme, the Canaries would allow non-playing staff to claim 80% of their wages, to a maximum of £2,500 a month, while football remains indefinitely postponed. The club followed the footsteps of its fellow Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, who have also used the scheme.
Now, the Norwich City management have defended their decision to use the furlough scheme for 200 non-playing staff after the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The decision we made was in the best interests of the club and its staff. We've been very transparent that we're run in a self-financed manner," chief operating officer Ben Kensell told BBC Radio Norfolk. This behaviour by the Norwich City, who were at the bottom of the Premier League table when the tournament was suspended, shows utmost disregard for their staff.
Ajax denied Eredivisie title
Ajax, who were top of the Eredivisie standings, have been denied the Eredivisie title, without promotion and relegation, after the Dutch 2019-20 season was ended early due to coronavirus pandemic. The team was ahead of AZ Alkmaaron goal difference, with nine rounds of matches to play when the season was suspended. And now the current table was made final, but Ajax will go unawarded. It will be the first time in Eredivisie 64-year history that the league will go over without a designated champion.
The season was declared over on Tuesday after reports about the Dutch FA held a meeting with clubs, and unions representing coaches and players came in. It was after the Dutch government extended a prohibition on public events till September 1 in an effort to flatten the curve as the COVID-19 has claimed more than 4,000 lives in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Ajax and AZ are the two teams that will fill the country’s two places in the 2020-21 Champions League.
The Ugly
George Hankins arrested in drunk driving case
Well, when celebrities walk into blunders like drunk driving the case becomes really ugly. I mean, who would want to wake up to a piece of news getting to know that a sportsperson has committed something so careless and reckless when they are supposed to be role models. Well joining the elite club of cricketers, who have been charged in drunken cases, like Jesse Ryder and Umar Akmal was Gloucestershire batsman George Hankins. The 23-year-old, who has featured in 28 first-class games, was arrested for a drink-driving incident in Surrey following a car crash, according to a BBC report.
The Gloucestershire cricketer will have to appear in Guildford Magistrates' Court in July. "Gloucestershire Cricket has been made aware of an incident - being investigated by Surrey Police - regarding one of its players, who has been based in Surrey during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The Club is in touch with the player concerned and has initiated a full internal investigation," the club said in a statement.
Pornographic images pop-up in BAI’s online training session
Well, now that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken over, online sessions are everything to maintain work culture and relationships. So in of these online training sessions, held by Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Badminton Association of India (BAI), ended up in being a never-seen-before ignominy. Whilst the session was underway, some pornographic images suddenly beamed on the screens of 700-plus coaches across the country, on Thursday.
The online training session, which was being led by India badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and foreign coaches Agus Dwi Santoso and Namrih Suroto, left everyone astonished and it’s been learnt that Gopichand was one of the first to have logged out immediately. While there were rumours of the Zoom session being hacked, the SAI cleared the air by stating that the Zoom session was not hacked and it was only a 'sudden technical malfunction' that led to the humiliating incident.