Greig calls for end to India ‘domination’ of ICC

Former England captain feels Test cricket is being destroyed due to IPL.

LONDON:

Former England captain Tony Greig has called for an end to India’s “domination” of the International Cricket Council (ICC), saying it was the first thing he’d change if in charge of the governing body.

“Number one, we have got to try and get the ICC right,” said Greig. “We have a situation at the moment where the ICC is dominated by India. They tell Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and one or two other countries what to do and they always get the vote. It’s very hard, but somehow we have got to change things at that level.

“We are playing too much cricket. I’d be getting all the countries from the world and saying hey listen, what is this nonsense of giving Indian domestic cricket an open window?” said Greig. “To give the IPL an open window, and reduce by two months the time available for cricketers to play around the world, in the current environment is just ridiculous.”

The 64-year-old, who settled in Australia after his playing days were over urged that the matter be looked at closely and it is made sure that the cornerstone of the game which is Test cricket is not destroyed.

“It’s laughable that Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are playing in the IPL when the West Indies are playing Pakistan. That’s just ridiculous.”

Greig stressed his longstanding affection for Indian cricket, dating back to his time as a player which included leading England to a 3-1 Test series win in India in 1976/77.

“It was the first time I really felt as if we were entertaining people, as the people there loved the game so much,” explained Greig, who made his name in England with south coast county Sussex. “To this day Kolkata’s Eden Gardens remains one of my favourite grounds because of the incredible atmosphere.”



Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2011.