Is Cricket Becoming More Of A Political Game Than Sport?
Over the last couple of years we have seen some major issues in the world of Cricket from the death of Bob Woolmer under suspicious circumstances at the cricket world cup to the recent infighting during the ongoing India / Australia Test series. So has cricket become more of a political event than sport?
If the truth be known there have always been an array of simmering rivalries in the game of cricket but the competition between teams has reached fever pitch of late. We have seen various on field bust ups, deliberate flouting of the basic rules of cricket and more and more political back biting and pressure being applied to the Cricketing Authorities. So is it time to draw a line under the rivalries and start again?
It would be perfect if the cricket teams and management teams could actually get back to playing the game rather than trying to influence different areas for their own means. During the recent racism row regarding the Indian and Australian teams we saw decisions over ruled, bans lifted and pressure exerted to ensure that certain umpires were not able to do their jobs properly. All this in the midst of what is a very finely balanced and interesting Test match series.
While the Australian / Indian fallout is only the latest in a long line of disagreements in the sport, it is one which has led to riots in the streets, calls of unfair decision making and even called into question the impartiality of cricket umpires - something which would never have even been contemplated only ten years ago. So why are things changing so quickly?
While the rivalries have always been there we are probably looking at the pressure of increased sponsorship, gambling and prize money in the sport. The fight for a larger share of the money pie seems to be behind much of the disputes. Surely we can go back to the days when cricket was a gentleman’s sport?
