Is the Broad family above the ICC?
English fast bowler Stuart Broad once again escaped a harsher penalty according to the rules and regulations set by the ICC. Stuart, who is the son of former English test batsman Chris Broad and a current match referee, has been on the loose. The young pace man surprised many commentators and former cricketers after stepping on the ball at Cape Town in a test against South Africa in January. Despite his antics, Stuart got away with the actions. History has however repeated itself. In the second test match against Pakistan, a frustrated Broad threw the ball at the young Pakistani wicket keeper Zulqarnain Haider, hitting him on the shoulder. Broad’s gesture of apology came half-heartedly and did not satisfy the Pakistani squad, especially the captain, who at the end of the days play said,’ cricket is a gentleman’s game but I think they got frustrated”.
“The actions of Stuart Broad were unacceptable”, Ranjan Madugalle, match referee who has imposed the fine said. He also stated, “I understand the frustrations of a bowler in the heat of the moment but as an international sportsman one needs to control these emotions whatever may be the situation and always respect the opponent. Stuart, by pleading guilty, realised his mistake and I’m sure he will not repeat the same again”.
This is the second incident in 2010 where an English pace man has misbehaved in the field and has gotten away. Father Chris Broad, the star of the 1984 Ashes series in Australia is another controversial figure. The veteran test batsman averaged a respectable 40 and never had a history of any sort of misconduct but has sailed close to the wind at times.
Indian veteran superstar Sunil Gavaskar has also voiced his concerns regarding the subject. Gavaskar agreed that the younger Broad got away with a fine of 50% match fee on a level two offence largely because of his father. Experts viewed the offence as a serious event and they believed that Stuart Broad should have been suspended for a year from international cricket. And if the same act was committed by any other player, he would have been heavily penalised.
Cricket is a globalised game. Due to its growing popularity, the International Cricket Council (ICC) was formed in 1909 when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 came together to develop a governing body. Currently, the game is globally played with 96 countries affiliated with it all across the world. The vision of this council is to make cricket a global sport which will captivate and inspire people of every age, gender, background and ability while at the same time, is able to build bridges between continents, countries and communities. The ICC’s mission statement is as follows:
Promoting and protecting the game and its unique spirit.
Delivering outstanding, memorable events.
Providing excellent service to Members and stakeholders.
Optimising its commercial rights and properties for the benefit of its members.
If one closely studies the rules set by the ICC, one clearly understands the skewed approach taken by Ranjan Madugalle and his team. The handbook provided by ICC in Article 2.2.7 clearly states, “Throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a player, player support personnel, umpire match referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match”. Anyone disobeying this rule will be considered disobeying the rules and regulations and fines will be imposed on the basis of the severity of the misconduct.
Broad’s act has in fact depressed the morale and motivation level of the English team. The frustration and ill mannered English players were given a short course of relaxing and behaving from the boundary line by their coach - an act which is not normal in the world of cricket. Coaches are usually positioned in the dressing room where they develop strategies and record errors in performances. ICC would face problems if the same level of offence would have been committed by an Englishmen to an Australian in a test match. Moreover, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s inexperienced side was not able to properly respond to the situation. It would also be interesting to see how Broad’s behaviour is going to be like in the days to come and if this is the last supposed warning to him.
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