Bitter End to a Great Beginning

This weekend of 18^th and 19^th Feb 2012 I was playing Bhakti Park Premier League (BPPL), a tennis ball cricket tournament. It was played on a very well done ground with grass cover and “pata” wicket made of rolled red soil.  The BPPL is organized to weave a camaraderie between residents of Bhakti Park, Wadala (E), the builder (Ajmera Builders) and near-by localities such as Imax theater. Unity through Cricket, a great intent !!!.  Kudos to the all those who took the idea from conception to execution. This year was the second year of the tournament and I was very eagerly waiting for this moment to arrive.  As the tournament progressed it was getting interesting with each match and things were all hunky dory and it was fun unlimited, at least to me.

Then came the bitter moment and it came so swift that there was hardly any time to give a measured reaction. The rest of this article is about that. Whether it is an angry rant or expression of heart-felt concern of a cricket lover is for you to decide. Be your own judge.  Here are the details.

The tournament comprised of two groups of 5 teams each. Group games were round robin basis with each team playing every other team in their respective group. Top 2 teams from each group would qualify for the semifinals. Winners would advance to the finals. So far so good.  Now comes the part with the gotcha. The tournament rule said that in case of more than 2 teams tying for the top 2 spots in the group the team that will go through will be decided based on the highest score those teams scored in any of the league matches. As unintelligent and unattractive this rule was, the fact remains that it was known before hand. Later on I will elaborate of why it was silly and dumb, but first I will quickly come to the point that made my experience bitter.  Here it follows

In group B, there were 3 teams that had a chance to qualify for second spot in the group.  The last league match, let’s say was between First and Second team. Both had won 1 out of 3 matches each. The Third team was sitting with 2 wins and 2 losses. Now it so happened that the Third team which had finished all the league games had the top score of 45 runs from 5 overs.  First and Second team had never crossed 40 in their previous matches with average runs per inning closer to less than 35. According to the tournament rules, the winner of First v/s Second match could qualify if the winner scored more than 45 runs, else if the match scores were less than 45 runs the Third team could qualify for the semis. This is when the absurdity of the rule became glaringly evident and it was clear that teams First, Second and Third were not in control of their destiny. Here is how:

•  In the last match between teams First and Second, if the team batting first sets a target of less than 45 runs, both teams lose out of a semi-final berth.
• Third team who was keenly watching the game, could do nothing but pray that scores remained below 45 disregarding all their previous merits.

Situation could still be salvaged at this point if the tournament continued in fair spirit. If a hard fought tussle between teams First and Second took the score above 45 then it would have been fair that the winner of that match rightly and justly move to the semis. If it resulted in no team scoring 45 runs, then again it was fair and just that Third team qualified.

This is exactly where things went bitter.  Teams First and Second colluded.  Amongst themselves the teams decided that the team batting first would be allowed to score more than 45 runs. The team bowling first would then try and chase the score, thus effectively shutting the Third team out of the tournament. Before the match, began the organizers were alerted of the possibility of match-fixing, but it was only fair that at this point they gave benefit of doubt to both the teams. They couldn’t act on mere suspicion.

As the match progressed it became clear which way the winds were blowing. The first innings was marked with shoddy fielding (catch drops, missed run-out, overthrows, fumbles and unnecessarily attempted run-outs)  and poor bowling (spurt in number of extras, loose balls – short and full tosses). Also worth noting here is that the 45-run mark was met in 4.4 overs for loss of 2 wickets. The innings folded marginally above 45 runs and each run above 45 was taken amidst superb fielding. Yes, I am alleging match-fixing and here are my reasons

1.  Of the 19 or so matches played in the league, only about 5-6 matches had a score of over 45 (in 5 overs). Hence the probability of scoring more than 45 runs was close to only 30-35 percent.
2. Of the matches where 45+ was scored, 2 were scored by strongest team in the tournament and 2 were scored against the weakest team in the tournament. These were 4 separate matches.
3. Teams First and Second had never scored 45 runs in their previous outings with their average scores being closer to 35 runs per innings. They had never even crossed 40.
4. Close to 30% runs of this controversial inning could be attributed to ‘extras’ as mentioned above. This is much higher  than previous matches for both teams from respective perspectives (batting or bowling)
5. The team which batted first had lost on average 5 wickets in each of their previous matches, whereas in the said match they lost a lot less.
6. Last but not the least, as a player I could clearly see the bowling team under-perform.

I belonged to the Third team. Hence one can argue that it’s a case of sour grapes for me. My rebuttal to that is that I trust my conscience (based on my points above) and I would not have alleged match fixing if none was done, but I cannot remain silent when scrupulous practices bring disrepute to the game I love. Winning and losing are part and parcel of the game. I am not concerned that we didn’t get to play the semis, but I am concerned that the game was brought to shame due to wrong actions by teams and inaction of the organizers.

Repeated appeal to organizers to investigate the matter fell on deaf ears. Under the garb of “not enough evidence”, the organizers allowed the game to continue without taking any action. As a self-respecting individual with love for Cricket I retracted further participation, refused lunch, registered a protest and am going to return the sponsors T-shirt. Thanks to many others who followed the same suite.

Whatever has happened has happened, but what can we learn out of this.

• First of all, I would like to pooh-pooh all arguments which refuse to accept that there was match-fixing. Dig the stats, see the recording, ask your conscience – You WILL get your own answers.  If there was match-fixing why not act swiftly with spontaneity even if that means changing rules on the fly? Why shy away from a tit-for-tat when protecting integrity of the game?
• Secondly, there is no merit in the argument that teams can decide how they want to play even if that means allowing some easy runs to the opposition, because that is against the spirit of the game. There is a fixed set of parameters that earns one Cricketing respect and not putting up a fight or killing the competition is not one of them. Depending on situation, does one get a license to cheat?
• Third – The concerned teams should ask themselves - Is the semifinal berth more important than honour and cricketing respect? What prompted (or tempted ) these otherwise honest individuals to collude?
• Fourth – Do the organizers have an iota of cricketing sense? What prompted the organizers to “innovate” some silly rules? What was so difficult about breaking ties with net run rate which considers all-round performance at the same time enforces competition? Why not consider a super-over to break ties?
• Fifth – Does the sponsors responsibility end with provision of funds? Did they keep tab on tournament rules? If the hard-earned money they are pouring in, leaves bad taste will they earn goodwill or get returns?
•  Finally – Whose job is it to ensure that things remain fair and just?

My closing comments to organizers are – Cricket is a great tool for unity. Organizers should not waste the opportunity by creating non-sensical, illogical rules. If innocent-until-proven-guilty is binding, inaction after discovery is a crime. Remember, the participants in the tournament have many available alternatives to spend their week-ends. Organizers should feel privileged that participants and their families devoted time or be ready for poorer participation in future editions. Organizing Cricket is more about organizing the fairness of the competition more than food, logistics or prize money. Let core cricket not suffer due to poor planning. Be aware that it is Cricket that brings crowd, not food, facilities or trophies. Salvage some pride by issuing an apology for amending poor rules that create opportunities for cheating. Do your homework and (if and) when you find traces of cheating rebuke the cheaters. Most importantly, consider fairness concerns before any other concerns for future events. On my scale of ratings, you get a 0 out of 5 for this years edition.

Appendix

Why the decision to break the tie on the basis of highest scores is dumb?

Because,

• The team chasing is limited by the targets set by the team batting first. So unused deliveries are unaccounted for in the performance.
• The rule is unfair to a team who has stronger bowling units than batting units
• Considers only peak performance as opposed to consistent average performance

Cricketing Solution to the situation

The unfortunate events could have been averted if the team chasing would have been assured a full quota of 5 overs despite overhauling the target. If the chasing team would then have reached the 45-run mark then it was the rightful candidate for a semi-final berth. That way it would have ensured competition as well as fairness.