ICC defends Bucknor decision

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has defended the decision to replace Steve Bucknor with Billy Bowden for the third Test in Perth, saying it was done for the better of the game and not to please India. "We could have taken a confrontational tone but we took a diplomatic approach," he told the Times. "We have got an international sporting incident where countries are polarised. What we are seeking to do is avoid having that turn into an international crisis.
"We have taken away one of the points of issue that has caused this passionate response in both countries. If Bucknor had been umpiring, commentators and public would have pored over every decision Steve made."
Speed also felt the Australian side need to realise the brickbats they are receiving for their behaviour. "They are a great cricket team; I would hate to see them remembered for any reason other than that," he was quoted in the Age. "The team is being criticised, members of the team are being criticised and they need to to be aware of that - they need to respond to that."
Meanwhile, ICC president Ray Mali also backed the decision to remove Bucknor from officiating in Perth. "We recognised from the outset that the umpiring in the second Test was below the very high standard we have come to expect from our Elite Panel and we noted with concern the enormous reaction to it and realised that we could potentially have a serious international diplomatic incident on our hands," Mali said. "By standing Steve down for the third Test we have successfully defused the situation, at least for the time being, and so what was a sporting issue has not become a political crisis.
"We could easily have taken an inflexible stance and gone toe-to-toe with those who were calling for Steve's withdrawal but instead we chose to adopt a more diplomatic and reasonable approach. And on balance it was the right thing to do, for the game and for the series.
Mali also issued a reminder that Bucknor's removal had nothing to do with Harbhajan Singh's appeal. "It is also worth reminding people that the decision to replace Steve for this match had nothing to do with the Harbhajan Singh Code of Conduct hearing. That process is ongoing and will run its full course.
"As is his right, Harbhajan has appealed the guilty finding of the hearing. The appeals process has been part of the ICC Code of Conduct for seven years so there is nothing new or unusual about this.
Mali said he expected all parties to accept the decision of the findings of the appeals' commissioner and hoped the attention would shift to the game . "Over the past few days there have been too many emotive comments from too many people and it's now time for the focus to return to the cricket."
Speed dismissed suggestions that the appeal on Harbhajan Singh's three-Test ban will be delayed so as to ensure the series will go on without further controversy.
"We may have the hearing before the third Test. If not, we are hopeful we can have it before the fourth Test," Speed said. "I am very pleased the tour is going ahead, there is a process in place for appeals and Harbhajan has appealed," he said. "India have signed off on the appeals process. They were there when all the discussions took place.
Speed said the ICC won't budge under the pressure of the Indian board. "We can't have one set of rules for the India team and another set for everyone else," he said. "We will follow the process and and I hope whatever the outcome all parties will be able to say they have had a fair hearing."

ICC sends emerging stars to Indian academy

ICC Europe has announced the names of 14 of Europe's finest young talents who will travel to India in February to take part in the ICC European Cricket Academy 2008.
It will be the first time that the academy has taken place outside of Europe as it relocates to the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai. The previous five academies have been held at Europe-based venues including Loughborough in England and more recently the excellent venue of La Manga Resort in Spain, and despite the tremendous success of these, a decision has been taken to further the player's education by a move to the subcontinent.
The academy will be organised through the Mumbai-based Global Cricket School which has an extremely talented team of coaches in place, the majority of whom have worked with Indian national teams at junior and senior level. In addition to this, the European players will be accompanied by a highly qualified ICC Europe coaching team led by the ICC regional development officer Philip Hudson. The team includes the ECB's head of elite coach development Gordon Lord, former Ireland coach Adrian Birrell and Stuart Barnes, the assistant coach at Gloucestershire.
The academy will be held between February 24 and March 5 and the programme will consist of five days of practice and three matches against a variety of opposition including an Under-19 state side. The matches will take the form of one two-day and two one-day matches.
"We have decided to move this year's academy to India to further develop the player's skills in a tough environment that will test all involved," said Hudson. "Holding the academy on the subcontinent will allow all players the opportunity to develop their game on different surfaces and in different conditions to what they have become accustomed to.
"All of these young cricketers have the potential to play for their national teams in the near future and with many of our Associate and Affiliate sides participating more frequently on the international stage, it is essential that they learn to play on different types of surfaces."
The 14 participants, all aged between 18 and 22, come from six of Europe's 27 ICC member countries - Gibraltar, Guernsey, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands and Scotland. ICC Europe is funding places on the academy for 13 cricketers and an additional place has been made available, thanks to the support of the Global Cricket Academy, taking the total up to 14.
Twenty-year-old spinner Solomon Varsulkar is the first Israeli to be selected to take part in an ICC academy. He has been selected for the event after producing phenomenal bowling performances for his country, including overall figures of 15 for 120 and 11 for 60 at the 2005 and 2007 ICC European U-19 Championships.
Commenting on what he hopes to gain from the opportunity Solomon said: "I know that there is still so much I need to learn about spin bowling and where better to learn than in India? Having lived in Israel since I was a small child it would be a dream to go back to my roots and play on famous grounds in Mumbai."
Also on the list are four Irish players, all of whom played for their country in the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. The four are former MCC young cricketer Gary Kidd, full-time professional Gary Wilson, who has recently signed a contract with Surrey, promising wicketkeeper-batsman Fintan McAllister and a graduate of the Middlesex academy, Andrew Poynter.
The selection includes three Scottish players, Richard Berrington, Andrew Hislop, who also all played in the 2006 U-19 World Cup, and Scott Redhead.
Three players will also travel to the academy from the Netherlands. Bob Entrop, Timothy Gruijters and Maurits Jonkman have all performed for their country in ICC European Championships at all age groups up to Under-23 and now aspire to play for their full national side with the ultimate goal of gaining professional county contracts. In doing so they will follow in the footsteps of Alexei Kervezee who is himself a graduate of the 2005 ICC European Academy and went on to sign a contract with Worcestershire and compete for Netherlands in the 2007 World Cup.
Guernsey players Kris Moherndl and Blane Queripel, and 18-year-old Kieron Ferrary of Gibraltar, whom have all competed in their countries national sides, are the final three Europeans to make up the 14.
European Academy Squad 2008 Kieron Ferrary (Gibraltar), Blane Queripel, Kris Moherndl (Guernsey), Gary Kidd, Fintan McAllister, Andrew Poynter, Gary Wilson (Ireland), Solomon Varsulkar (Israel), Bob Entrop, Timothy Gruijters, Maurits Jonkman (Netherlands), Richard Berrington, Andrew Hislop, Scott Redhead (Scotland).