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guyanatimesGY.com
wednesday, june 10, 2015
George, Barrington, Ambrose fears for cricket’s fast bowlers Thomas warned, C fined by AAG
Aubrey Hutson
T
he Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) has issued a warning letter to Ornesto Thomas, Cassey George and Devon Barrington for their unsportsmanlike conduct on Sunday at the National Senior Championships. Thomas and Barrington
Ornesto Thomas
were involved in a heated exchange of words after the
Cassey George
men’s 800m final that resulted in Barrington throwing a closed fist at Thomas, while George, after dropping out of the women’s 800 metres final, used indecent language towards the track officials and winner of the event Andrea Foster. AAG President Aubrey Hutson also noted that all three of the athletes have been fined 50 per cent of their total earnings for the meet. Hutson pointed out that the decision to issue a warning letter as well as fine the athletes was a collective one by the coaches involved as well as the technical director of the meet. The letter, according to Hutson, also stated that should any of the three athletes behave in such a manner for the remainder of the year, they will be suspended.
urtly Ambrose never used to say very much when he was a cricketer. It is why he has called his new autobiography Time To Talk, and the early impressions are that not much has changed. “I’m not a big talker,” he says, a trifle forebodingly, at the start of our interview. “Some guys like to be in the media every day, all the time, talking about themselves. I wasn’t one of those players. Plus, I always preferred to let the ball do the talking for me.” A tally of 405 Test wickets testifies that cricket balls in the hands of Ambrose did not talk; they shouted. But, as it turns out, Ambrose certainly can talk when the mood takes him, and what animates him most is not talking about the past, but about the present. He sees unresponsive pitches all over the world, the rise of Twenty20, increasingly restrictive regulations on bowlers. And he concludes that cricket is a game becoming dangerously rigged in favour of the batsman. “I’m not so sure if I would have lasted very long in this modern era,” he says, most alarmingly of all. “Because there are too many things against fast bowlers. I played with a lot of passion. I thrived on competition. And presently, the competition isn’t as fierce. There’s no excitement. That’s one of the reasons why some spectators have stayed away from Test cricket. “When you look at all the things that are against
Curtly Ambrose
the bowler, it’s a joke. For instance: in one-day cricket, a fast bowler oversteps the front mark, bowls a noball, gets penalised with a free hit. Now, how can that be fair? “Look at the wide situation as well. Sometimes a ball pitches on the stumps, shifts down the leg side and misses the pads by half an inch. And you call a wide. How can you justify that? The batsman doesn’t get penalised for anything. The bowlers have no margin for error. It’s ridiculous. The game is too one-sided.” England’s recent Test series against New Zealand was terrific entertainment, breaking records for scoring and run-rate. But it is part of a broader trend in Test cricket that is seeing more runs being scored more quickly than at any point in recent history. Matches like Australia’s three-day win against West Indies
in Dominica last week are becoming ever rarer. For Ambrose, it has all gone too far. “There is no better sight in Test cricket, than a great fast bowler versus a great batsman. Spectators love the excitement. If I bowl a bouncer and the batsman smacks you out of the park, that’s excitement. Next thing, you hear from the umpire: ‘That’s one for the over.’ Now the fight is over. “As a bowler, you want to be convinced that the batsman can do it again. He should be allowed to bowl another bouncer, or even two. I’ve seen someone like Sir Viv Richards versus Dennis Lillee back in the day, and there’s no better sight. Sir Viv will hit a few out of the park, he’ll hop and skip for a few, and that’s excitement. The people who are making these rules are killing Test cricket slowly.” Ambrose will admit a personal interest. As the West Indies bowling coach, he is trying to rekindle the region’s passion for fast bowling: the same art that saw them dominate world cricket for two decades. In many ways, he was one of the last great custodians of a proud tradition: since he retired in 2000, not a single West Indian bowler has taken 200 Test wickets. Perhaps it is no coincidence that in the same 15-year period, the West Indies have won only four series against teams other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. They have not beaten Pakistan in a series since 2000, Australia since 1993, or South Africa
ever. “For the fast bowlers that are playing now, the pitches in the Caribbean are a big, big turn-off,” Ambrose says. “The pitches have become very flat, not good for fast bowling. The guys who are taking wickets in regional competition now are spinners, because the pitches are terrible. Until we get better cricket pitches, we will continue to struggle.” And yet for all his dire warnings, Ambrose remains an optimist at heart: a true believer in the redemptive qualities of Test cricket. He felt a surge of pride every time he stepped out to represent the West Indies, and in tandem with coach Phil Simmons, he wants to restore that simple pride to the current team. “Cricket is the only sport that unifies the Caribbean,” he says. “No politicians, no other sport, can unite us. That’s why we, as past cricketers, try to educate the younger generation. They don’t quite understand fully what cricket means to Caribbean people. They figure it’s a sport, it’s a game. But it’s more than that. “When we were the best team, you could tell. The stadiums were always filled. Everyone had a radio to their ear. That’s all we had: cricket. There was a period when for 15 years we never lost a series. That’s probably unheard of in any sport. So I was very proud to be a part of that. Unfortunately, today we’re not the same team. But given time, we’ll get back.” (Windies Cricket)
CONCACAF cancels Under-15 Fifa scandal: Alejandro Burzaco resurfaces in Italy Boys’ Championship
A
n Argentine wanted by the US in connection with the investigation into allegations
that he was not in his room when police acting on extradition requests from US authorities raided a hotel in
Alejandro Burzaco
of corruption at Fifa has turned himself in to police in Italy. Alejandro Burzaco was the president of Argentine sports marketing firm Torneos y Competencias and one of 14 current and ex-Fifa officials and associates indicted over the scandal. Interpol had issued an alert requesting his arrest. He disappeared following the arrest of seven Fifa executives on 27 May. Swiss media reported
the Swiss city, but was having breakfast and so was not arrested. Mr Burzaco, who also has Italian citizenship, walked into a police station in the northern Italian city of Borzano along with his two lawyers on Tuesday. He is being held in a cell in Borzano police station, officials told Spanish news agency Efe. The US Department of Justice alleges that Mr Burzaco conspired to win and keep hold of lucrative
media rights contracts from regional football federations by paying up to $110m (£72m) in bribes. ‘Fugitives’ An Argentine judge ordered his arrest after he was named in the US indictment for racketeering conspiracy and corruption. Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi warned Mr Burzaco and two more indicted Argentine sports executives, Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, that they would be considered fugitives if they did not turn themselves in. The whereabouts of father and son Hugo and Mariano Jinkis is currently unknown. Interpol issued “red notices” for their arrest, along with Mr Burzaco and three others, on 1 June. Mr Burzaco was dismissed from Torneos y Competencias on 3 June. The company has denied any involvement in the alleged bribery. In a statement released on 27 May it said it regretted “being caught up in a case of this nature, which hurts its prestige and reputation forged over more than 30 years of hard work and professionalism”. (BBC
Sport)
C
ONCACAF has cancelled its Under-15 Boys’ Championship scheduled for Cayman Islands and Jamaica in August. The regional body made the announcement in a release that did not include a reason for the cancellation. The statement said the Under-15 development tournament has been postponed until further notice but made no mention of the bribery scandal which has engulfed the game worldwide. “By decision of the CONCACAF Executive Committee, CONCACAF regrets to advise of the postponement until further notice of the
CONCACAF Under-15 Boys’ Championship 2015,” the statement read. The news is seen as not just a blow to youth football in the region but also to the Cayman economy, as the tournament was expected to provide a late summer boost to hotel and service sector. Over thirty regional squads as well as squads from Brazil, England and the Oceania Football Confederation’s Vanuatu were among teams down to compete in the regional competition. “CONCACAF is committed to restoring a full slate of complementary youth development tournaments in the shortest possible time,” the release said.
“This includes our objective to re-schedule the Under-15 Boys’ Championship, at the soonest opportunity”. The Under-15 Boys’ Championship is part of CONCACAF’s grassroots programme, which has been championed by Jeffrey Webb, the former FIFA Vice President and until recently president of both Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) and CONCACAF. Webb is among several FIFA officials imprisoned in Switzerland fighting their extradition to the United States, accused of being involved in a $150 million bribery and racketeering scheme. (CMC)