The chain of events that led to the Test match between India and South Africa being relegated to a first class match constituted a crisis that easily matches the Cronje affair. The suspension of a number of Indian players by match referee, Mike Denness, for ball tampering and excessive, aggressive appealing proved the catalyst for a cultural, political and administrative conflict that may yet rend the cricket world asunder.

The episode aroused a number of issues that are bigger than the game itself. This was bound to be the case, given the international stature of the game, and the racial and cultural mix of the men who play it.

One nation’s team, with the backing of media and politicians back home, decided it would pick and choose when to play under the rules of the ICC. By succeeding in suspending Denness, the ICC match referee, for the next Test, and getting the support of South Africa’s Board, India won a victory. ICC President Malcolm Gray may have withdrawn sanctioning of the Test, but the match’s “rebel” status furthered a number of insidious causes that have threatened the future of cricket for some time.

The noises from India about racism were to be expected, and may have been given more weight than they deserve. These “cultural” differences need to be addressed. It seems that, in cricket, what is unacceptable behaviour to one nation is “culturally” acceptable to another. Hence, Aussie sledging makes them universally hated, as does the over-emotional and, at times, inflammatory, responses of teams from the sub-continent. It’s time to draft, and agree on, universal standards of behaviour. A lot of this is not really about culture. It’s about good and bad behaviour.  A match referee needs to know exactly what it is he is enforcing, without exposing himself to accusations of cultural insensitivity and bigotry.

The incident also put cricket directly into conflict with the most powerful force of all: money. Both teams stood to lose a lot of it if the Test was called off. And India is South Africa’s biggest trading partner.  Hence governments became involved, and instead of taking the opportunity to separate politico-economic issues from those of sport, they further blurred the distinction by interpreting the matter as a potential diplomatic incident.

Complicating matters were the personalities involved. Denness is the personification of that old cliché, “dour Scot”, and would never have backed down, even if proved wrong. He’s always been known to wield a big stick. His unwillingness to confer with umpires during the match, in order to warn players of their behaviour, and his reluctance to answer Tendulkar’s challenge to produce the match ball and indicate where the seam had been lifted, were reprehensible. Unfortunately, as Tendulkar was one of the accused ball tamperers, blasphemy was also involved. An Indian deity had been impugned.

Although it is believed that South African players behaved almost as badly as Indian players, we get the suspicion that, as Sourav Ganguly was at the centre of it all, his failure to settle his players down was typically passive-aggressive behaviour. He’s a stirrer.

Jagmohan Dalmiya is a shadowy, destructive figure who, during his term as ICC President, seemed most at home when the cricket world was divided. His current position as President of India’s Board of Control may put him right back in the seat of power. After all, there has been a strong sentiment on the sub-Continent for years favouring segregation of the cricket world into black and white nations. If this agenda succeeds, he will become the most powerful figure in cricket’s most powerful bloc.

Malcolm Gray and his compatriot, ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed, misread the spirit of the times entirely by underestimating the enormity of this incident and its dire implications. They said it was a mere blip on the screen compared to the Cronje affair. In fact, it has affected a very real psychological shift. If there was any doubt that the ICC was a paper tiger, it has, despite the best efforts of Gray to punish the offenders, been all but removed. Those players and administrators who wish to push the boundaries a little further will do so.

Stay tuned for the next twist in this bizarre tale that is international cricket.

Published in Inside Sport, December 2001