NOVEMBER 21: It was impossible to be far removed from the turn of events that jolted the Indian team. Though Rahul Dravid and Deep Dasgupta saved the second Test in Port Elizabeth, by putting on 171 runs for the second wicket, the action by Match Referee Mike Denness against six Indian players had its impact. The talking point was whether Sachin Tendulkar was trying to change the condition of the ball and whether the Indians actually intimidated the umpires.
There were also serious discussions as to whether Denness took the right decision in attending the press conference convened by the United Cricket Board (UCB) Chief Executive Officer Mr. Gerald Majola, when the ICC rules prevented him from commenting upon his own decisions.
A few days later Mr. Majola was in the vortex of a controversy. The UCB President Mr. Percy Sonn said that not even a stupid person (a South African of course) would demand 40 million rand as compensation from the ICC and tell the Indians to go home. The UCB's Communications Manager, Ms. Brownwyn Wilkinson, told The Sportstar: "At no stage has Mr. Majola demanded 40 million rand from the ICC. It's not true."
November 22: The war of words between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ICC evoked interest. It had to. There was so much at stake. The BCCI President, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, told the UCB that the Indian team would not take the field at the Supersport Park, Centurion, with Mike Denness as Match Referee. The UCB was disturbed. Its officials reported the matter to South Africa's Sports Minister, Mr. Ngconde Balfour, who was told by the South African President, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, in a cabinet meeting that the match must be played.
The instruction from the South African government to the UCB was: "Do whatever for a game of cricket." The UCB asked Denness to stand down and told the ICC that it would deny his position in the ground and that it had appointed Mr. Denis Lindsay as the Match Referee. Mr. Balfour also dashed off a letter to the ICC CEO Mr. Malcolm Speed, seeking special permission to change the Match Referee. Meanwhile, the Indian team went ahead with its practice session, only to be told later in the day that the third Test would be actually a 'five-day first class game'.
At the pre-match Press Conference, India's coach John Wright and captain Ganguly expressed disappointment at the remarks made by Australian captain Steve Waugh, who told news agencies in Hobart that the action taken by Denness was right. Ganguly's reply was a curt, "Shut up" to Waugh. But Wright said it's strange that players involved (in the action taken by Denness) could not speak, but someone under the jurisdiction of the ICC could comment on it, though he was thousands of miles away.
Not unconcerned by the events was Dr. Ali Bacher, the former CEO of the UCB. He and Rodney Hartman, the Public Relations Director of the 2003 World Cup Organising Committee, hosted a dinner for the Indian journalists. Also present at the function were Mr. Majola and Ms. Wilkinson. Dr. Bacher preferred to keep his own counsel although it appeared that he was unhappy with the way things had been dealt with during the day.
November 23: The first news everybody heard on reaching the Supersport Park was that India's captain, Ganguly, would not be playing the match because he woke up with a 'pain in the neck' and that he was feeling extremely uncomfortable. It was also confirmed by the UCB that nothing had happened in the night to change the status of the match from a 'five-day official first class game' into a proper Test match.
The stand-in captain was Rahul Dravid, who had scored a match-saving half century in the second Test in Port Elizabeth. And Denness' place was taken by Lindsay, who had taken permission from the ICC to function as a Match Referee. The ICC did not mind it because the match was not played under its jurisdiction.
After the day's play Shaun Pollock, the home team's captain, said that his team was less intense than what they would have been in a real Test match.
November 24: Virender Sehwag was fit, but was not included in the XI because the BCCI maintained that he was serving the one Test match ban. On the same day the ICC told the BCCI that for the purpose of applying the one Test match ban, Sehwag should not play the first Test against England in Mohali, reiterating a point to the BCCI that the match at Centurion was not an official Test. Sehwag was seen with Ganguly, perhaps mulling over his fate as a result of his excessive appealing and intimidating the umpire in the second Test.
November 25: The Sunday Times banner headline for its 'Team Talk' column written by Colin Bryden was: 'SA players not consulted as UCB fumbles the Indian blackmail ball'. Bryden, one of the leading writers on the game in South Africa - Michael Owen Smith writes from his home because he is ill - starts his column saying: "The most shameful revelation to emerge from South Africa's confrontation with the ICC is that the UCB failed to consult the players before robbing them and their followers of a Test match.
"Their views were not sought in advance of the UCB's decision that they would prevent Mike Denness from performing as Match Referee thus bowing to the blackmail of Indian strongman Jagmohan Dalmiya."
"The question that has to be asked is just what the UCB hoped to achieve by helping Dalmiya fight a battle which undermined South Africa's interests. They should have stood up to India's Cricket President and to an interfering South African government that insisted the match must be played at all costs."
November 26: Clive Lloyd is always a favourite with the Indians, especially the media. He was a thorough professional for Guyana, West Indies, and Lancashire. After his playing days he was the manager and coach of the West Indies team and served as an ICC Match Referee. He was in South Africa with an official of the Sharjah based Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS), which is striving hard to prove that nothing's improper about the cricket played in Sharjah. Lloyd said in as many words that he (as Match Referee) would have made efforts for the continuation of the 'Test' series. He also said (with regard to suspicions cast on Sharjah cricket officials) "Officials cannot be blamed. If a player is dishonest, he is dishonest".
November 27: A small poster titled 'Parents' Code of Behaviour', framed and nailed on the wall in the indoor facility at the Centurion says:
(1) Encourage children to play sports, never insist.
(2) Reduce emphasis on winning, focus on honest effort.
(3) Practice what you preach.(4) Promote courtesy.(5) Follow rules.(6) Accept decisions.
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