Former teammates clash over Australia's non-aggression pact

Agencies
November 28, 2018

Sydney, Nov 28: Michael Clarke and Simon Katich famously clashed physically in the dressing room when they were Test players and this week they have become embroiled in a verbal disagreement over Australia's commitment to be less aggressive on the pitch.

Clarke joined a chorus of former players who have criticised the new ethos propagated in the wake of March's ball-tampering scandal, saying Australia's chances of success would be compromised if their aggressive streak was tempered.

"You don't need to be best mates with everyone. Australian cricket, I think, needs to stop worrying about being liked and start worrying about being respected," former Australia captain Clarke told Macquarie Sports Radio.

"Play tough Australian cricket. Because whether we like it or not, that's in our blood."

"If you try and walk away from it, we might be the most liked team in the world, we're not going to win (anything). We won't win a game. Boys and girls want to win."

Katich, a former Test opener, has been touted as a candidate to join the Cricket Australia (CA) board in the wake of a highly critical cultural review that forced the resignation of chairman David Peever.

Among the findings of the Longstaff Review was that on-field abuse of opponents had been "normalised" and a culture of "winning without counting the cost" had been fostered in the Australian game.

Katich thought Clarke had missed the point.

"What's been forgotten in all of this is we blatantly cheated and the reason we're at this point now, and what led us to this point, and we talk about the line that was talked about for so long," he said.

"The point is, we were caught for blatantly cheating and we have to rectify that as soon as possible to earn back the respect of the cricketing public in Australia and worldwide.

"We've been a disliked team for a number of years through that on-field behaviour and it obviously came to a head in Cape Town.

"They can still play the Australian way in terms of playing competitive and playing fairly, but not going over the top and going across the rules like they did in Cape Town."

Captain Steve Smith and his vice captain David Warner were banned for a year, while batsman Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months by Cricket Australia for the attempts to tamper with the ball in a Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

Tim Paine will lead the side into a four-Test home series against India next week, having vowed to eradicate the verbal abuse, or sledging, under his captaincy.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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