Pakistan seem to make most of their ‘home’ Tests

: This business of playing home matches away, (does that sound a bit like, say, vegetarian chicken tikka?) doesn’t seem to be as bad as some might have imagined early on. Given that Pakistan didn’t have the option of playing at home, this seems increasingly like a pretty good alternative. They have enough fans in England, or for that matter in Dubai, to make it look like a home game and I’m sure revenues are pretty well protected too. Yes, the kid in Sialkot will not be able to go to a cricket ground to watch his heroes but in any case, he would probably have watched most games on a television set anyway.

I actually believe Pakistan have a couple of other benefits too. For a start, they are free of the pressures of playing international cricket at home, free of the constant scrutiny from those that may not be the best for their cricket. And they probably get friendlier conditions for their bowlers. Pakistan has always produced great swing bowlers, one of the reasons they bowl better in England than in Australia where bounce is the more dominant trait.

And yet this is not a long term solution for international cricket given that it will only work for those teams that have sufficient expat populations or enough “home” fans (it would be interesting to know how many of the Pakistan supporters at these games, or for that matter Indian supporters when India tour there next year, hold British passports!) Really, that means only India or Pakistan and it might be tempting to think that a neutral venue could stage test matches between the two countries. Sadly I don’t think politicians on either side are too enamoured by it at the moment and so we must wait. I think that is also the more pragmatic view, certainly at the moment.

And so India must play Sri Lanka. Indians don’t need a visa to go to Sri Lanka anymore but if they did, the cricketers would probably get multiple entry visas; they would discover their sim cards work on the next visit and wouldn’t need to use up local currency. And the debate over the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) could just continue after a little break!

To be honest, I’m a little surprised that both countries have to agree on its use in a series. A rule should either be mandatory or not exist at all. If bilateral agreement is essential, then why have the ICC debate over it at all? Teams don’t have a choice on whether or not to use the lbw law in a match. The moment the governing body puts it into the rules and regulations, it applies to everyone. So too with the UDRS. If the ICC believes it is needed for cricket to progress then everyone must toe the line. Alternately, the cricket world says it is not ready for it and you wait till the time it is.

At the heart of it all, and this has been the case for years, is the fact that the ICC doesn’t want to pay for the diagnosis. And the television networks, already saddled with huge costs, are not too keen to incur another if it doesn’t add significantly to viewing pleasure. I suspect new contracts that broadcasters will have to sign with cricket boards will require them to use additional technology though that won’t make it fairer!

But whether or not the UDRS becomes mandatory, India’s bowlers will still have to generate enough convincing appeals to produce twenty wickets. Currently if you have a long run-up you have a decent chance of playing for India! The BCCI currently spends more time discussing legal and financial matters but surely this is something that must be top of their agenda. Having done a remarkable job of weeding out bowlers with suspect actions in first class cricket, they must now start finding bowlers again. Corporations must have legal and finance departments but first they must have quality products. It is imperative that the BCCI and the IPL get over the mess they are in and return to the business of running cricket.

Just as you need a reasonable gender balance to keep the world moving you need to have a balance between producing bowlers and batsmen to keep winning matches. It is a balance that is desperately skewed at the moment. I also think someone needs to have a word with young Cheteshwar Pujara on what you need to do to play for India. He might be a bit confused!