Dang! Kallis actually wants to play

Jacques Kallis is a strange fellow. I respect the dude, but doesn't he seem like he never wants to play cricket? He seems to treat it like a job, reluctantly bowling when asked to with a scowl. Well, I'm wrong. He's threatening to retire from South African cricket because the board has dropped him from the twenty20 world cup.

I don't think he should retire. That's a bit childish on his part, but he's right in thinking, "What the fuck?"

He's such a great allrounder. The twenty20 SA squad could certainly use one experienced player. It's only 20 over cricket. He'll bowl 4 overs a game max. How exhausted could he get?

Constant struggle between cricketing boards and players

Save for Australia, it seems that almost every national cricket board tussles with its players continuously.

The PCB is constantly fining Shoaib Akhtar, while someone or the other is bitching about the PCB leadership. Most recently Razzaq cussed out the board on some television show and will probably be censured. One wonder who the hell selected the board? Obviously there must be something wrong with the leadership, otherwise everyone wouldn't be pissed off. In Pakistan, the embattled president chooses one of his cronies to head the cricket board; Mr. Ashraf being the crony. But do these chaps have anything to do with cricket? Mr. Ashraf is a doctor by profession, his predecessor was a soldier. In India, the board presidents have included politicians and lawyers.

Shouldn't cricketing boards be run by ex-cricketers for the cricketers? Don't they have a right to vote and select the new board. Things need to change! The West Indian team, it seems has been fighting with their board for so long, I pretty much ignore the news coming out of their camp. Players in general, it is no secret, do not like their respective boards. However, the fans aren't big enthusiasts either. I pretty much slam the PCB on every page of my blog.

Rather than representing the rights of the players and improving the game, their agenda is self serving and financially motivated. It's a sad state of affairs when no one respects the decisions of the governing bodies of our cherished sport.

So why can't you play cricket today?

Majid Haq's reasons for not playing Ireland this coming week were hilarious. I guess this is how it has to be when teams don't play professional and international cricket. Cricketers need to rely on other sources of income. The quote is from Cricinfo.

"My dad runs a takeaway in Paisley and I have to help out this weekend because my mum and brother are both away in Pakistan, one of our chefs is unavailable and our delivery driver has gone to jail for three weeks."
Well, that's one reason (or two) to make yourself unavailable for Scotland. With a few players withdrawing from the Ireland match, Majid Haq's excuse was the most bizarre