Here is the man set to become the president of the International Cricket Council in two years:
Bowling very, very wrong ‘uns may not have got him the job, but as a retired statesman, there are plenty of things that former Aussie PM John Howard can bring to highest levels of cricket adminstration. A few humble suggestions for how the old boy can successfully make use of his background in international politics as ICC president:
1. Make Australia a bridging power. While India may be the center of cricket now, the rest of the world—particularly outside South Asia—is somewhat conflicted about how much to bandwagon against it and how much to balance it. Australia under Howard was faced with a similar dilemma. Was Australia an extension of the West, as proudly proclaimed by Robert Menzies, or was it primarily a regional player in the Asia-Pacific, as Paul Keating envisioned it? “Well, why not both?” Howard seemed to ask when he assumed the Prime Ministership. Under Howard’s leadership of the ICC, Australia can position itself as an actor that takes full advantage of Indian financial and administrative dominance in cricket while keeping England, South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies actively engaged.
2. Don’t be a lemming. Just because the big man says something ought to be done, doesn’t mean it should be. While he himself may disagree with this assessment, Lalit Modi is not God. And neither was George W. Bush. It may have won Howard serious brownie points in Washington committing his country to the Iraq cause, but it came back to bite him in the end. Similarly, he shouldn’t be afraid to push back against the BCCI’s more outrageous demands, rather than just going with the flow.
3. Adopt institutional Darwinism. Like the multinational architecture of the Asia-Pacific region, the international cricket calendar is a jumble, a mishmash, a mess. Rather than let it try to do everything (badly), Howard should force the ICC to focus on the events that bring out the best of cricket, and create windows for them. Prioritise and standardize the IPL, the ODI World Cup, the World Twenty20, regular Test series, and domestic First Class and Twenty20 competitions. Scrap the Champions Trophy, the bevy of minor ODI tournaments, and series over five matches. Create a two-tiered Test structure. Overhaul the Future Tours Program, even if that proves more daunting than UNSC reforms.
4. Enforce norms. Cheating—Shahid Afridi style—is not controversial. It’s just plain wrong. But what about discrepancies over pitches, umpiring or power plays? There’s plenty to do still to ensure that everyone—players, officials, coaches, commentators and fans—are on the same page.
5. Save Pakistan. Pakistani diplomats regularly argue that Pakistan is too important to fail. Bad rhetoric, perhaps, given the negative connotations, but with only ten Test-playing nations around, this is undeniably true for cricket. Giving billions of dollars of aid may be a waste, and selling conventional weaponry may be downright dangerous, but keeping Pakistan—and Pakistanis—involved in cricket is worth every penny.
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