Cricket is moving towards the entertainment category rather than sport

There were some interesting snippets of information from the ICC that could be deciphered as either good or bad news depending on your view point There was the news they are considering making more use of the stump microphones during the World Cup in order to allow fans to get closer to their heroesThat begs the question What about when a fan hears comments from a player they perceive as annoying Some of the banal onfield comments heard on a regular basis can drive you to distraction For instance Id equate the inane chatter of wicketkeeper Mathew Wade with the aggravatingly annoying grunting of Maria Sharapova on the tennis court Personally I could do without both when watching television In their announcement the ICC said It helps to allow the viewer to feel part of the actionFor every bit off magic mdash like Shane Warne miked up and predicting how he would dismiss the batsman mdash theyre subjected to interminable versions of the cricketers refrain We have to bowl in the right areas and build up pressure It should also be remembered that Warne was playing in an exhibition match at the time and hes one of the few bowlers who can visualise a weakness and then deliver the appropriate ball to take advantage Some BBL matches now include comments from the batsman at the nonstrikers end If I were captain and that batsman was involved in a dismissal after passing comment Id be mighty peeved just as I would be if a fielder was busy answering commentators questions and then committed an errorBalance is crucial Rather than taking fans closer to the game this appears to be another example of cricket moving more into the entertainment category rather than sport Sport needs to be entertaining but the balance has to always favour the former It seems clear theres another factor driving this increased access to players The broadcasters are paying such hefty fees for the rights that they feel entitled to ask for greater access to players and its hard for administrators to say no Again there needs to be a balance between the rights fees and who controls the game As Kerry Packer once famously said Never let a media company control your sportThe original rationale for the ICCs greater use of stump microphones was to counter a perceived increase in player misbehaviour If the ICC had been ahead of the game as they should be instead of miles behind as they are they would have cracked down on the amount of onfield chatter years ago Strong directive needed The onfield umpires are best positioned to police player behaviour Not only do they hear things said away from the microphones but the good ones also have a feel for any animosity that is brewing If the umpires had received a strong directive from the ICC to crack down on the amount of onfield chatter and were then backed to the hilt by the administrators in policing it they would not now be facing the current dilemma Its easy for ICCs CEO David Richardson to say If you dont want to be heard by anybody saying something that you shouldnt be saying well then dont say itHowever in the heat of the moment things are blurted out without any consideration for where microphones are placed If a player uses a swear word the public finds offensive my question would be Whose fault is it The players for using the word or the administrators for allowing it to go to air The blame is probably equally shared Nevertheless Id be much happier as a player if the public didnt hear the exchange and I was reported by an umpire for the indiscretion As a friend observed How would the ICC feel if cameras were placed in their boardroom meetings Its a reasonable question Faced with that challenge the ICC might then rethink their decision to have the onground microphones constantly in playCatch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates