When a cricketer walks down the wicket slogging in a crucial game there is a chance that if he misses it he will be out of this game, and perhaps out of the next one.
Cricket, and all sport, is tough like that.
You can be selected on performance, and de-selected on performance.
Cricket Administracrats do not have to worry about this.
They can fuck up for years without fear of demotion.
Even if their error has something to do with their side losing.
Look at the latest fuck up, Imran Tahir, the luscious leggie who is so cool we refuse to bag his alice band. Mostly.
South Africa lucked into this world-class leg spinner because the dude loves to travel and found himself a wife in their country.
In April 09 he said he was qualified to play for South Africa.
No one questioned it.
Before that he had played in a Presidents XI match against Australia, so he was clearly a chance of international honours.
Then almost a year later he is supposedly qualified and gets picked for a squad when South Africa really need an attacking bowler to help them win, but instead they can’t pick him because he is not yet a permanent resident. Surely something some official should have known before calling him into the squad.
If South Africa trusted that he was qualified in April 09, why did no one check then on the off chance he might be required?
At best it makes CSA look like a bunch of idiots who have shown that they don’t believe in their spinner but have no other player to replace him. At worst this could cost South Africa the series against England.
There is more though, because it seems that Tahir just doesn’t understand the rules, he thinks that he qualifies because it is four years since he played for Pakistan A, and now is only missing out because of paperwork.
That is not how the system works, as the Times points out (and I have read up on this boring shit before), you need to have lived in the country you wish to represent for at least 180 nights a year for four years. The times doesn’t think Tahir has, and I have my doubts too.
While these errors were also Tahir’s, someone at CSA should have checked all this out at least two years ago when he was obviously trying to qualify.
And this isn’t some one off. Azeem Rafiq cost Yorkshire points when the played him when he didn’t have a UK passport. Darren “Eyelids” Pattinson played a couple of seasons for Victoria before playing for England, but technically he should have played all his games for Victoria as an overseas player before that, just no one noticed. Surrey also did a great one when for the 08 season they tried to get Shoaib in for the last four games so they wouldn’t get relegated, by no one checked Shoaib’s visa so he only ended up arriving for the last two games.
Not that it mattered. He looked shit anyway.
All of these, and there are probably heaps more, have either cost teams or could have cost teams on the field.
I wonder how many people were demoted or fired over it?
Ofcourse the ICC are experts at this kind of fuck up. How often does an umpire or match referee get refused entry in a country due to visa problems?
But we know that no one gets fired from the ICC, how else would you explain Daryl Harper.
Has anyone even checked if Brendan Nash is Jamaican? Or did he just rock up with a Marley T-shirt and say I’m one of you, gimme a game?
‘the dude loves to travel and found himself a wife in their country.’
-more likely his country of origin is a shit hole and going back isn’t high on his list of priorities.
Loads about these regulations that I don’t understand but 180 days per year for just four years sounds really lax as a requirement.
This “getting foreign player eligible” stuff seems to be one thing that the English cricket administrators are actually pretty hot on. . .
.-= Reverse Swept´s last blog ..Cricket South Africa learn that life is cruel =-.
RS, I think the 180 is there to make sure you only qualify for one country, although it should be 190 in my mind.
CT, Have you any proof that they are his parents, have you done DNA testing? I didn’t think so.
Nash’s parents are Jamaican…pretty much like how Dirty Dirk played for Holland
.-= Cricket Tragic´s last blog ..The vexing case of Mahela =-.
Biggest joke is Brendan Nash is playing for West Indies. :D
This is just the start. Imagining a day when national team will have the option of having two overseas members in their squad. Then Hodge will get a chance to play.
P.S. – Finally posted on cricket on the new blog:)
.-= Dhananjay Mhatre´s last blog ..Test cricket – The resurrection. =-.
>That is not how the system works, as the Times points out (and I have read up on this >boring shit before), you need to have lived in the country you wish to represent for at least > 180 nights a year for four years
Planning on playing for England, are we Jrod, since we’ve decided to move to that snow-bound shit hole?
Andrew Symonds should not have played for Australia for similar reasons. The administrators realized this and created a false personality and covered up their mistake.
.-= Vijay Kumar´s last blog ..Haunted Cabin =-.
If the requirement was 180 days for four years, you could qualify for 2 countries
Petti, You could, but it would be hard, hence why i think it should be 190 days.
Jogesh, It was research on Dirk and Ed Joyce, but I’d happily play for Canada or Afghanistan if they asked.
Kambli once contemplated playing for New Zealand when didn’t find favor with the BCCI. True story.
coinbox.
The number of nights isn’t quite the full story. Being a ‘national’ of a country is enough, being born in a country is enough, wherever you’re living – the 183 (not 180) days thing is just another way of qualifying. I wouldn’t be sure that permanent residence makes you a ‘national’, but if Imran had SA citizenship by now, he would be eligible for SA.
The 183 days sure looks like it is aimed at stopping players becoming a ‘deemed national’ of two countries in that way, but it doesn’t stop people being eligible for two teams. Even with SA citizenship, Imran would still be eligible or Pakistan until he plays in a SA rep team. Dual citizens are dually eligible, and so on. Is Eyelids not an Aussie citizen?
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Watching the ball =-.
Jonathan, Imran does not have citizenship, that is for sure. Eyelids didn’t have Australian citizenship, but no one had ever checked.
@jrod – His dad represented Jamaica in swimming in the Olympics
Nash was born in Perth in 1977 just two months after his father Paul, a keen swimmer who represented Jamaica at the 1968 Olympics, and mother…
Source
.-= Cricket Tragic´s last blog ..The vexing case of Mahela =-.
Jrod, if he’s married a local, I wouldn’t think it’d be too hard to sort citizenship out if he wanted to play. (Reuters says he is already a “naturalised citizen”, but teh same report talks about “permanent residence papers”, so…)
Why don’t immigrating Poms ever bother with citizenship? Did Eyelids fail the 183 days test as well?
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Watching the ball =-.
Jonathan, Eyelids doesn’t have to worry about the 183 days, he was born in England, and has an English passport, and if somehow he would have been picked for Australia he would have qualified under the 183 rule.
LL, I was thinking they should qualify for New Zealand or the Windies. Then they can have their pick from four.
idiot saffer administracrats. the english board would never fuck this up.
C’mon you’re just doing research for your kids right (Aus, England and Sri Lanka). Just have one of each!
And to cover your bets holiday for 180 days in SA and India.
There is another Eyelids! Hmm doesn’t have the same ring.
Jrod, my point is that he was living in Australia, shoudl have qualified under the 183 days, so why are you saying he should have played as an overseas player for you gumsuckers? There was nothing to stop him playing as a home player in both England and Australia until he was picked, unless he was out of Australia for more than half of one year.
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Watching the ball =-.
He could have only played for Australia had he become a citizen, and he hasn’t. Technically even before he made his debut for England he should have been listed as an overseas player for Victoria according to Dodemaide. Just no one ever checked.
As far as the ICC is concerned, you are eligible if you are born there OR you are a citizen OR you’ve lived there for 183days/year for 4 years. He didn’t need citizenship.
Dodemaide is right if he was a bit of a traveller, or if CA has stricter rules about home players than the ICC.
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Watching the ball =-.
Jonanthan, I believe he likes Marrakech.