Shades Of Gray....
Just found a transcript of an interview with ICC Chairman Malcom Gray which was shown down here last night....It is taken from
www.abc.net.au
I await your comments as always...
Eyes..
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Transcript
30/12/2002
Shades of Gray
MARK BANNERMAN: It should be cricket's finest hour. The world's top teams vying to become international one-day champions. But less than six weeks before it's due to start, the cricket World Cup is already mired in controversy.
The issue? Should the International Cricket Council allow six World Cup matches to be played in strife-torn Zimbabwe. The Prime Minister John Howard says no and today he made it clear he wants the ICC to reconsider its position.
Meanwhile, key members of the Blair Labour Government in Britain are urging their team to boycott matches in Zimbabwe. The ICC, though, says its game is cricket not politics. Malcolm Gray is the president of the International Cricket Council and I spoke with him earlier today.
MARK BANNERMAN: Malcolm Gray, Can we get a few things straight, perhaps. Do you and the International Cricket Council believe fundamentally in democracy and the rule of law in a country where cricket is played?
MALCOLM GRAY, PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL: Well, Mark, we don't have the mandate to make judgments about such things.
MARK BANNERMAN: But nevertheless, do you believe in that?
MALCOLM GRAY: As an individual, obviously one does. But as I said, we as an institution don't make political judgments. It's up to the politicians to make those sorts of judgments.
MARK BANNERMAN: Even in situations where - and you would have read these reports - that there are farm labourers who are being attacked by mobs, they are being beaten senseless, their wives are being raped and this all occurs in front of their children.
Now, that's pretty disturbing, isn't it?
MALCOLM GRAY: Well, those sorts of reports are no doubt studied and researched and obtained by the various foreign affairs departments of the various countries that are participating and it's up to them to make judgments on those reports and for the politicians to act upon them.
As I've said, the ICC is not a political organisation, we have a wide diversity of political views across our membership. We are there to administer and manage and promote the sport. It's up to government ministers and governments to make political decisions and then stand up and act upon them.
Now, it is often the case, not just in cricket but in sport, and you can go back through all sorts of sport, go to the Moscow Olympics, etc, where the politicians tend to try and push their political judgments on to the sporting bodies.
For a whole range of reasons they don't want to be seen to be making those judgments. It is their job, it's their responsibility, they have the mandate to do it and they should exercise it.
MARK BANNERMAN: OK, fair enough. So John Howard today has said the government in Zimbabwe is completely illegitimate, undemocratic, it's stolen democracy, and he wants you to reconsider your position on this.
Will you do that?
MALCOLM GRAY: No, we won't consider the political matters. As Prime Minister, John Howard obviously does have the right and the responsibility to make such comments, and to assess those situations.
As people that administer the sport and administer cricket, we don't have that right or responsibility.
MARK BANNERMAN: What happens if he blocks that tour? What will happen to the Australian cricket team?
MALCOLM GRAY: What would happen if Australia doesn't play there - and this is the same with any team - for political reasons, the consequences that would flow from that, providing it is judged to be safe and secure at the time of the match, is that they - Australia wouldn't get any points, Zimbabwe would get the two points, there may be - there is likely to be obviously commercial, financial consequences from our sponsors, our commercial partners, the television companies.
Those compensation matters would flow, and decisions would have to be made as to the size of them, and where they should lie as to whether Australia will need to be paying them.
MARK BANNERMAN: That's a bit awkward, though, isn't it? Australia makes a moral decision on human rights, doesn't go, and the cricket team is punished?
MALCOLM GRAY: Well, yes, it is an unfortunate position, but that's the facts of life. There are lots of moral judgments made obviously that have financial and other consequences.
MARK BANNERMAN: But you seem to be washing your hands of what is going on in this country and you're saying that if a team does make a moral stand it gets punished by the ICC?
MALCOLM GRAY: It's not a case of washing one's hands. It's a question of division of duty and division of responsibility. Our duty is to the sport, our duty is to the safety and security of the people involved in that sport.
Our duty is not to make political judgments. The division of duty is quite clear, whereby that responsibility is the government's.
MARK BANNERMAN: Where does money come into this? If Australia didn't go and play those matches, or Britain, or did England didn't play those matches you'd lose a lot of money. So is money talking here or morality?
MALCOLM GRAY: No, money is certainly not talking here.
MARK BANNERMAN: Are you telling me you wouldn't lose money?
MALCOLM GRAY: No, from a money point of view, the ICC would want the matches to go on. If the matches don't go on, obviously there will be financial consequences. Those financial consequences will eventually lie either with Australia or whoever it is that makes that political decision not to go, or it will be spread across the membership.
MARK BANNERMAN: Let's set money and morality aside, and let's look at the image that will be conveyed if the cricket teams get there. Inevitably the media will follow and hopefully they can report on what they see in Zimbabwe because they haven't been able to up until now.
You'll see cricketers, people sipping champagne, playing games, meanwhile we've got famine and we've got destitution. It's not a very good image, is it, for cricket?
MALCOLM GRAY: That's not up to me to judge, and if you're talking about image -
MARK BANNERMAN: But it must be, mustn't it, with respect?
MALCOLM GRAY: You have to look at other involvements around the world. And let's focus on Zimbabwe for a moment. Zimbabwe played in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester only a few - a short time ago. You shouldn't be singling out cricket.
MARK BANNERMAN: So finally then, what we have really is two governments basically saying they don't want their teams to play there, but the matches will go ahead to all intents and purposes? You see no way this is going to change?
MALCOLM GRAY: No, providing safety and security is the same as it is today from our reports - the matches will be scheduled. It's then up to individual governments, if they want to make decisions not the allow their teams to go, for them to do it.
And again if you look at the teams that are playing there, you've talked about two governments, that happens to be Britain, the English government and the Australian Government.
However, Pakistan, India and Namibia, Holland, they're all playing there, and I would think you might find that those governments don't make the same decisions and those people from those countries would be equally as cross with me as maybe you and the Australian people are.
MARK BANNERMAN: Malcolm Gray, Not me, but we do appreciate you giving us the time. Thanks for coming on.
MALCOLM GRAY: Thank you, Mark.
