Ordinarily, a fellow could be forgiven for tiptoeing around a book written by a sports administrator. Readers are strongly advised to make an exception for Malcolm Speed's riveting account of his stints as CEO at Cricket Australia and the ICC, cricket's governing body. Sticky Wicket is the most important cricket book published in the past 10 years. It is a colourful tale methodically told by a man more comfortable with figures than words, a man without flourish but with a strong belief in governance and diligence. It is an enthralling story that ought to alarm every cricket enthusiast. The last chapter concerns his removal from office, and exposes the nasty forces still sitting at the head table.
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| Malcolm Speed |
As far as the ICC is concerned, this is a tale not of rule but misrule, a story about a great game that fell into the wrong hands. It was an incident-packed time in office. But then cricket is a contentious and inward-looking game played at the top level by a small group of nations with painful memories of each other.
It is also a uniquely diverse game - the semi-finals at the recent World Cup featured predominantly Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist neighbours, plus a Christian country that thinks primarily about rugby. The miracle is not that cricket frays at the edges but that it stays together at all. Indeed, it has the opportunity to lead the way in terms of racial and religious toleration.
If the style is as dry as a paper clip, the content is colourful. Along the way Speed describes the rumour-ridden inquiry into Bob Woolmer's death at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, an investigation hijacked by a vainglorious detective and a silly coroner. He talks about the disastrous 2003 Cup, the growth of Indian power, the move from London to Dubai, the advent of Twenty20, the attempt to spread the game beyond the Old Empire, and the sensible changes made to the throwing law. He focuses on the notorious SCG Test against India that showed numerous players and both boards in a poor light, an issue from which only a Kiwi judge emerged with credit.Speed also outlines the crass.
manipulations over John Howard's candidacy for the ICC vice-presidency. The Zimbabweans were especially alarmed by it, and worked relentlessly behind the scenes to block him, only to deny it later.
Howard might have been a provocative choice but he was a legitimate nomination, and much worse had been accepted. Speed talks about the Allen Stanford debacle, and describes the great West Indians players hanging to his coat-tails and Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards raging at the ICC's reluctance to accept their man's grandiose proposals.
Again dignity was lost at the altar of expediency.
Speed reflects upon his disagreements with Darrell Hair and Nasser Hussain. He was right on both counts. Not for the first time Hair emerges as a man capable of judging lbws but not serious issues. Hussain's hot-headed posturing about fulfilling an obligation to play a match in Zimbabwe in the 2003 Cup was ill-conceived. Throughout, England's position was inconsistent and self-serving.
Ironically, though not surprisingly, Zimbabwe proved to be Speed's undoing, and his undoing was his finest hour. His refusal to accept the suppression of documents exposing serious financial irregularities in Zimbabwe Cricket led to his sacking. Our positions differed only in degree.
I argued that Zimbabwe ought to be boycotted for the same reason as apartheid South Africa, because it suffered under the yoke of vile tyranny. Speed could see no beginning or end in that. However, we agreed that, unlike its friends in political office, ZC was accountable for its money.
The only mistake made in the book was to leave the chapter about the sacking to last. The way in which unscrupulous elements drove a principled if prickly man from office is the crux of the matter.
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