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Rain pours scorn over tainted game

Asian cricket's hopes of pushing the match-fixing scandal off the sports pages were swept aside as heavy rains threatened to wash out the four-nation Asia Cup starting in Dhaka on Sunday.

The limited-overs tournament, featuring India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, was expected to provide badly-needed succour to cricket in the sub-continent, which has been wrecked by the raging scandal.

But as torrential rains over the last three days water-logged the Bangabandhu National stadium, making Sunday's opener between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh a virtual non-starter, attention focused on the lack of foresight by the game's administrators to schedule the tournament at this time of the year.

Both India and defending champions Sri Lanka are coming off what is normally an off-season, while travel-weary Pakistan will dash from their Test tour in far-away West Indies to play in the tournament.

"These were the only dates available to us," said Bangladesh Cricket Board secretary Ashraf-ul Haq. "What can we do? Can we stop the rain."

Even if the rains had kept off, the prevailing heat and humidity would hardly have provided cricketers ideal conditions to play a major tournament.

Officially, the players insist they are looking forward to some on-the-field activity. But more than one visiting cricketer admitted off-the-record that they would rather have been resting at home.

"We have been confined to our hotel rooms most of the time," a senior Sri Lankan player said. "And that's where we may be for the next 10 days."

Sri Lanka, the only overseas team to reach here before Sunday's scheduled start, turned down an offer to practice at an indoor facility an hour's drive out of Dhaka.

The Indians, under a cloud over the match-fixing allegations against coach Kapil Dev, have delayed their arrival till Sunday night.

Pakistan, who finish the Antigua Test against the West Indies on Monday, will reach here only on Wednesday, two days before their opening match against the hosts on Friday.

The forecast for more bad weather over the next week can only bring respite to the Pakistanis, who have been on the road since the start of the year and are scheduled to undertake a Test tour of Sri Lanka soon after the Asia Cup ends on June 8.

The cricketers are understandably wary of such tournaments in these turbulent times, since each dropped catch or run out will be eyed with suspicion.

Kapil wanted the Indians to pull out of the Asia Cup till the match-fixing scandal was resolved, but was overruled by his country's cricket board.

Pakistan will play under the shadow of the just-released judicial report which banned former captain Salim Malik and questioned the attitide of senior cricketers like Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed.

Even Bangladesh, who are desperate to showcase their talent ahead of next month's crucial decision to grant them Test status, have not been spared the raging storm after suggestions their momentous World Cup win over eventual runners-up Pakistan last year was fixed.

Asked how he planned to tackle the situation, an Indian player told AFP last week: "Eyes open, mouth shut. And a silent prayer: God, please don't make me drop a catch."