The Board of Control for Cricket in India "has faced derision for its lax stance on conflicts of interest, but its new rules are so strong they would hinder coach Darren Lehman, selector Mark Waugh and board member Mark Taylor if replicated in Australia," according to Jesse Hogan of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. BCCI "fulfilled its pledge to improve governance following the chairmanship of wealthy industrialist N. Srinivasan, who infamously ran the board" while simultaneously owning one of the biggest Indian Premier League teams. Over the weekend, "it released the formal list of rules it had alluded to at its recent annual meeting." What constitutes conflict of interest and what "is prohibited is specified for seemingly everyone involved in the BCCI: administrators, current players, coaches and selectors, and even retired players still on its payroll." The key change for administrators "is that the rules enshrine regulations that prevent them having any commercial interest or any involvement in the BCCI's activities, including the IPL." Furthermore, "none of their near relatives, which the BCCI extends to not only son-in-law but also the siblings of a son-in-law, can work for an IPL team." The rule stipulating BCCI administrators cannot be "associated with any company/organisation that has entered into a commercial agreement with the BCCI" would, if replicated by Cricket Australia, force former captain Taylor to choose between his role on the CA board and his commentary role with Channel Nine. Media roles "are expressly forbidden for retired players still on the BCCI payroll" (SMH, 11/22). In London, Nick Hoult wrote Int'l Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson "appears confident" the third one-day int'l between England and Pakistan this week "was clean despite reports of irregular betting patterns before the game." Suspicion was aroused after England was backed as strong favorites to win the game in Sharjah on Wednesday, "a rare occurrence" when it plays in Asia. Pakistan’s performance then drew suspicion as it "suffered three run outs and collapsed," losing eight wickets for 75 runs (TELEGRAPH, 11/21).
