Find a structured way of T20 take over: Brian Lara urges ICC to save Test cricket
New Delhi, May 8: Admitting that T20 leagues have devoured a lot of Test cricket’s space, West Indian legend Brian Lara has appealed to the ICC to step in to give a structure to the unrelenting invasion of the franchise-based tournaments.
In the latest instance that fuelled questions over the relevance of Tests, South Africa recently sent an under-strength squad to New Zealand as their first-choice players were involved in the SA20 at home.
“I think ICC (should) put their head together and find a way where franchise cricket takes over, but in a much more structured way and not in terms of the free fall that is going on at the moment,” Lara said in an interaction with PTI editors at its headquarters which was facilitated by Star Sports where he is a commentator and expert for the ongoing IPL.
“I hope the astute thinkers could find a way to make sure that it (Test) remains relevant. I like the Test Championship and I think it is important to make sure that the game remains relevant.”
So, is cricket now taking the football route where leagues take precedence over international assignments?
While Lara agreed in principle to the point, he found differences too in the two models.
“Well, yes (cricket following the football way). Let's just look at football. For instance, other than the big cups – European cups, World Cup, South American cups – they may have a few friendlies. So, Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, they have their footballers generally for 11 months of the year.
“That seems to be working for football. It's taken off the burden as well for each country to be finding ways of making money by having football matches,” Lara began.
But Lara said the wealth being accumulated among three big nations – India, Australia and England – presented a rather different scenario in cricket.
“The West Indies now is in a situation where our gate receipts can't make us survive. So, we are very thankful whenever India tours the West Indies. It's a lot of TV rights money passing around which is great.
“So, it's hard to see outside of the big three – Australia, England and India – how countries are going to survive when economically it's tough for them.”
From a cricketing perspective, the elegant left-hander said teams often not having their best players available also make things tough for teams outside the big three.
Lara might have had someone like Trent Boult in mind as the pacer recently turned down New Zealand central contract to become a T20 freelancer.
“Secondly, they (teams) don't have their best players playing because their best players are making a living for their family elsewhere (leagues),” he added.
In March this year, BCCI had introduced a Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, an additional reward structure on top of the existing match fee, to ensure parity with match fees in other formats and leagues.
Lara welcomed the step but added that bringing spectators to the ground was equally paramount to sustain the game and the sponsors’ interest.
“Incentivizing, or what BCCI is doing because they have the money, is one aspect of it. Of course, remuneration to the players is great to keep them interested in the game.
“But when you're walking to a Test match and there's nobody at that Test match, then it's not encouraging. Try to get them (crowd) back into the ground,” said Lara.
The Trinidadian said having a stadium packed to the rafters is important from the sponsors’ view as well.
“I'm almost sure you’ve experienced it in India, where a sponsor preferred to spend his money on three hours of cricket instead of five days of cricket. ‘Hey, you have five days to promote your product.’
“The corporate person will say: ‘But there's nobody to promote it to. Give me three hours. I will pay even more money.’ So, I think getting the crowd back is also something that should be discussed,” he explained.
While Lara has little doubt that the T20 version caters to spectators’ demands, he said the modern-day viewers should be educated about the unique ebbs and flow of five-day cricket.
“Well, I hope it hasn't (Test not losing relevance). The shorter version of the game is taken over and it is entertainment and that's what people look for. We haven't educated the present-day public about the importance of batting a session and not losing a wicket."
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
