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  • "I think their minds were already on the plane home. I am just not sure they were here to play today."
    Jamie Siddons on Bangladesh's performance in the last league match of the Asia Cup

    Jul 4, 2008

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    Articles tagged as: cricket media

    Cricinfo banned from IPL

    By Will 3 months ago, 5 Comments »

    I’ve been in Southampton covering Hampshire’s first game of the season against the champions, Sussex, so have a few things to get off my chest or note down here. Yes, The Rose Bowl - comfortably England’s most characterless cricket ground is a world away from the razamatazz of the Indian Premier League. It won’t have escaped your notice that we, Cricinfo, are effectively banned from the IPL. That is, the organisers won’t give us accreditation so none of our staff are permitted entry (I believe), and nor are we allowed to use any of the photos that come from the agencies (some of whom are boycotting the event).

    This is baloney, and a ridiculous own goal by Lalit Modi that smacks of arrogance and a clueless understanding of what the public want and how they consume their cricket news. Cricinfo has upwards of 10 million users, a large portion of whom - for an event of this scale - would be logged in to follow our IPL scorecards. Cut Cricinfo out, and the IPL shoot themselves in the foot.

    It won’t actually affect how we operate - we are still doing ball-by-ball commentary, whose traffic must have been extraordinary for tonight’s crazy opening one-dayer - as Cricinfo’s editor, Sambit Bal, explains:

    Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo, described the restrictions as discriminatory and unjust. “We are a legitimate cricket media organisation with unmatched global credibility and we are asking no special favours,” he said. “We cover cricket with journalistic rigour and integrity. We are being denied our basic rights to cover a cricket event in a professional manner.”

    However, Bal said Cricinfo’s editorial commitment to the tournament would not be affected. “Boycotting the IPL is not an option for us. Our commitment to cover cricket is absolute, as is our obligation to the reader. We are not blind to the significance of the IPL, which could be a seminal event in cricket. We will try to cover every game with the same rigour and depth expected of us.”

    5 Comments »