Not fair to Pakistan

The Hollywood comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardyrsquos signature line ldquoWell herersquos another nice mess yoursquove got me intordquo could easily apply to cricketrsquos current scheduling predicamentIn the comedians case it was the heavyweight Hardy accusing his bumbling partner Laurel of yet another blunder Cricket only has itself to blame for a bloated unworkable schedule that the Covid pandemic has blown up like a leftover land mineFirst there was Englandrsquos withdrawal from a December 2020 ODI series in South Africa following a Covid outbreak The pace of scheduling breakdowns has picked up recently with Indiarsquos refusal to play the last Test in the five match series against EnglandPrecarious businessThat was followed in quick succession by New Zealandrsquos lastminute withdrawal from a T20 series with Pakistan which prompted England to cancel itrsquos proposed menrsquos and womenrsquos tour of that countryTherersquos no doubt that completing cricket tours unhindered in a Covid pandemic is a precarious business Just surviving from daytoday is an accomplishment in the current climate Nevertheless the treatment meted out to Pakistan in particular appears to be excessively harsh considering the way theyrsquove unselfishly toured in order to ensure the financial burdens of others were reduced during the pandemicPakistan have now learned a lesson about the game that former England captain and accomplished broadcaster Tony Lewis so eloquently expounded on airAfter a particularly strenuous overseas winter bonding session the England team quickly found itself in trouble after the loss of early wickets in the first Test of the summer ldquoAh thatrsquos betterrdquo chanted Lewis ldquonow the England players will understand the reality of the situation itrsquos every man for himselfrdquoIn the modern cricket parlance itrsquos more correct to say ldquoItrsquos every man and woman for them selfrdquoThis is especially so in the lamentable case of Afghanistan where the dreaded Taliban have decreed female sport is a nono This will more than likely result in the Afghanistan menrsquos team having itrsquos first Test with Australia cancelled and the likelihood of their ultimate removal from the status of Test playing nation An international schedule that has lately flourished like a mushroom in the dark is now resembling a block of Jarlsberg cheese with its trademark holesThe situation could reach a critical point when the England players are presented with the restrictions that will more than likely apply during their Ashes tour of Australia Confronted with a choice between a severely diminished Ashes series or a hastily arranged replacement tour Australia might feel sympathy for what other countries like Pakistan have experiencedSome sympathy neededCould this possibly bring one of the lsquoBig Threersquo to a crisis meeting of the ICC with a feeling of empathy for the plight of lesser nationsOnly an eternal optimist would answer yes to that questionNevertheless that is what is neededmdashsome sympathymdashin the light of the constant Covid disruptions to the international calendarFrom cricketrsquos point of view the only good that could come from the pandemic is a thorough reevaluation of the scheduleHowever that would require the cricket countries to come together in good faith with a view to making decisions in the best interests of the gameAs wersquove seen over the years and particularly in more recent times the likelihood of this happening is about the same as Donald Trump displaying humilityIn the early 2000rsquos when the gamersquos administrators followed the golden rainbow and discovered the IPL at the end they unwittingly transferred enormous power into the hands of the playersTime to work with playersTherersquos no better time for the administrators to call in that lsquofavourrsquo and work with the players to map out a better and more equitable future for the gameIf that situation were to eventuate and the result is a workable schedule that accommodates all then cricket will have the pandemic to thank for helping extract itself from a nice mess of its own making