Haroon Lorgat: Cricket enjoys embarrassment of riches

Haroon Lorgat, the Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), is the man in the hot seat as the sub-continent gets ready to host the 2011 World Cup. The logistics of organising this tournament, that stretches over 43 days, is mind-numbing, but Lorgat has been working hard to ensure a spectacular event.

In between this busy schedule, the ICC's CEO took time to respond to cricketing issues around the world and also travelling to some of the key venues to ensure that all arrangements were in order. The 50-over one-day cricket World Cup is being held at a time when this format of the game faces a big challenge from the ever-increasing popularity of the Twenty20. The ICC is keen to ensure that all formats of the game co-exist and remain as popular; hence the success of this World Cup, set to commence in Bangladesh on February 19, is of paramount importance.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Lorgat talked about the special factors that could make the 2011 World Cup stand out from the past editions. A huge campaign was conducted to spread the game to different parts of the world and efforts have been made to make it free from any threats. Special interest has also been taken to ensure that the game is played in the right spirit with measures in place to ascertain non-usage of performance enhancing drugs. He also talked about plans after the World Cup to guarantee that the game continues to entertain and attract more people. Following are the excerpts:

GULF NEWS: How different will the 2011 Cricket World be from the ones in the past - what will be the impact on cricket lovers?

HAROON LORGAT: Well, for a start, part of the World Cup will be staged in Bangladesh, a country that has never hosted a major global ICC event. As you can imagine that is very exciting for us and for the people of Bangladesh, who are hugely passionate about the game. Apart from Bangladesh, it is also being staged in India and Sri Lanka. Nowhere in the world can one find love and power for the game as in the sub-continent. We are expecting all the people from the three host nations to come out in force, support their teams, follow the tournament and I ask each one of them to welcome the gaze of the world to their shores. We are looking forward to a great tournament with the top 14 teams in the world competing for the right to be the new world champion. I am sure that cricket will benefit greatly from whoever wins the World Cup.

How intense do you think will be the competition?

This year's event promises to be one of the most open and unpredictable in history. It seems to me that the top teams are all playing great cricket at present and there is precious little to decide between them. The Australians could make history by becoming the first team to win four in a row but they will be challenged as they are not as dominant today as they were four years ago. The other teams no doubt will sense an opportunity to wrest ‘The Cup that Counts' from their grasp.

The ICC has launched one of the biggest cricketing communication campaigns. What was the reason behind this idea and that too to launch such a huge campaign?

It is very important that we promote cricket and we have embarked on an integrated campaign to showcase our flagship event. In fact, we are very excited and we want to share the same excitement with players and fans. The tournament is a contest between nations for The Cup That Counts. The marketing campaign strategy ensures it reaches out to fans globally and is a celebration of cricket. The "Tight Rope Walk" campaign uses the metaphor of a contest between captains for the most coveted prize. Since cricket speaks a single language whether it is India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, the campaign approach has been to unify the messages across mediums but deliver them locally.

You had also roped in top players as part of the promotions. How has it benefited?

Yes, for example, the "player campaign" in India is with Sachin Tendulkar, the ICC CWC 2011 Event Ambassador, whereas Muttiah Muralitharan is the face of the campaign in Sri Lanka and similarly Shakib Al Hassan is featured in Bangladesh. The marketing campaign comprises promotions across television, print, out-of-home media and radio to last mile mediums like the School Contact Programme, ICC CWC 2011 trophy tour, consumer promotions and road shows. The ICC CWC 2011 Official Event Song De Ghumake has been composed by the musical trio of Shankar-Ehsaan and Loy.

You have mentioned that World Cup is ICC's flagship event and with stakes like never before what is the ICC's biggest challenge at the moment?

When governing a global game like cricket, there will be many challenges. These are often well publicised. We face those challenges full on and with the co-operation and expertise of our members so that our great sport will continue to strengthen and grow. We know we must adapt to the ever-changing world around us which brings its own challenges.

Security issues must have been one of the most important aspects to tackle especially when an event of such magnitude is held in the sub-continent. How did you go about it and what are the special plans in place to counter any trouble?

The safety and security of players, officials, supporters and media is our fundamental priority. The fact is that security is an issue no matter the event and no matter where in the world it is organised. As with all our events, we have experts who develop detailed security plans which are specific to a location. We have been working hard with local law-enforcement agencies and the three host members to mitigate the risks and to ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that everyone involved can enjoy the tournament in a safe environment.

Cricket has thrived despite many controversies and with the World Cup at stake tensions are bound to spill over. What are the steps taken by ICC to ensure that the game is played in the right spirit?

The spirit of cricket is a matter we take very seriously and is part and parcel of the fabric of the game. It is very important for the continued success and attraction of cricket that it should be played in the right spirit. We expect cricketers to be competitive and play hard at the same time we insist that they play fair. The players know their responsibilities and boundaries under the terms of the ICC Code of Conduct and if they overstep the mark they can expect to be reported by the umpires and appear before the match referee to answer the charges. I am very happy to say, however, that lately we have noticed a marked improvement in player behaviour as teams are determined to play the game in the right spirit. It is very heartening to see that and we will continue to ensure that it remains so.

Speaking about playing the game in the right spirit, what are the measures against doping? In fact, doping in sports has been one of the major concerns globally. How is the ICC planning to penalise cricketers who get tempted to use performance enhancing drugs and gain undue advantage?

We have a suitable doping code and the mechanisms are in place. Every international player is subject to drug testing under the terms of the ICC Anti-Doping Code, which is endorsed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). There is a structured programme of in-and-out-of-competition testing so that any international player can be tested anywhere and at anytime.

Will this World Cup give a boost to one-day cricket, which of late is facing a challenge from Twenty20? As Twenty20 cricket is the new buzz world globally, do you think that the success of this World Cup will go a long way in defining the future of the fifty over game?

I think the talk of poor interest in 50-over cricket is overstated. I firmly believe that all three forms of the game (Test, ODI and T20I) will coexist and in fact thrive at the international level. I hope that the ICC Cricket World Cup, being the game's flagship event and cricket's biggest prize, will add to reversing the poor perception of 50-over cricket as some of the recent matches already have. What the debate should be is around context, proper scheduling and making sure the right volume and balance is struck between the formats.

So you mean that 50-over one-day format is here to stay?

To be frank, the talk of a demise of 50-over ODI cricket is way out of whack with what we are experiencing. Players, spectators, TV viewers and administrators still see great value in the One-day internationals and I think we are very fortunate as a sport to have three viable formats that are so popular in their own ways. I can't think of any other sport that enjoys such an embarrassment of riches in that way.

But is the ICC contemplating any change in the format of the 50-over game?

There are no plans to dramatically change the format of the 50-over game at international level. However, we do encourage our members to experiment with different formats and initiatives to see if there are ways it can be enhanced. The one-day international matches today have a very different look and feel to what it was 40 years ago when the first match took place in 1971. We have always embraced change and will continue to do so. If it's good for one-day internationals we will not hesitate to consider it.

World Cup fever

The World Cup, cricket's greatest prize, has been travelling around the world to spread World Cup fever. It went to Cape Town in South Africa, Lord's ground in London and the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground before reaching the sub-continent. Wherever the World Cup travelled it attracted huge turn out from the fans of the game.

Speaking about the enthusiasm of the people, Lorgat, who was in Mumbai when the World Cup was displayed in Mumbai's Stock Exchange centre, said: "We thank our partner Emirates, who have helped the trophy make a long journey across the world. Everywhere the trophy has gone it has attracted amazing emotion and attention from admiring supports. Most of all it has fuelled excitement ahead of this World Cup. We will soon witness nation versus nation 50-over cricket at its best with national pride and every player's dream to lift the World Cup at stake."

The World Cup mascot is an elephant named Stumpy. It was selected after an online selection process that drew proposals from thousands of cricket fans from around the world.

Commenting on the enthusiasm shown by the fans for naming the mascot, Lorgat said: "I'm grateful to the thousands of cricket fans who showed their passion for our Great Sport and took part in the naming competition. I encourage all fans to start making plans to attend a spectacular event."