Opinion: When will they ever learn?

When is the cricket world going to come to its senses and realise that it has to make a stand to save the game from itself?

The latest example of administrative blather to emanate from the halls of the International Cricket Conference surrounds the staging of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

This follows on the failure to root out Zimbabwe from the international cricket scene until some level of democratic sanity is restored in that country.

The same administration is still coming to terms with how to beat the drug cheats in the game, and despite all of its efforts it is still miles away from restoring meaning to the phrase "It's not cricket" which has been dragged through the mud over the past decade.

Make no mistake, the decision on Pakistan is all about money.

The ICC has a contract for the televising of the game and its failure to produce a product has serious implications in terms of lost revenue both for the provider and for the sport.

However, another factor is the rising threat from those forces making their presence felt on the periphery of the game such as the various Twenty20 organisations who are all cutting into the potential money pool from cricket.

And the failure to reach a decision on Zimbabwe is about power. Allowing the corrupt Zimbabwean administration to be represented on the ICC is about power.

With Zimbabwe in its pocket, the sub-continent lobby retains its hold on power, so a degree in public administration isn't necessary to work out why it isn't going to be thrown out.

It is a great shame that the game itself is what is suffering as the result of the lack of leadership from those running the game.

Administration at the highest level should not be about parochialism, but that is what rears its head every time an issue arises.

Is there any other sport in the world where the race card is played so readily anytime a criticism is raised?

This has to be a huge hurdle in administration and until a greater level of maturity is achieved in grave issues affecting the world-wide game then it is hard to see cricket's image improving.

It is to be hoped that it does not take a severe jolt of humanitarian upheaval to cause the ICC to advance into the realms of reality.

But when faith in the game's leadership is declining, as it is, then who knows what the future holds?