rickeyre.com

"This is the second most important day in world cricket, according to me. The first was in 1994 when the monopoly of Doordarshan came to an end when we won the court case."

- Inderjit Singh Bindra, member of the IPL Governing Committee, discussing the IPL player auction, OutlookIndia.com, 20.2.08

Call me a cynic, but Bindra is not too far off the mark with this self-serving observation.

Discuss.

It's barely two years since I waxed lyrical on these pages about Ashwell Prince following his attractive 119 in the Sydney Test of 2006. He now has seven Test centuries under his belt, but his Twenty20 stats are almost non-existent.

"Lack of professional expertise in managing a sporting franchise of this magnitude seems to be a glaring gap, especially as a lot of these teams are led by what we call 'casual but rich fans' who are assuming their team will be in the top three."

- Anirban Das Blah, VP Globosport India, from the 3.3.08 edition of Outlook magazine

Today, Victoria were narrow losers in the final of the Australian domestic one-day competition, which this year is sponsored by an automobile with a big carbon footprint. Bowled out for 158 at Bellerive Oval, they lost by one wicket when Tasmania reached a Duckworth-Lewissed target of 131.

Cameron White is the captain of Victoria. Today, White did not bowl. Earlier, he was out first ball, caught by Travis Birt off the bowling of Brad Geeves.

"I'm more IPL savvy. And I'm reading the sports sections more now. My interest in cricket will take time."

- Preity Zinta, co-owner of the Mohali IPL franchise, in an interview with Times of India, 22.2.08

Buyers came away the big winners at the supreme bull sale in Brunswick, WA last Thursday.

A big run of 160 bulls went under the hammer, to sell to $8000 with an average of $3704.

A total of 46 studs offered bulls, with an outstanding line-up from 11 breeds.

The $8000 top price tag was paid for a magnificent Blonde d’Aquitaine from Gerald Bergsma’s Amaroo stud, Mundijong, WA.

A compact 720kg, this June 2006-drop youngster's length, depth, muscle, impressive butt profile and temperament attracted attention from all sides of the shed.

I've been following cricket now for almost four decades, and seen plenty of changes in that time. Some changes have lasted (the World Cup, helmets, the third umpire), some haven't (limited-over cricketers wearing shorts, day-night Sheffield Shield matches, Super Max Eights). I'm not sure which category the Indian Premier League will fall into.

In a way, I'm very excited about the IPL concept. A high-level club competition, devoid of nationalist overtones, based in the blossoming economy of India and attracting the best players from around the world. Such an idea is long overdue.

It would be remiss of me if I were not to mention the fabulous events in Canberra last week. February 13, 2008, will go down as one of the most joyous days in modern Australian history - the day that Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the Australian parliament, said "Sorry" to the stolen indigenous generations. Rudd gave what was unquestionably one of the great speeches of our country's history.

Justice Hansen's report on the Harbhajan Singh appeal case arrived from the ICC in the form of a 22-page document yesterday evening. The Australian has converted it to one very long HTML page - but beware, it contains:

• Frequent Coarse Language (in English and Punjabi),
• Violence (Harbhajan Singh slapping Brett Lee's buttock),
• Sexual References (see Frequent Coarse Language and Violence),
• Horror (the ICC's disciplinary records database),
• Adult Themes (discussion of the appropriate standard of proof with reference to "The Queen on the application of Dr Harish Doshi v the Southend-On-Sea Primary Care Trust"), and
• Not-At-All-Adult-Themes (see Frequent Coarse Language, Violence, and Horror).

CNN-IBN has a report on yesterday's Harbhajan Singh appeal hearing. Their video can be seen at cricketnext.com.

Harbhajan Singh's successful appeal against his Level 3 transgression, and its replacement with a Level 2 charge, seems on the surface of things to be the right decision, though I think the penalty imposed (50 per cent of his "match fee" - whatever that is) is light. The use of obscene language in an abusive context, regardless of the language in which it is spoken, is abhorrent.

We will know later today more about Justice Hansen's reasons for the findings when he releases his full written statement. Meanwhile, the reports that are coming out concerning back-room deals before the appeal hearing are very disturbing.