Fans have been pouring in from outside Toronto, from places such as Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, New York and Boston. How many of them will succeed in getting into the stands is, however, the question.
The temporary stands at the county-like venue, the Toronto Skating, Curling and Cricket Club, can hold only 5,000 spectators. Besides, the club-house will have at least 300 members for Saturday's match.
Even officials of the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) have been finding it difficult to secure tickets for friends and relatives. Not only that, the CCA have been given just three VVIP passes by the International Management Group (IMG), which is running the show. One pass is meant for the president, one for the secretary and one for any other official.
Some of the top officials of the CCA saw the third match from the stands. Even the mayor of North York, Mel Lastman, had to sit in the stands with one of the CCA officials, it is learnt. The Toronto Skating, Curling and Cricket Club is located in the municipality of North York.
Relations between the CCA and the IMG are increasingly showing signs of strain. The CCA boycotted Friday's event for the teams and officials hosted by IMG in the Inn, at Park Hotel where the two teams, as also IMG officials, TV crews, and most of the Indian media contingent is staying. The CCA has its own hospitality suite in the hotel, but it is the least visited place if one goes through the signatures in the guest book.
The reason for the CCA boycott is that they were given just five invitations for the event. The CCA wanted at least six more, and had asked one of the top IMG officials to get back to the CCA, the event's host, on the matter.
The call came to the CCA suite only around 6:45 p.m. The IMG was then willing to concede to CCA's request, but the CCA had already decided not to attend the event that was to begin at 7:30 p.m. It was a protest against what the CCA feels is the marginalization of the cricket body by the IMG.
IMG also kept the media out of the event, and it is not known if the the TV crew was invited. Trans World International (TWI), the official broadcaster of the series, is the TV arm of IMG.
The President of the CCA, Capt. Jimmy Siew, who missed the first two matches of the series as he was away in Jamaica, said that according to the contract the series was to be managed by a body called the Sahara Cup committee.
The contract stipulated that the chairmanship of the committee was to be an official of the CCA. The other members were to be from the IMG and the Indian and Pakistan cricket boards. As such, the CCA had deputed first vice-president Ali A Hasanie as chairman.
According to CCA sources, the IMG has completely ignored the conditions of the contract. The relationship between the IMG and the CCA got a bit sour even before the series began. To publicize the reception the CCA was throwing in honour of both teams, handbills were distributed by the caterer who was given the contract.
The IMG felt that the handbill was not to their satisfaction, as the names of some of the players were wrongly spelled. The Toronto Cricket Club was also not happy that the handbill said that tickets would be available at the club premises. Besides, the handbill didn't carry the Sahara logo, which, according to IMG, must be on every item associated with the series.
The issue was thrashed out between the officials of the IMG and CCA, but though it was all sorted out, some element of resentment remaind. Prior to this, there was also a problem relating to the Indian team playing a Canadian eleven at a venue about 45 minutes drive from the hotel. The match was originally scheduled for Sept. 22, but since the Indian team was scheduled to return home on September 23, the date was brought forward to September 12.
It is learnt that the IMG was however not keen on the idea of an Indian team playing against a Canadian XI prior to the start of the series. But it was part of the contract, and the CCA insisted on having the match.
In the event, however, thought the CCA even went out of its way to get outfits for the Indian players, it cancelled the game at the last minute as the ground was wet, and the players were afraid of injury before the crucial series.
CCA officials believe that their first attemp to host a big-time cricket match has taught them a bitter lesson. Though it has signed a five-year contract with the IMG, the CCA may request a bigger role for itself in the future, based on its experiences this time round.
No doubt the CCA will get its guaranteed money, said to be in excess of $100,000, and also a fraction less than the gate collection. However, chances are that in future, the CCA may well opt to host matches on its own. The contract with IMG, sources indicate, does not prevent the CCA from holding international matches prior to the Sahara Cup, but merely stipulates that the Sahara Cup be held every year in September.
It remains to be seen if the CCA can meet the challenge of hosting an international series with the help of various cricket boards, and without the participation of the monolithic IMG.
Copyright 1996 Rediff On The Net All rights reserved