Saving Ryan Sidebottom’s Privates.

After Kallis and Steyn were lost to injury in the Champions League, the paranoid Pauls from Cricket South Africa rushed in for a quickie with the BCCI. On their wish list was how to arrest future injuries to their injury prone cricketers.

The verdict: during IPL and CLT20 games, tough catches and run outs will not be attempted. The rest of the discussions centered around defining a ‘tough catch and run-out’. The South Africans argued that what could be an easy catch for their players could well be a tough one for the Indians. Finally it was decided that a player will have to decide for himself, and if and when he drops or does not attempt a ‘tough catch’, the captain will not glare or abuse him. Special note was made to communicate this to Kumble. Also, the commentators will be directed not to make any mention of the dropped catch; no replays of the drop will be telecast, and an immediate ad break will be taken. In this break, ads of players dropping or taking catches will not be telecast.