ICC aka International Confusion Committe

I was reading an article in Rediff, by Prem Paniker , he was literally furious on certain restriction on the play field for the ICC Cup being held now in the UK.

It seems, no other food product other the sponsor’s products are permitted in the ground
The ticket contains a list of food products allowed ranging from chips to cookies. This is to protect the sponsors from the Ambush marketing. I don’t want to discuss if I agree with him or not, however his point seemed very clear.

In my opinion, ICC’s approach in this matter is rather unprofessional. Their new clause clearly invites trouble. Let us take NFL or NBA or a cinema theater here in the US as examples. They prevent this ambush marketing by not permitting any out side food. Hey! Rule is very simple; if you want to munch something while being entertained inside the arena you need to buy food at a premium price from the outlets run by the sponsors themselves - simply no outside food allowed, it you carry food, it will be dumped. No mercy to anyone. This rule does not apply to water.

The issue of not allowing outside food is clearly treated as a policy matter. Law clearly protects this if it is announced as a company policy well ahead of time. ICC known for its slipshod or careless behavior should have brain stormed this issue properly with professionals who are capable or have previous experience in planning such policies and events. I do not know if ICC has such policies, at the same time I would not be surprised it they have clause that is buried deep inside the policy pages known only to ICC office bearers. What else you could expect from Malcolm Speeds and Jagmohan Dalmiyas, in spite for their mediocre or no organization capacity cricket has come a long way, thanks to its poor aficionados, if not for their blind patronage, Speeds and Dalmias cannot have their first class air travel. It is time that ICC honors its real patrons "the fan" by improving the amenities and other facilities for the fans, instead of making a gaga over this ambush marketing issue.
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PART 2
THANK YOU DISHNETWORK.

Hey! do you know I did not subscribe for this ICC cup? Right from 2000 I have been watching cricket via Dish network. All cricket matches were kind of affordable, but today it has reached a point that I cannot subscribe cricket on Dish network, basically Dish network and Kelly broadcasting system are the sole copyright holders for cricket telecast in USA. They want a greedy $250 for both Holland cup and ICC trophy. Seriously on all give and take, the real matches starts only after the minnows being eliminated. How can Dish network expect me to pay so much and watch games that are mere academic interests of ICC? I doubt if I will watch few games in the line up for free.

How can dish network expect me to pay and watch Bangladesh vs. any country? Frankly I don’t mind spending my time on the following alternatives. 1. Lawn mowing 2. SQL data back 3. Lotus notes programming. 4. Exercise. 5. Learn multiplication tables above 12.

Agreed, I am cricket fanatic but not a fool. Do you know the entire NFL [American football] season on Direct TV is much less than ICC Cup? Ridiculous, with such high telecasting cost, ICC wants to spread this game around the world, a mere dream that will never come true. Only way to attract more people to watch cricket is easy access. Anyone would think twice to spend huge to watch an unknown game. Added to agony, listen to this, cricket fanatics like me who cannot afford a mammoth $250 were blessed by Cricinfo.org, they offered live unofficial commentary for $19.99 for all the games. The cricket chemicals in my body reacted at once and subscribed for this service. But alas few days before the tournament they sent an email stating that they cannot bring live commentary because of copy right restrictions and they refunded the money, they have promised now to bring the finals and India vs. Pakistan live for $5.00. [whisper: Hope dish network does not read this] I was denied commentary for other matches.

A relief came via BBC, BBC sport 5 promised live radio commentary via the internet, Hey don’t rush, KBS and Dish Network wanted more brutal punishment on people who failed to subscribe the ICC cup, they fought for copyrights and blocked commentary in USA. Commentary can be heard live in UK alone THANK YOU Dish network and KBS or who ever did this to all the cricket fans in USA. Hey! What the heck, football just began first week was simply awesome, for now, I am cured from this cricket mania.