Lorgat regrets Eden losing out on India-England game

By IANS
Wednesday, February 2, 2011

KOLKATA - Expressing regret over the iconic Eden Gardens losing the India-England World Cup tie, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat wrote an “emotional” mail to Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya saying it was not within his powers to overrule the decision of the tournament technical committee.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) official said he was “equally disappointed” that the Eden Gardens could not stage the Feb 27 game and expressed desire to meet Dalmiya soon to clear up the “misunderstanding”.

“I am equally disappointed that the Eden Gardens couldn’t host the match. But believe me, it was not within my power to change the technical committee’s decision. I intend to meet you soon to clear up the misunderstanding,” a Dalmiya aide quoted Lorgat as having said in the mail.

Lorgat’s mail was in response to Dalmiya’s missive, where he said the Eden Gardens would be completely ready by Feb 7, when the ICC would conduct an inspection to determine whether the historic venue was prepared to hold three World Cup matches next month.

None of the games involve hosts India.

The ICC Jan 27 ruled the Eden Gardens unsuitable for the tie due to its unpreparedness. The scrapping of the match followed an adverse report from the ICC venue inspection team.

Following an appeal from Dalmiya, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Shashank Manohar requested the ICC to consider the demand, but the international body turned it down Sunday night.

Instead, the ICC has decided to carry out three inspections - Feb 7, Feb 14 and Feb 22 - to gauge the stadium’s preparedness for the three other matches, said a CAB official.

The Eden Gardens is slated to host South Africa vs Ireland (March 15), the Netherlands vs Ireland (March 18), and Zimbabwe vs Kenya (March 20).

Filed under: Cricket

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