Time to focus on the action

The only place you'll get runs is in India', is a 'sledge' frequently thrown at opposing batsmen. It will therefore come as no surprise to learn that retired cricketers-cum-commentators are dining-out on past experiences in the wake of the recent furore surrounding the poor conditions at the athletes' village, built in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games.

Iron Bottom (or rather Ian Botham, as he is known in England) revels in stories about rats running around his room while having to squat over a hole in the corner of the bathroom following a trip to an Indian restaurant (in the process quashing any implied resilience acquired through his Asian nickname)!

Jack Russell talks about sleeping in his wicket-keeping gear to thwart the mosquitoes while Jeremy Snape, manager at the Rajasthan Royals, marvels at the wonderful plasma TVs installed in his team's hotel rooms - without an electric socket anywhere nearby.

You certainly won't, therefore, find any sympathy for the pampered modern athletes among seasoned Indian tourists.

However, I don't personally wish to jump on the 'Indian incompetence' bandwagon. While the international media frenzy has focused on the athletes' village, the F1 track in Greater Noida has received visits from numerous members of the motor racing fraternity en-route to the race in Singapore.

The circuit owners have faced similar climatic problems and stagnant water pools as the organisers of the Commonwealth Games, as can be witnessed from the small pond that has accumulated at the end of the main straight. However, all visitors, including F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, say they are pleased with the progress and are confident any delays will be made up once the monsoons subside.

Those who were resident in the Middle East back in 2004 may recall the persistent rumour-mongering, even one week before Bahrain's inaugural Grand Prix, that the Bahrain International Circuit was not ready and the event would be switched to the autodrome in Dubai, despite that circuit failing to hold an F1 license. With the benefit of hindsight we all now know the folly of those initial whispers and can witness the marvel of what is now one of Bahrain's iconic facilities and, arguably, its biggest draw.

Rather than blandly therefore criticising 'all things Indian', it is more appropriate, I believe, to look at the structure of the Commonwealth Games committee, which needs to accept its fair share of the blame.

The games, which originated from an idea by Reverend Ashley Cooper for a 'pan-Britannic pan-Anglican contest and festival every four years' to promote goodwill in the former empire, have often been fraught with problems.

The 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and the 2002 Games in Manchester both faced a financial shortfall. The same accusations can be made about the Olympics and FIFA World Cup, yet at least, through an independently-run committee, they are not afraid to publicly warn the organisers about failing to meet tight deadlines. This independence is compromised within the Commonwealth Games with federation representatives also sitting on the organising committee.

While such warnings may have been made in private, they have rarely been heard in public, perhaps as a result of the money paid to the Commonwealth Federation, buying as much leeway as they liked.

The Delhi organisers have also faced critics from within India for hosting the event, complaining that these games celebrate British imperialism, a time, they feel, that would be best forgotten.

Yet, rather than vent their anger at Britain, or the Commonwealth Federation, I believe this should be directed at the Delhi officials who were so keen to host this event (now being dubbed the 'Friendly Games' in an attempt at disassociation with history) they allegedly traded this gift of the Commonwealth Games for India's support for the British 2012 Olympic bid.

Britain has frequently offered its assistance to Delhi although all advances have been spurned.

As a result of these recent construction problems, high-profile athletes have been making last minute withdrawals, joining the likes of Usain Bolt and Sir Chris Hoy who stated months ago that they were focusing on 'more important' events in their calendar.

It would be a shame, amidst the current negativity surrounding the Commonwealth Games, not to draw attention to those participants for whom this is, perhaps, the glittering opportunity of their career.

While sports such as squash, Rugby 7s and Bowls have their own equivalent of World Championships, for some this may be the only opportunity that they have to experience the thrill and excitement of competing in a more widespread competition and mingle with fellow competitors in the fabled athletes' village.

However, it may well be that, once competition commences on October 3, focus shifts, as with those cricketers travelling on overseas tours before the 21st Century, from 'Indian incompetence' to Indian incontinence!

The Chennai Super Kings claimed the T20 Champions League title in South Africa in style, defeating the Eastern Cape Warriors by an emphatic eight wickets with an over to spare. Bowling first the 'spin twins' Muttiah Muralitharan and Ravichandra Ashwin (who won both the Man of the Series and the Golden Wickets awards) squeezed the life out of the Warriors batting line-up, reducing their scoring opportunities in the process and restricting the South Africans to 128 for seven in their 20 overs.

Opening pair Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay (winning the Man of the Match and the Golden Bat awards) paced their 103-run partnership to perfection, leaving their brilliant and shrewd skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to hit the winning runs.

The Kings collected the winning cheque of $2.5 million and with it, the title as World Club champions. However, while the tournament organisers, the Indian-dominated BCCI, continue their spat with the ECB, effectively eliminating the two leading teams from England (the current world champions at international level), it will remain a tainted-title with the winners left to wonder whether they truly are the best in the world.