You can’t be serious, SA!

Ian Chappell, a longtime columnist for this paper and an ardent fan of the tiger, is fond of referring to the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a "toothless tiger.” Such categorization, which has remained his firm view, is justified in light of the ICC's silent response to the recent developments involving South Africa's two-Test series to be held in New Zealand next month. Neil Brand, an uncapped batsman, is leading the South African squad which is stripped of its central players due to their participation in the SA20, a franchise T20 event.

Test squad member and middle-order batsman David Bedingham will tour New Zealand. This isn't the first time that a weakened team has embarked on a tour. The English team's 1972-73 tour to India witnessed key players like captain Ray Illingworth, Geoff Boycott, and premier fast bowler John Snow decline to participate. This team, led by Tony Lewis, a newcomer to Test cricket was defeated 2-1 in a five-Test series against India.

And it has happened before when England's 1951-52 tour to India did not include top players like Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Alec Bedser, Peter May, and Jim Laker. Their team, under Nigel Howard's leadership, concluded the five-Test series in a 1-1 draw. This is the series in which India claimed its first Test victory.

In the 1970s, Kerry Packer shook the cricket world, and countries like Australia and the West Indies fielded depleted teams. Whether it was the Australian team playing at home in 1977-78, or touring in 1979-80, or a star-less West Indies team touring India in 1978-79, the issue of touring with depleted teams has been recurrent.

Expressing anger over the current South African situation, Steve Waugh criticized the South African board for their emphasis on T20 cricket, at the expense of Test cricket, and suggested New Zealand should have refused to play. Waugh, a champion of Test cricket and a winner of two ODI World Cups (1987, 1999), insisted on preserving the integrity of the traditional game and expects the ICC to intervene.

Allan Border, Waugh's first Test captain, praised him in the 2008 book, The Baggy Green, for his initiatives to protect the spirit of the game. Waugh also underlined the importance of maintaining historical integrity, warning against allowing profits to overshadow cricket's legacy.

The ICC's Dubai-based rulers, often criticized for their complacency, must pay heed to Waugh's remarks. In his 1992 book, The Cutting Edge, Chappell warned, "If Test cricket is killed off, it will be an inside job; the ICC will be guilty of murder." On contacting him recently, Chappell reaffirmed his view of the ICC, regretting he couldn't recall when he first referred to it as a toothless tiger.