Hostages, terrorists and match-fixers

Bloemfontein is full of the unexpected but there is one office which exceeds all others in raising eyebrows. It is situated on the first floor of the Bloemgate shopping mall and, hopefully, players from both the South African and Zimbabwean squads have had no reason to visit.

The mere existence of the National Hostage Survival Training Centre begs a host of questions, never mind why it is situated in the heartland of the Free State. How much of a need is there for such an institution? How many hostage situations does South Africa have in an average year? Has a hostage ever survived a potentially life-threatening ordeal thanks to their training in Bloemfontein? Who is chosen to attend these courses? Who applies, for that matter?

Would international cricketers qualify as suitable candidates? The reason I ask the question is because, at a recent World Cup team managers meeting in India it was revealed that one of the security measures being considered for the game’s showpiece tournament on the subcontinent is the use of ‘decoy’ buses to distract the attention of would-be terrorists hoping to attack (or hijack) any of the competing teams on their way to or from the hotel or ground.

In a plot that Ian Fleming might have thought twice about for a James Bond novel, the idea of each team using two, identical, bullet-proof buses with darkened windows in a bid to confuse their potential assailants was actually considered. In fact, it may not have been officially rejected yet.

But there will be other new safety and security measures introduced designed to deter terrorists of both the bombing and fixing kind. Every phone call to a squad member in their hotel will be screened by security at the switchboard stage before being put through to the relevant room – subject to its desirability. That seems fair enough but, sadly, fails to take into account that players will still have cellphones and will be free to use them outside of playing hours.

The presence of just one cellphone in the changing room, held by the team manager and for use only in emergencies, has long been standard practice but will be reinforced during the tournament. Now, additionally, there will only be one laptop permitted in the changing room area and it will not be permitted to be ‘online’ at any stage during a match. Fair enough once again.

But among a series of other, smaller measures, is one which comes pretty close to impinging on players’ individual human rights. The proposal is that nobody from outside a national squad, with the sole exception of a player’s spouse, should be allowed into a player's hotel room for the duration of the tournament. The tournament lasts for a shade under two months.

One of the great joys of playing international cricket is the opportunity it gives players to meet new people. For the first month of the tournament the teams will have between four days and a week between group matches. That’s an awful lot of time to spend playing Nintendo games and watching MTV.

And what about lifetime school friends who have saved up for the holiday of a lifetime – and can’t visit for a catch-up chat on a rest day? What about siblings and parents for that matter? And yes, of course there is the subject of bachelors inviting new-found friends for an expensive nightcap from the mini bar. You may scoff and snort, but many a long-term relationship and even marriage has started in such circumstances.

The ICC has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the problems posed by illegal bookmakers so they should not be chastised for going too far. So long as there is a decent and fair degree of flexibility at the discretion of team management, there shouldn’t be a problem. The Commonwealth Games passed off without a major security incident which was a triumph, but one of the reasons the venues were so empty (and even the streets for cycling events and the marathon) was because security forces made it so difficult to get anywhere near the athletes.

While we all desperately want the World Cup to be ‘clean’ and safe, it is worth remembering that terrorists and illegal gamblers will have already won a victory of sorts if players and spectators are locked up and prevented from enjoying and appreciating the whole experience.

But if the worst really does come to transpire, look out for a Free Stater and stick to him. You never know what secret qualification he may have.