'A demanding task'

Several hundred people are working night and day to ensure that the World Cup is a success. With the world’s media looking not merely at the on-field action but also the organisational aspects of the quadrennial tournament, whenever something goes wrong, the buck stops at the International Cricket Council’s table. And, as the chief executive of the ICC, it is Haroon Lorgat, more often than not, fighting fires. In this freewheeling chat, he spoke to Deccan Herald about the challenges involved in pulling off such a mega event.

Excerpts:

Even with your experience of previous tournaments, did you think the 2011 World Cup would pose unique challenges?

There's no question that when we were planning the World Cup, we knew it would be more demanding than the previous tournaments we had conducted for several reasons. This tournament spans three countries, and distances in India alone are great. If you're travelling to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, this is compounded. Also, the passion which exists for cricket in this part of the world is unrivalled. It is true that the enormous support for the game provides a different challenge. While it is a massive opportunity, it's also a challenge because you have to meet the demands of the people who come to the game of cricket.

Shouldn’t India have been better prepared, having staged World Cup matches in 1987 and 1996?

Whilst the experience is there to host mega events, the game is growing and perhaps we're not giving enough credit for the popularity and demand for seats at matches. That has perhaps caught many of us by surprise in that the demand is more than anticipated. But I'm happy with that. It shows how the game is growing. The talk of the demise of 50-over cricket may be behind us.

Is the 50-over World Cup a problem child with all the criticism over the years?

I don't believe so. Not at all. Look at the demand for tickets. Look at the TV ratings, absolutely incredible. I don't think the World Cup is a problem child, it's an opportunity.

Unlike South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, do you sense a lack of ownership among the people for this tournament, especially in India?

That (the lack of ownership) is not something I have experienced in my engagements with the tournament director or the central organising committee. There's a lot of pride and togetherness in that environment. But that's a question you must ask yourselves and ask the BCCI. As for the FIFA World Cup, the event was the pride of the nation. The whole of the country came together to make it a success. For the South Africans, it was the first time that an event like the football World Cup was in South Africa, and that's part of the reason.

There seem to be a lot of demands, but between the state associations and the BCCI, is there enough responsibility being taken?

Every location has got its own culture and its own challenges. It is fair to say that in Bangladesh, and it's probably because it was the first time an event of its magnitude was taking place in the country, you had unbelievable support. The government got involved, the host association was really excited and the result was there to see at the opening ceremony. In India, it is a more mature environment in terms of having had many more big events; cricket has been played here for the last 70-odd years, and in the last 15-20 years, it has grown into a massive industry.

Is there a chance the ICC will look at a more corporate organisational structure for future events?

It's true to say that from every one of our events, we learn something and improve for the next one. The whole mechanism in which this current World Cup is being run is very different from what was in place in 2007. So there will be learnings from this tournament that will be fed into the system and the Board will have to make decisions in future host agreements.

How tricky is to manage emotions? Like what happened in the immediacy of the India-England match being shifted out of the Eden Gardens?

I think you have to understand that it is emotion. People in Kolkata would have been extremely disappointed with the decision to move the game out. I personally was disappointed as I was looking forward to being at the Eden Gardens. We know that it is one of the icon venues in the world. I can understand the disappointment, relate to it and therefore not react to it. We must be sensible in the way we manage these issues. We must be realistic. We must understand people.

A lot of people point fingers at the ICC when something goes wrong. But are you happy that all of the people at the ground level are doing their jobs?

It's a question best answered that we must all take personal and collective responsibility. People know what is right. All that I want to do is that which is right – no more, no less. I think people know exactly what the positions are.

In focusing on the commercial success of the tournament, are we somewhere ignoring the fan at the ground?

There is no question that the fan at the ground is paramount for us. In all of our workings, thinkings, the spectator, TV viewer come to the forefront of our thoughts. It is for them, by their support, that we succeed in what we're doing. There's no doubt about the weight we attribute to the fans of the game.  We change formats, we recreate leagues, simply to satisfy the needs of the fans. There's no doubt about the importance we give to the fans. But we also have to bear in mind our commercial partners. They put money into the game, they allow us to develop the game. Without their support, we can't produce the events that we produce. It's a balance that we must achieve.