There is an interesting observation in the Condon report on a matter pertaining to Indian cricket. Coming down heavily on India's participation in matches played at neutral or offshore venues, the report says "This relaxed (security) regime was particularly relevant at neutral venues where none of the participating teams was on home territory...Corrupt practices took place under the cover of the carnival atmosphere at some of these events."

This observation can be said to have silenced the critics on the stand taken by the government. It may be recalled that there was a hue and cry against the Indian government's stand when it decided to put its foot down by refusing to allow the Indian team to play matches at off shore venues. The Government, in its press release in April, had said "Government has decided, after careful consideration, that the Indian cricket team should not participate in tournaments at non-regular venues such as Sharjah, Singapore, Toronto etc, for at least three years. BCCI has accordingly been informed that the Indian cricket team should not participate in the forthcoming tournament in Sharjah commencing from April 8, 2001."

With the Condon report pointing a finger at off shore venues, it can be stated that the Government's stand on the issue was the correct one. It clearly shows that the Government did not act in haste but had given a lot of thought before taking a major decision on participation at venues where match-fixing and betting is alleged to have been widely prevalent.

To put it in a nutshell, as former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda said "When you go in search of honey, you must expect to be stung by bees."

© CricInfo