Boje quits international cricket in disgust
Perhaps miffed over the fact that Paul Adams was picked alongside him in the South African squad for the test series against India, Nicky Boje has announced his decision to retire from international cricket. His decision to continue playing domestic cricket (why?!) rules him out from the All-Star Book Cricket XI for now.
Nicky Boje is notorious among Indian cricket fans for two totally different reasons, although both reasons had their origins in the same series. He made an immediate mark in his debut test series, in India in 1999/2000. He had a superb all-round game at Bangalore, making 85 batting at #3 and picking up 2/10 and 5/83 as South Africa became the first side to win a series in India, 13 years after Pakistan won at Bangalore despite Sunil Gavaskar's 96.
However, after that test series, the match-fixing scandal broke. Nicky Boje was among those named by the Delhi police. Despite the Delhi police seeking to interrogate him as part of their investigation, he steadfastly refused to set foot in India, a stand which also nearly resulted in South Africa pulling out of the test series in 2004. Meanwhile, South Africa's cricket czar, Ali Bacher gave Boje his unequivocal support with the immortal lines
Nicky Boje was innocent. I know that for a fact. When it all broke, Herschelle Gibbs' body language was not good. Boje was fine. I can read people. He was innocent.In fact, he and Herschelle Gibbs were about to not tour India for the ICC Champions Trophy as well, but Gibbs decided to tour. Curiously enough, Gibbs mentioned that Boje wouldn't have toured since he wouldn't have been picked, which became a reality when Boje was left out, as if not being picked was a valid enough reason to not co-operate with an investigation.
It is debatable if Nicky Boje's decision has been impacted by the recall of Sourav Ganguly, who takes a particular liking to left-arm spinners.
With the exit of one crappy spinner, I am now keenly looking forward to the exit of Ashley Fraser Giles!
Labels: book cricket, india, match fixing, retire, south africa
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| Sorry to hear that Nicky has called it a day. Hopefully he eats a little humble pie and gets back into the international scene soon. With time your skills gets rusty and it is not like he is some sort of world class player. Check out my cricket bog at http://cricketgalore.blogspot.com/
Jagdish,
Don't you think whether playing first class cricket or not is entirely Nicky Boje's decision and you are no one to even ask why?
We all love the game and play at every possible chance at every possible grade...in that case whats your beef?
-Prakash
brainwired: Maybe _thats_ why he called it a day? Going by what I've read, he wasn't happy about the chairman of selectors talking about a lack of talent among South Africa's spinners. What this also means is that Paul Adams will almost _definitely_ play the first test!
prakash: I don't quite see why I am not allowed to question Nicky Boje's decision. It'd have helped if you'd perhaps clicked on the link text "All-Star Book Cricket XI" to know what'd have happened had he retired from all forms of cricket. This is a blog. We're allowed to express our personal opinions on cricketing matters!
By 
Jagadish (13 Dec 2006, 11:32:00 am)
Jagadish,
The All Star Book Cricket does open up intriguing possibilities...lol. But seriously, of course, it is your blog and express your opinion. But there is a difference between expressing your opinion and questioning other's personal decision. To say "Boje is not good enought to play first class cricket" is your opinion. To say "Why Boje is still playing first class cricket" is questioning his decision...subtle but a very important difference.
-Prakash
Prakash: I am still unsure about why I am not allowed to question Boje's decision to stick around in domestic cricket. My questioning his decision implicitly expresses my opinion.
By Jagadish (15 Dec 2006, 4:44:00 pm)
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