Sport: Fending Off Vulgarity

Devotees of cricket consider it to be less a game than a pinnacle—perhaps the last remaining one—of genteel civilization. In the past few weeks, most of them were reacting as if a hairy Visigoth had strolled onto one of the sport's immaculately manicured pitches. Reason: an upstart Australian entrepreneur had signed up 51 of the world's best players, and was threatening to turn the hallowed institution into—gad, Sir!—another vulgar spectator sport. Quipped London's Guardian: "The world as we know it is about to end."

Not quite yet. The six-nation International Cricket Conference (ICC)* was still battling to ward off Communications Tycoon Kerry...

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