Accountability" has a nice, businesslike ring to it: it's the mantra of a man demanding answers, the new broom intent on sweeping away the cobwebs of complacency. BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya sees himself as that man of action and it is obvious he knows how to cause a stir. Not just in the matter of Mike Denness. A few days into his presidency, Dalmiya demanded snappy answers from Indian coach John Wright and physio Andrew Leipus as to why the Indians made such forever-forlorn tourists and made pointed remarks about how generous their salaries were. A fairly cordial "internal" meeting of the trio in Delhi last week led to Dalmiya's latest announcement that they would next hear about their jobs only on December 23, at the end of the Test series against England, so as not to upset the team in the interim. Such concern is both touching and reassuring.

Dalmiya's strong-arm accountability needs to rattle the BCCI itself.

But as Ernest Hemingway had once cautioned, "Never confuse motion with action." So let's call a time-out on the new broom and wait till the noises for public consumption die down. Accountability is not a one-way street. The proactive BCCI chief may not be afraid to tread on toes, but the depth of his missionary zeal can be measured only when he treads on a few within his own board.

The board has long forgotten that it is itself accountable to the silent shareholders of Indian cricket: the public who suffer the whole sorry soap opera and through their support contribute heavily to the board's financial muscle. Lashing out at "foreigners" in public may be fun, but when they belong to your own camp it gets a little ridiculous, specially since the camp was in a shambles long before they arrived.

If Dalmiya is serious about accountability, he should turn the pointed finger at himself and the BCCI. Their "honorary" jobs prevent them from being fired so that's accountability out the window right there. How about individual integrity and the working of the human conscience? What, just got back from a nice vacation on Mars?

In September this year, the board's general body was to debate on some very weighty issues: the revamp of the Ranji Trophy into two divisions, the introduction of a graded system of payments to the national team and the increase in fees for domestic cricket. All that happened at the AGM was an election and a shuffle of posts. BCCI Treasurer Kishore Rungta assured India Today that the graded system was being "looked at" because it had some "holes", and a disparity between payments to seniors and juniors. It will take another AGM to approve of the Ranji revamp, this after a technical committee that included Sunil Gavaskar had recommended it. It would take place in due time after "experimentation", Rungta says. At a political level, the two-division Ranji system will mean risking the votes of the weaker state associations. Who knows what compulsions will be attended to when the next AGM comes around? It will require daring to push the revamp through, and if it doesn't happen, well, we know who's accountable.

Along with accountability, there's another "A" that Dalmiya has forgotten-India A, where until now "A" stood for "afterthought". Three of the last four India A team tours-meant to acquaint the second string with overseas conditions-were to the cricketing "strongholds" of Holland, the US and Abu Dhabi. In nine seasons, India A has not toured Australia, South Africa or England even once. It means when selectors look for openers or wicketkeepers they have no yardstick to judge a player's abilities. In the 14 years since the Gavaskar-Krishnamachari Srikkanth pair, India has tried out 33 different opening combinations. Case closed.

In Dalmiya's bold new world of accountability, there is also a slow and subtle reinstatement of those who fell under the shadow of the match-fixing controversy. First, Kapil Dev's bitterness evaporated into an offer to be fast bowling coach. Then came the appeal for redressal from Ajay Jadeja, with Kapil standing by in support. It seems all too pat. Motion and action. If you know what you're looking for, it's easy to tell the difference.