Been away for a while now, but could not stop commenting on the latest developments (well, deterioration actually) of India’s tour of Australia.
Bad umpiring decisions, bad sportsmanship, racial abuses, retaliations, sledging, arrogance and what not ... so much have sprung up in less than 5 days. Could not stop laughing when the headlines in Indian Express read:
Team India c Benson b Buckor
The decisions were horrible and intolerable. But these happen all the time in cricket and is nothing new. Bad to be in the receiving end. But what was more troubling was the Aussies arrogance.
India lost the match and lost it in a close encounter. They lost it from a winning position. It hurts to lose that way and a spark during this emotional stress has now caught fire. Things might have been different if the match had ended in a draw.
Now the issues having sprung up, the once mighty Australians known for their dominance on and off the fields appear like comic creatures to me. Known best for sledging and bullying, they are now pissing in their pants when the same amount is returned back to them. Right from the beginning of the series, Indians have been very vocal and these turn-arounds were actually in the expected lines.
As Steve Waugh commented, if Harbhajan had actually said that filthy ’Monkey’ word he should be a real stupid. Someone should blow some brains into the empty head of Mr. Singh. Yes, it was racist considering one being a bstard and one’s wife being a btch cannot come close to racist remark. If you come to think of it, Mr. Singh has actually made a scientifically correct racist remark ... the entire human race has an ethnic origin from monkeys! Amongst all the events, the word Harbhajan chose was the biggest comedy.
Now let us question the intergrity of Mr. Ponting. He doesnt walk when he edges while batting; he says ’not out’ to a catch which might have been officiallly a correct catch! and appeals for a catch where he pressed the ball till the root of the grass. What can we call his actions? Confused? It would be much better to be like Indians, who dont walk for knicks and appeal for everything and let the umpire do the rest. And most irritating event was Ponting declaring Ganguly out! What on earth is cricket coming down to?
Clearly, many teams now want to shoot back at the Aussies. They have been playing more than cricket and enough is enough. Aussies on the other hand have kept saying to themselves to play cricket ’hard’. Everything has a point of saturation and Aussies themselves have gone overboard with their verbal tactics. What was dominance and ’hard’ means have now become sheer arrogance. Even sledging should come naturally; when they have build sledging into routine and do it for the sake of doing it, the inevitable has happened - the other teams speak back.
Its time the Aussies realize what they are and where they are. "He turned a group of professional cricketers into a pack of wild dogs", says Peter Roebuck referring to Ponting. Probably that is what they are - "wild dogs". Someone please tell them, "Shhhh ... just play cricket".
Smiles,
Vinayak