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Loading ...I thought it was Ponting (or maybe Bhajji) that opened the ‘racist can of worms’? As I understand, once Ponting complained, then the ICC and Proctor had to act. The ICC really need to release Proctor’s report.
On effigies, cheating and monkeys
By Jonathan Liew 2 years ago, at the start of January Add your comment below
This has all the makings of an Asia-Rest of the World showdown that has been threatening a denouement for several years now. I really hope not.
But first things first: fire and the burning of effigies don’t exactly have the same significance they might have in Britain or Australia. Fire is an intrinsic part of Indian culture – at a Hindu wedding, for example, a fire sacrifice is made, and the bride and groom have to walk around it seven times. And nobody really takes the death threats seriously. And the donkey thing – well, that was just funny. Some of Benson’s Kent team mates will have had a good chuckle at that.
As for cheating – well, there’s no evidence anybody deliberately cheated. Walking is nice, but not compulsory, and while some of the appealing and catch-claiming was pure, cynical gamesmanship, it wasn’t illegal. It’s therefore a disciplinary issue alone, to be discussed at length in an air-conditioned room with plenty of cold drinks available.
And the ‘racist slur’ – it doesn’t really matter if the word ‘monkey’ is racist or not. We can’t be sure it was said. There was certainly enough evidence to charge Harbhajan (and possibly Symonds too) with verbal abuse, but Mike Proctor and the ICC are really going to wish they hadn’t opened up the whole ‘racist’ can of worms. How – I mean, honestly, how – did they think this was going to end?
But however wronged India may feel, they’re forgetting rule number one of cricket – get on the field and play. You can get angry afterwards. Let’s hope that the TV companies have a quiet word with the BCCI. Perhaps money can achieve what diplomacy clearly can’t.
Tags: andrew-symonds, australia, BCCI, cheating, effigies, fire, Harbhajan-Singh, ICC, india, india in australia, Mike-Proctor, racism, racist slur, sportsmanship |
56 Responses to “On effigies, cheating and monkeys”
January 7th, 2008 at 11.51 pm
January 8th, 2008 at 2.31 am
All I can say is it Harbhajan Singh…
Or… Wah-wah-jan Singh.
He and the Indian team need to grow up.
Not too long ago Australia’s own Darren Lehmann was punished for a similar incident domestically, except the difference being he openly apologised, accepted his match bans, and showed grace and true regret in his through his actions afterwards.
And…Ricky Ponting was compelled to lodge the complaint to do otherwise would have been passively condone racism. Does anybody want to see that?
January 8th, 2008 at 3.03 am
You’re forgetting:
1. Australia adopted a widely publicised zero tolerance policy (re: racism) about the time that some Aussie fans were being arseholes to the South Africans. Should it only apply to white racists? Singh is a racist. Under the code, Ponting was bound to report it – aside from which, how many chances do you Indians want. Symonds and Co turned the other cheek in India when you abused him – that doesn’t mean they would do so forever. It should never have been repeated. Racism is an entirely different issue than run-of-the-mill sledging.
2. Despite all of the bullshit excuses from Indians (‘but we love monkeys’, ‘it’s a term of endearment’), Singh was well aware of the racial connotations in the context at hand. He had apologised for using the term in India recently (remember, when you Indians were all denying that the crowd were bandying it about, until you were forced to accept it, at which time you went to Plan B (‘we can’t be racist, we’re not white – only whites can be racist’, and ‘we love monkeys…’). Further, an agreement had been struck that the term would not be used again. He broke his word. Funny how the sole black Australian was singled out for this puerile treatment – I guess the Indians just loved Symonds the most, eh?
2(a). Speaking of agreements: because they think it didn’t work in their favour, now India wants to forget the ‘catching agreement’? I’m assuming when they agreed to it, then, they they believed it would only be of any utility to them? It was a fair catch, was hard to tell electronically, so Ponting and Clarke stood by the terms of the agreement – what’s the problem? Ponting had already shown – in the 1st innings – that he wasn’t going to abuse the pact. Anyway: if such an agreement is abused, it only works once, so what possible point would it ever serve to have it then abuse it? Had the situation been reversed, I suppose everything would have been OK? Apparently only the word of an Indian counts.
3. 5 against 2 at the hearing seems fair enough – it’s not a criminal case. As it happens, you lot are all happy to say that the Australians lied – apparently it’s OK to impugn them – but are outraged that your testimony has not been believed (ie – you lied). Sachin was a great batsman – that doesn’t make him a saint. Of course he’s going to back his team-mate. Singh should man up (if at all possible) and fess up. Take the ban and move on. All of India is not condemned by his actions – despite the frenzied belief you’ve adopted to the contrary – just the man. Lehmann sat out 5 games for his racist outburst and apologised – Singh should do likewise, but now never will. Incidentally – Lehamnn didn’t even actually address the Sri Lankans, but was penalised (as he should have been). Singh abused Symonds to his face.
3(a) Ever watched a documentary on the great apes? Singh wasn’t doing crap cartwheels when he was goading the members (incidentally – clearly the Indian obsession with ‘good manners’ only applies to others – imagine the furore if any foreign player tried that at any Indian ground. There’d literally be a riot) – he was mimicking the behaviour of gorillas and chimpanzees. Impossible to prove, of course, but quite evident (and this was first pointed out to me by an Indian). The man knew he was in the wrong and did not care. He compounded his earlier error.
4. Don’t worry – I’m sure the BCCI will flex it’s muscle, continue with it’s monumental dummy spit, and bludgeon a reversal of the verdict. Then you can reclaim the moral high ground, we’ll all be cheats and liars, and it’ll be business as usual.
5. [H]owever wronged India may feel, they’re forgetting rule number one of cricket – get on the field and play – Why? The exact opposite worked for Pakistan. Mind you, the subcon will start to run out of umpires they approve of soon. Bucknor should go – his calls were awful (I suppose Tendulkar and Laxman both being plumb LBW early in their century making innings’ but getting a life doesn’t count, and could have had zero impact on the result, but Symonds’ is somehow a different matter?). However, it happens all the time. It’s for the ICC to act – not for any one body to dictate terms. I suppose we’ll soon be back to the bad old days (good old days if you’re from India or Pakistan) before neutral umpires, where the world knew that certain umpires were crooked. Remember: it was these dodgy Indian and Pakistani umpires that forced the adoption of the (so-called) Elite Panel. Everyone gets bad calls/bad games – the ‘honours’ in this one were close to even: even the Dravid decision should come as no surprise. Bad playing engenders bad luck – Australia saw that in England ‘05. Dravid brought it upon himself to a large extent. As it happens, his loss should have never been that big a deal – frankly he was a liability, far too slow. India should have had no trouble batting out the rest of the day, and the fact that they failed is solely their own fault.
5(a). Had India been any good, they’d have adapted and moved on – as it happens, all of this bullshit controversy has allowed Kumble and Co to avoid responsibility for their own manifest inadequacies. Ordinarily, they’d be the effigies right about now, so I suppose at least this a variation on the old theme.
6. This whole furphy is a smokescreen to hide Indian failures. Nothing more, nothing less.
Hopefully, India do go home forthwith. Hopefully we retailate by not touring there on the reciprocal tour. The cricket world would be a better place without India and it’s perverse brand of cricket and ’sportsmanship’. With any luck Pakistan will follow them and the game might get a little healthier without their pernicious influences.
January 8th, 2008 at 3.42 am
what a idiotic article. Nobody saw the certain evidence to charge Harbhajan with verbal abuse, let alone racism. Yet these blinkered souls accept this as a given. This episode has shown glimses of blind parochialism and bias at levels I would not have thought possible. A typical aussie supporter.
January 8th, 2008 at 3.51 am
sameer, get a life.
all the idiots ranting off on this blog, get a sense of humour
A crap team like india who cant bat out 2 sessions DESERVE TO LOSE.
Ban India from world cricket.
January 8th, 2008 at 3.53 am
Raj, stop acting like a cocunut!
The pandora’s box has been opened. Its upto everybody to face the music!
January 8th, 2008 at 3.57 am
1. “Singh is a racist” – if he is, ban him. Most Indians are wondering where the evidence is. Lay it bare for all to see.
2. This point of yours is valid, IFF he used the word “monkey”, there is no excuse for it.
3. I think you are wrong here. Clarke had NOT taken the catch cleanly. While he was completing his dive/roll, he grounded the ball. It is there for all to see. And Ricky Ponting actually appealed for a catch off Dhoni AFTER clearly grounding the ball. He (not surprisingly) went all on the defensive when an Indian journalist asked him about, asking him to not question his “integrity”. In such circumstances, I do not see why Kumble should not call off the agreement.
4. This may very well happen. It is sad, but that’s the way it is.
5. Bad decisions are a part of the game. Agreed. But when there are SO MANY of them… to the point where an Australian batsman cuts a ball to slip, and waits for the umpire, thinking he could be reprieved… then we have a problem. By conservative estimates, it was 8 wrong decisions against 2.
6. India failed to bat out the last day and they should have. Fair enough. But you’ve got to see the other side of things as well. Australia is undoubtedly the world’s best side, and an Australian tour is tough. In such circumstances, when a team challenges them like no other team has (except Ashes 2005), and possibly even has the upper hand through most of the test, it is greatly distressing to be at the receiving end of so many decisions which ultimately caused India’s downfall.
The series has been ruined as a result. It would have been well and alive had we gone into Perth 1-0 (or possibly even 1-1)
January 8th, 2008 at 4.41 am
Sameer, as a redblooded north indian – which going by your aggrieved/aggressive posturing is clearly a possibility — you should have the HONESTY to admit that Indians are the MOST HYPOCRITICALLY RACIST culture in the world.
The way you Delhiites poke fun at darker skinned Madrasis.
The way african student in Delhi are called “habshi”.
The way you lynch inter-caste couples.
Lose your rose tinted glasses and you’ll see Harbhajan for what he is – a glaring example of India’s own racist rancour.
January 8th, 2008 at 4.49 am
BREAKING NEWS!!! TODAY MORNING’S HEADLINES!!!
Kids at play school in Bangalore have been complaining for long time that the Nursery Rhymes had been composed almost 100 years back and do not reflect today’s need. Based on that, the authority has been kind enough to modify the following nursery rhymes:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the Ricky’s bowlers and all the Ricky’s batters
Could not put Ben & Buck together again
Hickory, dickory, dock
Ricky ran up to Buck
Buck puts his thumb up
With Ben dancing down the track
Hickory, dickory, dock
Goosey, Goosey, Gander,
Whither shall I blunder?
On the ground, and off the ground
And in my third umpire’s chair
There I met strong India
Who wouldn’t listen to my pranks
I took them by my thumbs
And threw them down the grass
Eencey weencey spider
Ran up the sydney ground
Out came Ben
And washed India out
Out came Buck
And smiled Ricky’s luck
And eencey weencey spider
Ran out the sydney ground again
Georgie Porgie, Puddin’ & Pie
Put Ben & Buck and made them try
When the boys came out to play
Ben & Buck ran away
Baa, baa, black sheep
Have you any sense?
Yes Sir, Yes Sir,
At India’s expense
One for the Ricky
One for the Symmo
And One for the spec
from the doc who lives
down the lane
Ben and Buck went to the ground
To fetch prestige and honour
Ben went deaf and broke his crown
Buck came tumbling after
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what a crap
Up above the Sydney sky
like a demon in the dark night
Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Ben had a little thumb, it was
dumb as duck
And everyehere that Ben went
Buck went, Buck went
And everywhere that Buck went
Ricky was sure to go
Ricky followed Buck down the track
Down the track, down the track,
Ricky followed Ben down the dressing Room
Which was against the rules
It made Symmo laugh and play,
Laugh and play, laugh and play
It made Mikey laugh and play
to see a victory at ground
Kids are liking these too much and singing all day… Moms and dads are also happy that kids are not switching on TV to see cartoon channels… A Big thanks to Ricky and his team…
January 8th, 2008 at 5.18 am
On the Pretext of racism Australians are trying to cover the issue of wrong umpiring resulting the most shameful victory ever. But can’t help the entire system is Australia driven. The ICC will dance on pointing tunes. This is just the repetation of the last tour where India could have won easily but then came the saviour who is none other than Bucknor. Australians are blessed by god;surely bucknor is a boon to australian cricket. What the heck. everything is fair in Australia after all Shoulder before wicket is OUT in australia…wow
January 8th, 2008 at 5.20 am
I’m really curious about all the ‘there is no evidence’ posts here and on other blogs. If one bunch of people say X happened and a second bunch deny it, there’s plenty of potential evidence! Witnesses can be cross-examined, their stories compared for coherence, and their demeanour assessed. That’s exactly how many humdrum low-level cases go in the courts – including cases where the judge has to apply the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard. Cases are regularly decided on testimonial evidence alone, without corroboration. Think of how often a magistrate enters a conviction for disorderly behaviour (or drunkenness, or abusive language, or …) against someone against their own denial on the say-so of the arresting officer.
What makes this case difficult is not a lack of evidence, but a dilemma that the courts have also faced. Sexual assault cases are often just one person’s word against another’s, by the very nature of the case, but the reputational stakes are very high for both parties. What to do? If you insist that conviction requires some non-testimonial corroborative evidence you can avoid the squeamish job of calling someone a liar, but convictions are near-impossible and a social evil can flourish with impunity. If you make no such rule, and try to weigh the words on each side, you risk convicting the innocent. I don’t think there’s an easy answer to this one, but I don’t think Proctor was obviously wrong for taking the second course of action.
January 8th, 2008 at 5.34 am
Well James I can understand your love towards your country but did you ever think about the wrong umpiring due to which we lost the series. The first day bought us the hope of potential win. But why the heck would you care. you are carry the same attitude. After all you are also an australian who can do whatever to win. everytime a bad umpiring issue comes into the picture they are supported by some or the other australian. FOR GOD SAKE DONT SUPPORT ILL PRACTISES IN GAME.
January 8th, 2008 at 5.47 am
whether is is harbhajan bashing or bucknor bashing or indian bashing or australian bashing the fact is the records will show that australia won 16th time in a row for the second time however undeserving it is.
January 8th, 2008 at 6.02 am
RICKY PONTING FOR 4th UMPIRE! This is a riot!
Ricky Ponting , Captain of Australia. (THE TRULY “GENUINE” CRICKETER OF THIS CRICKET ERA AND WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED ) should be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE .
(1)As per the new rules, FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken by any other umpires. ON-FIELD umpires can seek the assistance of RICKY PONTING even if he is not on the field. This rule is to be made, so that every team should understand the importance of the FOURTH UMPIRE .
(2) While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance) , the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed. Any decision for further clarification should be sought from the FOURTH UMPIRE . This is made to ensure that the cricket is played with SPORTING SPIRIT by all the teams.
(3) While BATTING , AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch deviates to the FIFTH SLIP , there is a huge possibility the ball might not have touched the bat). Each AUSTRALIAN batsman has to be out FOUR TIMES (minimum) before he can return to the pavilion. In case of THE CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY, this can be much higher.
(4) UMPIRES should consider a huge bonus if an AUSTRALIAN player scores a century. Any wrong decisions can be ignored as they will be paid huge bonus and will receive the backing of the AUSTRALIAN team and CRICKET AUSTRALIA .
(5) All AUSTRALIAN players are entitled to keep commenting about all opposing players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as they will be spoiling the ‘Spirit’ of the AUSTRALIAN team and the game. Any comments made in any other language are to be considered as RACISM only.
(6) MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the AUSTRALIAN TEAM advice only. Umpire comments/ Player views from the opposing teams decisions will not be considered for hearing. MATCH REFREES are to be given huge bonus if this rule is implemented – courtesy CRICKET AUSTRALIA.
(7) NO VISITING TEAM should plan to win in AUSTRALIA . This is to ensure that the sporting ’spirit of CRICKET’ is maintained here in Australia.
(8) THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF ALL : If any bowler gets RICKY PONTING – “THE UNDISPUTED CRICKETER WITH “GENUINE” INTEGTIRY IN THE GAME OF CRICKET” more than twice in a series, he will be banned for the REST OF THE SERIES. This is to ensure that the best batsman/Captain can break records and create history in the game of CRICKET – and therefore cannot be anyone’s “BUNNY”.
Long Live the Spirit of Cricket! Applies to all the teams touring AUSTRALIA.
January 8th, 2008 at 6.04 am
Jonathan, you said you hoped this wouldn’t cause a split in world cricket, and that you’d come back to it, then never did. What makes you so sure it would be a bad thing? Sometimes these kind of ruptures have long lasting positive effects (the Packer split being the best example).
Given the ongoing pressures in world cricket – too many matches, ridiculously short tours, different emphasis on one-dayers/tests/2020, the slow decline of first class games, and the problem of regional development – splitting the ICC into two (three?) bodies best able to look after interests of their members would greatly ease some of these issues.
Nor need it preclude the organisation of a World Cup, or test series between their top ranked members. Any disparities between laws will need to be negotiated, but apart from the elitist idea of test/one-day status, there isn’t any particular reason you need a global body. And having competition between them will significantly improve the overall administration.
You may disagree of course, but I do want to know why you assume a split would automatically be bad for the game.
January 8th, 2008 at 7.01 am
So Bucknor has been dropped after the biggest sporting dummy spit since pakistan. Indians are questioning evidence about Bhaji but what about the ICC Code of Conduct which lists as a Level 2 offence –
2.3 Serious public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match related incident or match official.
Why haven’t the Indian officials who called the umpires incompetent been charged? If Indian readers want evidence the press conference is on YouTube.
Sure the umpires had a bad game but what right does India have to drag the good name of Steve Bucknor (with over 100 tests) because they lost the game. The man is a celebrated test umpire who does not deserve to be called incompetent. India try to talk about the rough tactics of Australia, they just don’t recognise that they do it as a mob and through their belligerent institutions like the BCCI.
January 8th, 2008 at 7.29 am
raj,
I guess u are a honorary white amongst ur friends. My congratulations. Your penchant for assuming identities of strangers, and then going ahead to cast aspersions based on the assumed identity is admirable. I’m not from Delhi, and I am sure Indians are racist in their own way, but that is irrevelant to this case. The point here whether there was sufficient evidence to convict him.
James, testimony does not constitute sufficient evidence in the absence of suitable corroborative evidence. Just claiming so will not make your claim correct. And the funny thing is that footage of the incident was available as evidence, and it does not support the Aussie claims. The microphones did not pick up the offending word, neither did any of the witnesses that were closest to the incident (Tendulkar, and the two umpires, a fact established by tv footage). The evidence of the Australians cannot be taken as nuetral. Mike Proctor would never have made a good judge.
January 8th, 2008 at 7.54 am
The decision of banning Harbhajan is very sad and leaves a sour taste in our mouth. The picture we get is that—if a white player gives witness for something they were not close to—it must be true. No matter if a non-white player was present there on the pitch and says nothing happened. If a white man says he said it, he must have. If a white player says that the catch was clean – he can’t be lying… No matter what the TV cameras show. If Ricky picked a catch from turf or Clark picked a bump ball, as long as they say it was clean – they must be correct. The truth be damned!
If most of the sledging is OK but some terms are deemed racist therefore some forms of sledging are not acceptable while others are—then let the ICC publish the rulebook of sledging—what sledging is OK and what is not with examples. (For instance, it is apparently OK for Glenn McGrath to ask a West Indies batsman what a certain part of Brian Lara’s anatomy feels like because it was a non-racial macho thing to say – basically sic personal abuse is OK in the gentleman’s game but not anything to do with race). Or should action be taken against both forms of abuse?
The Australian team has shown that it is a sissy and does not have courage. It can’t take any fight from the opposition. It lacks sportsmanship. Sorry to say but this is not the stuff champions are made of. Now the allegation of Symonds against Harbhajan Singh seems to be a move inspired to distract the Indian team and this might well be part of a plan.
January 8th, 2008 at 7.58 am
The indians will play, they aren’t going home, provided bucknor never umpires in an india match again & bhajji’s ban gets atleast stayed.I think it’s fair.All you aussies can check bucknors disastrous record against india.More over if the aussies ahd been given conservatively ,8 wrong decisions they would have lost by an innings.I have friends in england who feel they got done in too on their aussie tour.Pakistani friends told me about a game 4 years ago wherein latif did exactly what ponting did when the ball took dhoni’s glove.He picked it off the ground and appealed.The match referee was mike procter & he was banned for 5 games.Especially,procter said because he ws the captain at that time.Memory Loss, maybe.The aussies and ponting are lucky the indians didn’t remind mike of exactly that.
January 8th, 2008 at 7.59 am
http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/jan/07prem.htm
Why Ponting should be banned
Here’s proof of cheating
Now why wasnt Punter cited ?????
January 8th, 2008 at 8.01 am
Indian blogs are overwhelmingly in favour of india,which caused me to post on this one which midly put in anti india.I wanted to make my point on this blog & have posted 2 other times as i want to understand exactly why the aussies r making a hue & cry about this.
January 8th, 2008 at 8.31 am
this really is a most unedifying spectacle, but though the Australians are unpleasant competitors, the whining and petulance from the Indians vastly exceeds it. They should go home and play no one but Zimbabewe and Bangladesh. Racism is everywhere, including India, and to pretend otherwise doesn’t make it go away. As for all you little girls in India who can’t cope with losing – lots of teams lose unfairly, in any sport – go away and play with your dolls – you certainly aren’t up to international cricket. And that’s what it’s really about, you are just very bad losers.
January 8th, 2008 at 8.59 am
Cricket is a game every now and then a wrong descision will be made, but both teams at stages get the raw end. At the start of the test if you could choose between getting Ricky Pointing out on a wrong call but letting Andrew Symonds stay at the crease on a wrong call and what occured in this test. MOST of you would of chosen the first option.
Sometimes in life as in cricket games “S#!t Happens” but when it does you just need to get over it, Australia proved this when a call went against Australia in the final innings they got over it and continued on with the game where as the Indians started to have a sook.
As for India not wanting to continue on with the rest of the tour let them sook, and just get Australia to play Australia A, we might get a decent crowd size and Australia might actually loose for once.
January 8th, 2008 at 9.09 am
Davo,
Ricky ponting raised finger is good enough for us mate…”were OUT”. The top bloke that he is….(Peter Roebuck, in the front page of Sydney Morning Herald, got it quite right “Ricky and his pack of rabid wild-dogs”). Stop whingeing about Indian press – SMH is an Australian newspaper.
I must admit full credit to Cricket Australia – they are grooming mongrels nowadays…Pup for instance, for those of you who don’t know it’s our very own Michael Clark.
After seeing images of Michael Clark’s grassed catch to dismiss Ganguly……and saying he caught it is disgusting what was he thinking he can fool cameras.
I don’t have a dog but if I do get one – I will get a bitch and call it Michael Clark, if there is more whining I might get her a companiion and call her “David Black”
January 8th, 2008 at 9.36 am
We’ve got two small boys at home. My wife called one of them a ‘monkey’ yesterday. Both the boy and I were shocked and upset, so we’ve reported her to the authorities now.
January 8th, 2008 at 9.52 am
What’s that about an accused man presumed to be innocent until proven guilty? Where’s the proof in this instance? Without it, all you Ponting apologists are rushing to judgment. As I commented yesterday, no evidence exists of him having uttered the M-word and it’s Ponting and Co’s word against that of Tendulkar’s. After this Sunday, I’ll take Sachin’s side any day.
And this monkey business is conveniently taking the focus away from Ponting’s boorish behavior and blatant cheating. How on earth can a man claim to possess integrity when he appealed for that Dhoni catch after grassing it for the world to see? His behavior was disgraceful and unbecoming of a test cricketer let alone a captain of the national side.
This entire episode is ridiculous beyond belief.
January 8th, 2008 at 10.10 am
Hey whats so great about this MONKEY thing. This is so funny. I never knew that saying MONKEY to someone was so offensive – racist. Human beings are said to be descendents of monkeys…so why should any one feel bad when called MONKEY? I thing there is a problem in our upbringing. When I watch kids playing in my neighbourhood they quarrel with each other calling names such as monkey , donkey, elephant etc. So whats so great if grown ups call each other monkey or donkey?
I think the cricket players should be made to play football or ice hockey and then let’s see what they do….atleast they will be able to vent their anger on the play ground and would not require to go to the- so called-Match Referee.
As regards the split i dont think that would happen because there are hardly a few people who play for nation. How many cricketers will play for no money or less money…and how would the non playing, non productive good for nothing members of the board go on a free tour to various countries in the name of cricket?
So MONEY will replace the MON-K-EY
January 8th, 2008 at 11.07 am
by reading the comments posted here, it is confirmed that australians are true to their parental lineage @ captain cook (sea pirate).
pirate bigots are you blind ,watch the match first. your so called white cheat ponting claiming catch off dhoni and cheat no:2 mr. clarke of ganguly & cricket australia paid match fixers umpiring decisions not once 11 times.
pathetic winners and cry babies.
January 8th, 2008 at 11.23 am
He was found guilty by an ICC disciplinary hearing.
Without new evidence the ICC must dismiss the appeal and they should show some guts and increase the term of the suspension.
The actions of the Australian team are irrelevant. Enough is enough. The Indian team cannot be allowed to blackmail the ICC.
January 8th, 2008 at 11.26 am
I take you back to the 2003 World Cup Final….
“When Sourav Ganguly claimed a slips catch off Gilchrist that had patently bounced, Gilchrist’s relaxed frame of mind was evident. “It’s an easy game with a replay, isn’t it?” he light-heartedly quipped.”
http://www.rediff.com/wc2003/2003/mar/27dan.htm
Yeah, very easy. No one called for Ganguly’s head then, did they. It seems that there’s one rule for the Indians and one rule for everyone else.
January 8th, 2008 at 12.01 pm
re pentu: pathetic winners and cry babies? it’s not me who’s crying.
The test record is now Australia 34, India 15. We must have cheated a heck of a lot, including in India. Or is the truth that the Indians are pathetic? You think you are bigger than the game itself, but I think you will find otherwise.
January 8th, 2008 at 12.06 pm
to some of you who don’t understand about the fuss about the ‘m-word’, u should see the english league football games in 80s when black players were routinely given monkey-calls and hooligans threw bananas at them – even top stars like ian wright and vic anderson were victims of the ‘m-word’.
my problem with bhajji’s ‘m-word’, though, is that it so acutely devoid of wit – atleast sarwan/mgrath seldges were FUNNY.
January 8th, 2008 at 12.10 pm
and to pentu/theena/adityaveer/sameer
india DID NOT LOSE because of the bhajji incident.
they lost because (a) their vegetarian bowlers couldn’t bowl out the tail for cryin out loud and (b) because these pyjama princes/paper tigers you idolize so blindly like Yuvarse singh and Dhonnyboy are just B-grade overrated pretenders who cant even bat thru 40 overs.
wake up and face the truth – this indian batting lineup is fit only for a twent20 bash and not the REAL game.
January 8th, 2008 at 12.34 pm
Adityaveer,
“For a country that has faced racism everywhere in the world and maintained an anti-racism stand always , it is impossible to believe any indian is a racist.”
huh???WHICH INDIA ARE YOU LIVING IN???
we’re the most racist culture in the world.
northies like you call southies “kallus” or madrasis
upper caste zamindars lynch their lowercaste neighbors (and vice versa)
delhiites call every african student in D.U. as “habshis”
grow up, punk.
Indians are racists. Everyone is racist. It’s (sub)human but sadly natural.
The only difference is Indians whine, others don’t.
January 8th, 2008 at 1.17 pm
“For a country that has faced racism everywhere in the world and maintained an anti-racism stand always , it is impossible to believe any indian is a racist.”
huh???WHICH INDIA ARE YOU LIVING IN???
MONKEY:
For a land invaded by so many people of so many races over thousands of centuries it would be really difficult to determine as to which race the Indians belongs to. So that way an indian cannot be a racist as he/she himself would not be sure as to which race he/she belongs to. However in case of some Indians the ‘C’-word (CRAB) seems to be more prominent than the M-WORD.
I can find few of them (C’s) above.
So southies..the next time northies call u Kallus sing this song:
HUM KAALE HAI TO KYAA HUA DIL WAALE HAI….
January 8th, 2008 at 1.26 pm
monkey, typical response.
living off india’s “once glorious” heritage yet again.
while once we indeed were a liberal race and absorbed all influences, today all we have is bigots and sourpusses.
the debate here is about
1) umpiring – get on with it. stop complaining like a girl. bad decisions have happened many times before, more so when there were no neutral umps.
2)racism charges – ‘monkey’ is very provocative, especially given how symonds was victimized 3 months ago on the Indian tour.
3) the biggest problems is the whingeing Indian fans are letting their team get away with absolute trash cricket. and yet u guys will continue to worship the yuvraj-es of the world.
January 8th, 2008 at 2.10 pm
Abbas: like everyone else I thought the umpires had a shocker, and yes the ‘not out’ decision on the first day when Sharma was bowling to Symonds was an especially costly mistake. India got much the worse of the umpiring. From “But why the heck would you care. you are carry the same attitude. After all you are also an australian who can do whatever to win.” onward you lost me in the abuse, I’m afraid.
Sameer: I can think of at least one hearing (Adam Gilchrist’s complaint about racist abuse against Rashid Latif) where the match referee ran with the rule that testimony needs non-testimonial corroboration, and one (this one) where the ref didn’t. The point of my comparison with the courts was meant to be that neither approach seems to work very well for this sort of issue. I do agree with you that Proctor hasn’t got the training, experience and resourcing to act as a serious judge of this stuff. If the ICC wants credible hearing processes, it needs to invest a great deal more in the process of them.
January 8th, 2008 at 2.25 pm
Hmmm..The ‘C’ word seems to be more concerned about the ‘M’ word being said to ‘S’. Well ‘S’ would not have minded if ‘H’ had said ‘K’ instead of ‘M”. So an ‘A’ is comfortable being linked to ‘K’ rather than ‘M’
india’s “once glorious” heritage
Who has seen that??? How can you be sure of the facts?..history books?…well they have always been manipulated. On the contrary if you go by the books racism was more worse in earlier days…not long ago..just take it 100 yrs back.
While I can definately say that a M is very good at cheating which is natural I am not sure about the K.
I think the debate should be:
1. How much money are the cricketers making..no matter how they play…good, bad, cheat
2. How much money does the Board members make without being accountable.
3. How much money the Media makes..out of such controversy.
Cricket is about SURVIVING (in a team) and making MONEY…no matter how
January 8th, 2008 at 6.00 pm
This affair brings back memories of my Junior school years and the squabbles between the various children and their allies over some inconsequential slur (real or imaginary?)
And the chant that often broke out from the onlookers..and usually brought the squabble to an end…and really put it into context…..”Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt harm me !”
OH for the wisdom of children !.
January 8th, 2008 at 11.23 pm
The real issue.
W Jaffer – DROP
R Dravid – KEEP
VVS Laxman – KEEP
SR Tendulkar – KEEP
SC Ganguly – KEEP (it pains me to say so)
Yuvraj – DROP
MS Dhoni – KEEP
A Kumble – KEEP
H Singh – DROP/BAN
RP Singh – DROP
I Sharma – KEEP
V Sehwag – ADD
R Uthappa – ADD
IK Pathan – ADD
Z Khan – ADD
January 9th, 2008 at 1.37 am
Breaking News!!!!!!!
Umpire Bucknor met with a tragic road accident and is no more. Police sources said that he was out walking his dog when a road-roller at no more than ten kmph came from the front and ran over him. It appears that due to his poor eyesight and hearing did not realise that the vehicle was approaching.
Reliable sources from ICC and ACB have said that they have decided to mummify Mr.Bucknor’s body, preserve it and put it on a stand – and will be made to officiate all subsequent matches involving Australia. When asked about how Mr.Bucknor would signal his decisions, ACB replied that Ricky Ponting has kindly agreed to do so for him as Ricky has had good practice doing so in the recently concluded Sydney Test.
We’ve all seen the images of the dreaded finger of Ponting haven’t we? They call it the slow death of Cricket!
January 9th, 2008 at 2.21 am
Adolf, you are clearly not a Portuguese soccer fan new to cricket. The only thing I can tell so far is that you are an idiot.
Everyone saw Ricky Ponting raise his finger and everyone has been quick to charge him with dismissing the batsman himself. I’m not sure that’s the case.
My guess is that Benson called out to Ricky “Out or Not Out?” or something of that nature. Instead of yelling back “He caught it” or “Out” or anything else, he chose to use the universally accepted signal of Out, he showed his right index finger to the Umpire while saying “He Caught”. He did not make a show and dance and give the batsman a personal send-off as some would have you believe.
Showing his out finger could not be misinterpreted accidentally due to crowd noise or any other variable. In the situation of a gripping test, plenty of action and plenty of emotion both on and off the field, I can’t fault Ponting for making sure Benson knew what his answer was.
The umpire probably should have called Ponting over or Ponting should have run over to the umpire. Prior to the series it was quite publicly announced that fieldsmen would give their word to those close call catches. With that knowledge it’s fair to not criticize the umpire for asking Ponting the question.
January 9th, 2008 at 2.47 am
And Michael did you see images of Michael Clark’s grassed catch of Ganguly? And we should believe Ricky’s word for it, what rot!
I assume you are conveniently blinded… Repeat offender I say, this happened when Kiwis were here just recently – The offending umpire Benson, player Clark. Dunno if they sleep together……I know you are seething with rage, but you are cheating yourself.
You seem oblivious of the fact the Nation has called Ricky and his boys – poor sportsmen, respected men such as Waugh, Lawson, even Hall of Famers have joined in. It appears you seem to be taking the same drugs as “Ricky and his pack of wild dog” (source Peter Roebuck, Sydney Morning Herald) who feel they have done nothing wrong! Baloney!!!!
January 9th, 2008 at 2.54 am
No, it didn’t looked grassed to me. Grassed would have had bits of sand/dirt/grass released into the air from impact with the ground. Granted the very bottom of the camera appeared to be still panning down but the closeness of the shot would have shown something.
At worst it was inconclusive and not grassed as you put. I know you are seething with rage, what do you reckon mate? 3-0 or 4-0 series?
January 9th, 2008 at 4.27 am
I saw it grassed pending a 3rd umpire decision, not the 4th Umpire (Ponting).
So you reckon it was inconclusive, which means benifit of doubt to the Batsman…….now you know where Ricky can put his finger up.
Mate you suck some more you might get to taste his intestines.
I think it will be 4-0 to Australia- they really don’t need to cheat to win, but they do. If I was seething with rage you would know.
January 9th, 2008 at 5.55 am
Hopefully a humiliating 4-0 loss would mean the end of 3 test careers who have let down the nation time and again:
tendy
yuvraj
dhoni
hopefully the real mccoys will then get a chance – sehwag to open, and gangu at his rightful no.4 spot instead of selfishdulkar.
bring it on – springbeds for perth and adelaide.
4-0.
January 9th, 2008 at 1.33 pm
Michael is bang on because “Attitudes are contagious” if he is defending something that is incorrect then its not his problem. This disease has come from pointing. I dont blame michael if he is justifying that catch. Its the attitude that has played the role. Poining when questioned about his integrity, justified his action. Although he knew that he was at fault. Aussies has done this with srilanka and pakistan also but they didnot come into the public notice as their board is submissive to anything;but i guess BCCI having a strong hold has partly turned the table; which was definitely required so that they learn something.
January 10th, 2008 at 9.31 am
Adolf:
I am not sure you are an Indian or any other. But your comments had me splitting. I just laughed my ass out (bucknor road roller story was just terrific). more than anything, its turning out into great fun to read the comments. Keep it up!
January 11th, 2008 at 5.43 pm
Here’s my take on things – have tried to keep it objective… the facts first followed by the verdict:
1st test
Yuvraj – caught behind – replays inconclusive – given out – stands his ground – charged for dissent – found not guilty – later match Mike Proctor tells the media(!) he made a mistake and that Y should have been fined.
2nd test
1st innings
Ponting caught behind on the leg side, faint edge, stands his ground- given not out.
Ponting lbw off an inside edge – given out – stands his ground, bat raised, shows dissent and kicks advertising as he leaves – not charged by the match referee (Double standards Mike in view of Yuvraj comment)
Symonds caught behind, loud nick, stands his ground – given not out.
Symonds stumped on the legside – referred to 3rd umpire – heel clearly in the air – given not out (outrageous!) – no action against the 3rd ump.
Symonds stumped on the legside – foot on line – not even referred to the 3rd umpire (outrageous again!!)
2nd innings
Jaffer – bowled by a Lee express – replays show Lee over stepped – big no-ball.
Tendulkar LBW appeal – given not out – replays suggest ball would have hit the stumps.
Harbhajan and Symonds racism incident – no one other than the two involved hear anything – yet match referee finds H guilty.
3rd innings
Clarke edges to first slip – given out – yet stands his ground!! – not charged for dissent. (More double standards Procter!)
Symonds LBW appeal – hitting middle and leg – given not out.
Hussey LBW appeal – plumb in front – given not out.
4th innings
Dravid pads ball, bat tucked well behind pad, to Gilchrist who appeals immediately – given out. (Can we trust you Gilly?)
Ganguly edges to Clarke at slip – who takes a tumbling catch – batter stands his ground – given out after umpire refers to Ponting – replays show doubtful catch and clear grounding of ball as Clarke rolls. (Clarke had claimed another dubious catch in the recent Chappell-Hadlee series, Benson was the umpire then too.)
Dhoni gloves ball to Ponting who grounds ball after a diving effort – yet appeals – given not out. (In 2001, Latif was banned by Proctor for doing the same – 5 match ban)
RP Singh LBW appeal – hit outside the line of off stump – 50 50 decision – given out. (They give this out but not Symo or Hussey or Tendulkar. I guess tailenders never get the benefit of the doubt)
The Verdict –
To sack – Bucknor – had a horrible match, is widely accepted that he is past his best.
To review – Benson, Proctor – both have been inconsistent.
To drop from (future) captaincy – Ponting, Clarke – playing without honor.
Harbajan vs Symonds – too infantile to comment on – evidence lacking. If true ban H, but also reprimand S for starting it after the two had agreed not to get on each other’s case after the Mumbai incident.
The other side of the coin – Yuvraj, Jaffer, Dhoni must be held responsible – a few balls from each at the wicket would have saved this match. India had only to bat 72 overs and they failed!
India have now 3 scores of around 200 in the last 4 innings – you cannot win or draw tests with that.
January 11th, 2008 at 6.05 pm
To be added to my earlier post –
While both Symonds and Tendulkar were recipients of umpiring laxness – in term of runs scored – the Aussies (thru Symonds in both innings and Hussey in the 2nd) added more than 300 runs after their first (non)-dismissals while Tendulkar added around 100 runs after being given not-out. Thus the Aussies gained a net of around 200 runs from the umpires’ bad decisions.
This is significant as India lost by less than 130 runs.
January 12th, 2008 at 8.55 am
1. I have yet to hear an Australian fan say that the umpiring during the SCG test was acceptable. In fact, most have agreed it detracted form the game.
2. I saw every Australian fan and cricketer applauding Tendulkar when he scored his century, cricket lovers world-wide were hoping for him to have yet another great innings. So how are Aussie fans blantantly biased?
3. Any cricket captain HAS to report any suspcion of racism.
4. The match referee then decides if it should be investigated. He does NOT decide if a player is guilty or not.
5. The appointed investigating board makes that determination.
6. The rules state that a player does not have to leave his crease until the umpire gives the decision of being out. Not walking, is not breaking the rules. It’s as simple as that.
7. All india had to do was bat for 70 overs. They couldn’t.
8. Were any of Michael Clarkes 3 wickets in the last 4 minutes controversial? Nobody has said so. So I suppose, actually all India had to do was bat for FOUR MINUTES… not 70 overs.
9. You don’t like the rules about walking or not walking… lobby the ICC to change the rules, tell me where, when, and how you’re doing it and I’ll be right there with you.
10. If India promises to sack umpires if they give the Australian cricket team dud decisions which cost them (the Aussies) a game when they next tour over there then fair enough. We’ll just have to wait and see if all their cries of “in the honour and spirit of the game” stands true on their home soil.
11. This has all been caused by poor leadership of the ICC. Stupid guidelines for the testing (or the lack thereof) of umpires. The rules for walking need to be adjusted to fit whatever the ICC deems is in “the spirit of the game”. And possibly the burden of proof needs to be increased for a charge of racism can be laid.
January 12th, 2008 at 9.19 am
And to all those who struggle with thinking that being called a monkey is a racial slur… fine… go to central Africa, stand out in the middle of any busy town square you find, and then yell as loud as you can “You’re all monkeys!!!”
Let me know how you get on… if you were showered with laughter and hugs and shows of appreciation for your jovial nature let me know…
I’ll happily admit to being wrong in my belief that it is racist to do so, and openly admit that Harbajan is indeed a very funny fellow.
January 30th, 2008 at 7.47 am
‘Raj Dutta’, listen we know you’re not indian.So quit fooling around boy.India have lost a series which in all fairness they should have won 2-1.In the end the official 2-1 result is not that bad considering australia have a tour of india in october.If they can win a match, any match(including practise matches) then you can start talking about the indians being pathetic.No australian pitches to play on in nagpur this time.Without Mcgrath, even bucknor if he’s there can’t save you.
Also i’d like to point out to the aussie readers that the indians are not ‘whining’ because a ‘few’ decisions went against them.There were a lot of decisions that went against them.More importantly, I think you should realise that every team complains against umpiring and this was the 4rth or 5th complaint against bucknor.It’s because he behaves like he has divine eyesight.In 92-93 he wouldn’t go to the 3rd umpire when jonty rhodes was clearly run out.These are unpardonable errors.Why wouldn’t you go to the 3rd umpire.He’s done it on 4 other occassions too.
In 99 & in 2003 & in 2005 he’s given unbelievably wrong decisions against sachin.In 2005 it was pitch dark ,but the great bucknor with his divine eyes could see everything.Sadly, he couldn’t see that sachin missed an abdur razzaq delivery by a foot.He gave him out.Now he has the gumption to say he made 2 errors out of 35 appeals.It’s not even laughable.I can remember 5 in the sydney test out of which 3 were like i said unpardonable.He was caught on camera making fun of dravid on the last aus tour.I think India have played creditably.It’s unbelievable to think india’s 4rth ,5th & 6th choice pace bowlers dominated australia.Zaheer, Sree & munaf were missed.
Having said that i think india will try hard like they always do and fight till the end in the ODI’s with captain dhoni but i don’t think they’ll win.If yuvi is fit its another story.zaheer & rp will be missed especially in the odis\’s cause replacement munaf is the worst fielder in world cricket.On a parting note i would say , don’t count this indian team out & watch out for rohit sharma,suresh raina & manoj tewary.Trust me on this one they’re really good.
January 30th, 2008 at 8.22 am
garfield, here boy i’ll make this simple.
1.If the umpiring distratcted from the game& was ‘unacceptable’ in your own words why do you have a problem??You can’t have the cake & eat it too.
2.Just because you like sachin you don’t become unbiased.You applauded sachin, big deal.Even squealer symonds, after all that he said about our country got applause in india.If you have it recorded then go check.
You tell indian fans to get over it,i’d like to see you gettn over 8 clearly (and there were more)wrong decisions aginst your team in india.If you can we’ll accept your unbiased.
3.I know bhajju, he didn’t even know that symonds has non-australian roots.Quite clearly he said ‘teri maa ki’ & not monkey.He still got fined 50% of his match fee.If you start fining people for ‘maa ki’ , all indian & pakistani cricketers would get fined in every match.ICC is clearly inconsistent.There is also this ignorance about what happened that disturbs me.Symonds wasn’t clear if bhajju did call him a monkey,ponting didn’t hear it,neither did hayden, nor did clarke.They only heard symonds saying “what monkey..big monkey”.So there was no racism to complain against.If this is the case than every aussie cricketer would have been banned by now.
4.In this case the match referee decided that bhajji was a racist.An appeal was sent and then the ‘ICC’ proceeded
on it.Mike procter found harbhajan guilty.
5.No investigating board was present & the decision was made by procter.
6.”The rules state that a player does not have to leave his crease until the umpire gives the decision of being out. Not walking, is not breaking the rules. It’s as simple as that.”Correct.But who’s saying on this occassion any rule was broken.I don’t see guys edging the ball to first slip & then wait.What next ,clarke gets bowled and waits for the umpire to lift his finger.
7.remember calcutta, bhajju destroying australia in little over a session.They didn’t bat a lot of time did they??They would have played out a lot more than 70 overs if the umpires didn’t give 3 blatantly wrong decisions & 1 inconsistent one.
8.RP was clearly not out.Also dhoni was out,but a few similiar decisions in the aussie innings were given not out.
9.Again , no1 talked about rules on walking.This issue i have discussed in (6).
10.If australia promises to get on with it when the umpires give dud decisions against them
which cost them (the Aussies) a game when they next tour in India then fair enough. We’ll just have to wait and see if all your cries of “get over it, it happens, stop whining” stands true on our home soil.
11.Just 1 amendment needs to be made.The 3rd umpire gets complete power to overrule any decision of the onfield umpire.This way blatantly wrong decisions will not happen.It doesn’t take more than a few seconds with the 3rd umpire communicating with the on-field umpire through his walky-talky.
Don’t be surprised if you get hammered in india in winter.
I suggest you start thinking of excuses right away.
January 30th, 2008 at 11.32 am
The Indians have been shown up as the contemptible thugs they are. If they don’t get everything exactly their own way, they’ll run home crying. They blackmailed their way to 3 decisions on this tour: change umpires, delay the appeal, and then overrule appeal. The Australian Cricket Board has been incredibly cowardly in kowtowing to these bullies. As for India’s cricket record, Australia’s is far superior. Did it cheat in every series, you babies? Or are you just not good enough? I know which one I think it is.
February 12th, 2008 at 5.13 am
david black : Australia’s record is far superior.Great.Why don’t you do the cha-cha to that.Clearly,we’re talking about the present.I’m sure you aren’t aware of facts,which i shall provide you with.Yes, aus has a gr8 record against india.But lets look at the recent past & present wherein the modern cricketing rivalry started.From 1998 onwards, there have been 22 tests played b/w ind & aus,11 each in the 2 countries.The record stands at 10 wins to aus,4 draws & 8 wins to india.It’s about equal.Also many people including me feel that its not india, but australia who’ll get isolated.Ind,pak,srlanka,bangladesh are 1 block.South African & indian boards have gr8 relations.England & newzealand will stick with aus for different reasons.windies will go where the money is.Clearly australia has no freinds.btw what do you think of match at the mcg.The under-19 indian team has literally got off the plane & thrashed you around.Bhajji’s gettn booed in australia everytime he breathes,but look hhow he’s handled it.He’s a true sikh.Andrew symonds,ponting & clarke are going to have 1 hellofa time in india.Good luck to them, boy do they need it.
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