Do Australia play outside the spirit of the game?

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[Doug]

How about we ban Australia from playing international cricket. Isn't that the only option? But, then who would be your patsy? Who would be your scapegoat for subcontinental de-colonisation issues (that's what the BCCI stand is all about after all)? Our boys could then stick to the domestic game, and for those wanting to make big money, they could have a look at the US major league baseball comp. Adam Gilchrist was invited to play for the major league a few years ago. Given the professionalism of the league, and the Aussies "way of play", I say ditch the small-mined, unprofessional, bitchy code of international cricket and let's go join the Americans and play baseball where our skills and winning style will at least be respected and rewarded. The ethos of cricket has changed, and not because of the sledging, because of the bitchiness of teams (supported by the media) who are incapable of stepping up. It's the only way they think they can gain an edge over the Aussie winning formula

[Howard]

To my knowledge the Australian test team has never made a complaint about anything said to them in the past. Ponting reported the racist 'monkey' taunt to the match referee because he has been instructed to do so. In 2008, racist remarks are a no-no! In the recent ODI series in India, Symonds was subjected to grotesque racist chants from the Indian crowds. What is worse? A team that occasionally goes over the top but plays within the rules and regulations of the game, or a team that threatens anarchy whenever a few umpiring decisions go against them? Give me Australia anyday. I want my team the fight every inch of the way, regardless of their position in the match. By the way, does anyone seriously think Indian cricketers always walk when they snick the ball or never appeal when they know a batsmen isn't out? While I'm at it, just remember that the Sydney crowd gave Sachin Tendulkar a standing ovation when he walked to the crease in recognition of his brillant career. Give me an Australian cricket crowd anyday as well.

[Tom Collins]

It looks unseemly and sanctimonious for Australia, the country that invented sledging, to play the racism card against India. They should stop whingeing, withdraw the official complaint subject to a generalised apology by India for any offence caused which stops short of accepting blame. But it would be too prissy to ban sledging. Some isn't bad or malicious. My favourite is the acronymic nickname FIGJAM for Kevin Pietersen. Part of the aggravation from mutual escalation of sledging comes from bad umpiring; e.g. Tendulkar looked wrongly given lbw for 2 tests in a row last summer denying him a last century in England. The solution is to adopt a variation of Wimbledon Tennis. Allow each batsman 2 unsuccessful appeals to the third umpire per innings but allow each side only 3 per innings. The batsman has a split second to decide whether to appeal. So: Yes, KP is good enough to appropriate 2 out of 3 for himself, but imagine the glee and schadenfreude on the boundary at the SCG if he is bowled out the next ball after his 2nd appeal. It might make the game more interesting as well as less fraught. Don't go for "it's only a game" homilies. The fact is that money has saved the game of cricket from irrelevance and money is here to stay. So it DOES matter when umpiring is bad and DOES have these unintended consequences which end up impugning the reputation of whole countries.

[Jeremy Hewett]

Yet another disingenuous Indian commentator claiming that Andrew Symonds being called a monkey had no racial intent in the mind of any Indian person labelling him this way. There has been so much vitriol towards the Australian team from the Indian media and public broadly, yet there have also been many members of the Australian cricket-supporting public honest enough in their assessment that the Australian team could improve perceptions about their style of play by moderating their on-field conduct. In contrast, all this attempt to downplay the seriousness of hostile Indian fans, and yes, quite possibly Harbhajan Singh also, calling the only black member of the Australian team a monkey. It sounds just as pathetic now as it did when Indian cricket authorities wheeled out the monkey god furphy as if to suggest Andrew Symonds really had nothing to worry about in last year's one day series in India.

The fact that you have to resort to the argument that even if Harbhajan Singh did call Symonds a monkey no serious offence was necessarily intended suggests that should the BCCI's appeal fail (which is extremely unlikely given its new found confidence as mafia don of the cricket world) or in the unlikely event that irrefutable proof emerges that he did say it, you'll give yourself the get out by calling it just a cultural misunderstanding, with of course no racial intent.

The other absurd aspect of India's hysterical reaction and unwavering support of Harbhajan is the notion that prosecuting a recidivist antagonist like him somehow wholly denigrates India as a nation and Indians as a people. Would you all please stop that tripe once and for all. The amazing thing is that while the rest of the Indian team (thanks to the fortunate absent of that other brat, Sreesanth) is clearly made up of honourable men worthy of respect, such as Dravid and Laxman, everyone rushes to the defence of Harbhajan. Please ask yourselves this, looking at yourself eye to eye in the mirror: can you honestly say to yourself that you are not totally convinced that he didn’t call Symonds a monkey? Have you not seen enough of him in action (just check out his reaction to being bowled by Kevein Petersen on YouTube for just one example)? If the situation were reversed, and Andrew Symonds was faced with a charge of racially sledging Harbhajan, would you just instantly presume that Mike Procter’s hearing was conducted improperly? If you can't, then how does the BCCI's demand that all charges against Harbhajan be dropped, regardless whether or not the appeal finds him innocent or guilty, or India simply walks away? Would Bill Woodfull’s Australian team in the Bodyline series be regarded so highly and Douglas Jardine be considered so irrevocably damned if Woodfull had decided to simply abandon the series? Does it cause you a little discomfort to consider that it just might be possible that the whole nation has taken on a siege mentality to defend someone who is just quite possibly the most inflammatory cricketer your proud nation and cricket traditions has produced?

[S Ganguly]

I am a lowly cricket fan from India. I am a fan of cricket much more and much before I am a fan of the Indian cricket team. I salute Peter Roebuck's article calling for the sacking of Ponting not because I am an Indian fan. In fact, I belong to the group of people who believe strongly that our boys ( Indian cricketers) need a sharp kick up their backside because of how much of their demi-god status they take for granted from their fans. I indeed do not mind at all seeing them lose embarrasingly every once in a while. But only if the game is "cricket" and played likewise and in the true spirit of the game. I strongly believe India deserves to lose a Test match if they lose 3 wickets in 7 balls. There is no excuse for India's defeat. i do not think the bad decisions made them lose. Total incompetency with a bat by their tail enders were the reason.

Inexplicably, the Aussie cricket team has always gotten away with uncricketer-like behaviour such as claiming grassed catches ( besides sledging of which, amusingly, they seem to be quite proud of). I remember Michael Slater doing the same to Dravid and actually mouthing him off for not walking when the 3rd umpire gave him not out. No disciplinary action was taken against Slater by the match referee, if my memory serves me right.

It is ridiculous to hear the Aussies bring racism allegations based on the word "monkey", even if it was said, which is doubtful going by the standards of integrity offered by the likes of Symonds and Clarke on field. Clarke do not at all mind claiming catches when they are grassed neither does Ponting himself. Spirit Of The Game ? Since when is "monkey" a racist term? Would it be a racist term in Aussie English? I do not know since I have never visited the country, beautiful and friendly as i hear it is.

Match referee Mike Proctor says he knows all about racism because he is South African. I have a question for him: If you go by precedence, Ricky Ponting can be banned for at least five Tests for unfair practices against the spirit of cricket.
During the Pakistan-Bangladesh series in September 2003, Pakistani skipper Rashid Latif was suspended for five games for claiming a catch for a grounded ball.

Then too the match referee was Mr. Mike Proctor. He had then said: "As captain a lot of responsibility falls on Latif and he committed a serious offence by claiming that (unfair) catch which constitutes unfair play and a level-three offence of ICC code of conduct. Therefore, he shall be banned for five ODIs."

If Mr. Proctor knows all about racism then why is the treatment different for Aussie players and players of the sub-continent for exactly the same offence ? Is it not biasness of which cricket, the fairest of all games, is supposed to be free of? If so, then why is Ponting and Clarke not punished and goes scott free ? Or can one now bring a case of racialbiasness against Mr. Proctor himself?

The Aussies always seem to get away with rude, unsportsmanlike behaviour on field of late. Why is that? Is it because Malcolm Speed himself is an Aussie and an ex-member of the Cricket Australia? The thought cannot be discarded in view of the fain condoning that the Aussie cricketers invariably receive. There has been claim that the BCCI is holding ICC for ransom. Well, if the Aussies can take their priviledged treatment for granted why cannot the BCCI at least try to force justice out of ICC?

Aussies have always said that they play their game tough. But actually, as evidence over last few decades would point out, they play it dirty more often than tough.

I truly love cricket. And it saddens me to see a team like Australia which boasts of so many talented good players has to get down to such roudy hooliganism to win a test match so that they may equal a record. Cricket does not seem to be about cricket any more in Australia. My condolences to the Aussie fans.

[Dr Gopi]

If other professionals can be held responsible for errors and removed from their jobs why not cricket umpires ? If a doctor who was famous screws up he is kicked out or at least fined for his error. You dont let him off just because he was oncew a great physician. If and umpire screws up big he has to go.Why is he so sacrosanct ?

[Hugh Farquhar]

Football used to be a gentleman’s game, like cricket is still seen as today, and yes stats and figures are what drives both of these sports. An Australian friend of mine said in relation to the current situation: "Cricket is a numbers game. Averages, runs scored and wickets taken are the currency of players these days. VERY LITTLE is talked of Courtney Walshs on field demeanour or how Alan Border PLAYED IN THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME - all that is referred to is the their averages and for a short period of time their world records in wickets taken and runs scored." To him I would say, does the word ‘Bodyline’ ring any bells??

The Bodyline series was played in 1932-33 and yet over 60 years on there rarely goes a summer on any continent when it isn’t mentioned. And why…because like the tactics adopted by many sportsmen and teams, the Bodyline series embodies the ‘win at any cost’ mentality. It is exactly this mentality which has seen the downfall of so many sports into accusations of cheating and deceit.

This brings me back to my first point that 'football used to be a gentleman’s game'. Nowadays you merely have to watch ONE Premiership Football match to see players diving to win penalties, always sticking their hand up when the ball goes out of play (despite them clearly the last to touching the ball), surrounding the referee to protest in order to sway his decision, or rolling around for ages on the floor after a tackle waiting for a the ref to book the player who committed the challenge and then getting to his feet and playing on as if nothing happened. These latter two points are essentially what the Australians have done…they protested and whined (surrounded the ref and rolled around on the floor) until a decision was given in their favour.

Therefore I say to my Australian friend who I quoted above, if you are one of these people who get irritated when football players try to cheat by diving et al then you should be just as irritated at your own national side for acting up as badly as Ronaldo does week in, week out. If you are not one of these people that gets irritated in which the manor football is played these days then I pity you for your attitude towards sport, an attitude which will only earn you disrespect, primarily on the field of play.

If cricket does not stop pandering to the footballers mentality of ‘win at all costs’ then I am afraid cricket youngsters will go the same way as football youngsters, with cheating inbuilt into their game plan, and cricket too will join the ranks of pathetic, unwatchable sports, leaving only rugby to carry the gentleman’s mantle.

[toby]

Gee! This is the best thing on TV and in media since the first episode of LOST

[Benzo]

There are only three international teams left that I really enjoy watching ... SA , NZ and SL. I would rather watch Bangladesh than Australia! Punter is the worst sportsman alive and as you can imagine, that's up against some pretty stiff competition (in Oz alone). I do wish I enjoyed watching my own country more than I do though ... it's all just so uninspiring.

[Mike]

Ragarding the whole racist issue ... Harbhajan is from a small town in Punjab ... he is not going to sledge in English ... he will sledge in hindi ... in hindi monkey is "Bundar" ... what he may have said is "Tere maa ki..." which is a sort of a your mama insult in hindi ... in which case it really isn't racist because this is a very normal thing in India ... the very fact that it is only the Australians and not Sachin Tendulkar or any of the umpires that have heard this points to the possibility that they do not understand hindi, they heard the your mama insult and thought that "tere maa ki..." was actually monkey ... kinda stupid really ... and the very fact that grown men have decended to kindergarten levels is really sad... tho all said and done that ... The whole Test match was a disaster... the kind of mistakes committed are the sort one would expect in inter school or inter collegiate cricket not in international test cricket ... looking at the recent spate of matches, cricket is no longer a gentleman's game ... most of the time i just change the channel.

[Anuj]

Aussies, great team worse losers. Fantastic comments by alistar, some one should give the aussies a rule book. If a catch is dropped and i the fielder says he did catch it then that player should be dropped from the team. Taking the fielders word for it?? why must Australians try to make stupid rules so that they can win. come on a level playing field boys, we handed u your ass in the t 20 world cup and we'll do it again.

[Nik]

It’s funny how often the words ‘spirit of the game’ appears when Australia play cricket. This is not the first time they have criticised over the past few years, it virtually occurs in every tour they are involved in (home or away). The controversy surrounding the spirit of the game may not be as load as it is now but it always seems to linger a round the Australian team. In addition, it’s always the team which get criticised rather than any individual player showing that it’s a team concern rather than an individual problem, which is far easier to eradicate.

[Martin from Brisbane]

C'mon people. We Australian cricket lovers mostly feel India got the majority of bad decisions. We also think that Brad Hogg should probably be suspended for 3 Tests. There is however no place for racial slurring 3 players heard what Harbajhan Singh said and the TV replays are also pretty conclusive. Indian may have been robbed of winning the match but it showed that it was not good enough to salvage a draw by losing 3 wickets in 8 balls to a part timer spinner. Threatening to Suspend the tour on this issue is insulting to all cricket nations

[a don]

Sanctioning Singh and Hogg is a case of two wrongs do not make it right but then again Sharma needs to know two rights are also wrong.

[tim]

Unfortunately, Australia do not just play to win (which is entirely reasonable) but they will do ANYTHING to win, which is subtly different from doing EVERYTHING to win. It's the same as the All Blacks in Rugby. Somewhere along the line sporting behaviour has dissappeared

[Leigh]

A little sobriety here PLEASE!! A great little tabloid exercise here Telegraph.
Reading the majority of postings here, it would seem the Aussies are the only team in the world who appeal when someone isn't out, don't walk etc.
I seem to recall a certain Harbhajan Singh not walking when clean bowled by K Pietersen a while back. Haven't yet heard anyone (particularly Indian) yet mention Ponting calling back Dravid in the first innings in Sydney, nor the LBW not out given Tendulkar which was blatantly out before he made 154no.
I was at the Sydney Test for 2 days & the Indian team were treated extremely graciously by the crowd (Tendulkar & Laxman in particular). Compare this with how the Aussies were treated recently in India (Symonds in particular).
Before we start getting too carried away, let's be a little less selective with our memories please.

[Dinesh]

With all due respect, this is all starting to sound a little like a global case of sour grapes with regards to Australia's continual dominance in cricket. Does everyone feel a little better getting it off your chest? Hope so.

As an Australian, it's considered par for course to hear English, South Africans, Kiwis etc slagging us off. Indeed, one might say it comes with the territory and is a measure of success to have the 'cousins' show their abhorrence of all things Australian (I never cared much for English rugby until they won the 2003 world cup; now I support every team playing England.)

But for the Indians to play the "what? who, me?" role of innocent reeks of hypocrisy. All Indian supporters should grab a copy of a documentary called 'An Aussie Goes Bolly' that is being shown on Fox 8 in Oz. It has video evidence of a partisan Indian crowd last October IN INDIA inciting a bile of racist hatred towards Andrew Symonds - screaming "Monkey, monkey, monkey" and looking every inch like they'd lynch the guy given the opportunity.

I was at the Sydney test and saw a partisan Australian crowd stand on their feet for minutes applauding "The great master" Tendulkar. Everybody knows the Indians got some horrible decisions by the umpires. That is universally aknowledged. Some days you win 'em, some days you lose 'em. Sometimes decisions go against you, sometimes for. But to carry on like this, threatening to cancel the tour, inciting more hatred in India after your man Singh has called Symonds a "Monkey" again reeks of petulance.
India - may it be a while between victories. How can you deal with success if you can't deal with failure?

[Jon]

Simple questions to ask your self:
1. 12 wrong outs and 10 goes against one team.
2. Who enters most into argument India or Australia? Why complaining?
3. Harbhajan said some thing to Lee and not Symonds when things started. Then why he jumped in.

[pam]

Honestly, what has Ausralia done in this Test that has not been done by other teams, in other circumstances? The fact that they managed a triumphant win seems to be the team's biggest sin.

[Cameron]

There is a lot of commentary from Indian fans about Mike Proctor not accepting the testimony of Sachin Tendular during the hearing into the alleged racial abuse. Whilst none of us knows the facts because the hearing was held in secret and no transcript of it has been published this position is somewhat problematic. It assumes that Sachin is completelly infallible and morally superior to all. Whilst I regard him as one of the finest cricketers I have had the pleasure to watch in my lifetime and he has always appeared to handle himself with a very high degree of class I am not sure that it is right to automatically assume that his word is more reliable than those of the Australians who testified. One thing that does appear to be apparent is that someone must be being less than truthful.
Having watched the whole issue live as it occured it appeared to me that Sachin was not in shot when the altercation took place and it his proximity to the events is unclear. The other thing that came across on the TV coverage of the event was that Harbhajan appeared to attempt to apologise to Andrew Symonds shortly after the event. If he had not said anything out of line then I am not sure why he would feel the need to apologise.
Andrew Symonds was the sole target of some of the most appalling racial abuse by a large proportion of the crowds at three consecutive matches in India. This abuse was allegedly repeated by Harbhajan during that series as well, which resulted in a warning to the player and an agreement between the teams that it was clearly off limits. If he has repeated the slur again Andrew Symonds and his team mates have every right to be offended and report him. The Indian officials, players, journalists and supporters have effectively branded Symonds and Hayden (the only two Australian players to testify as to the content of the discussion)as liers.
Cricket can and should make every effort to stamp racism out of the game. Already two other players, Darren Lehman and Herschelle Gibbs, have rightfully been suspended for racist outbursts. If Harbhajan made the comment he should be the third.
The response of the BCCI is appalling and a greater threat to the spirit of cricket that any action of the Australian team over the past week. To threaten to boycott the series if they do not get the finding they want in a disciplinary hearing is outrageous and should be condemned. They have every right to expect and demand a fair hearing for Harbhajan but they have no right in any process to stipulate the result.

[Aaron Pearce]

"Spirit of the game". This has nothing to do with the spirit of the game. The fact is, yes, Autralia did benifit from some umpiring decisions and maybe the final result would have been different. However India lost 3 wickits in 5 balls and for long periods of time they were on top in the test match. I can accept that they were upset and frustrated with result. But don't start pointing the finger and suggesting players walking or over appealing and then suggesting that that behavior falls under the "Spirit of the game" statement. The Indian cricket team are a bunch of hypocrites. I would bet my life on the fact that everyone on the Indian team has benefitted from an umpiring decision. Are you tellig me that Kumble has walked everytime he has nicked a ball behind. Nooo!! Or he only appeals when he is 100% sure the batsmen is out. Nooo!! Or an Indian fieldsmen has never claimed a catch when in fact the video replay has suggested the ball hit the ground. Nooo!!! I can't emphasize enough, "Everthing even out in the end" Moving on to the Sing incident..."Monkey" being an offensive term isnt the issue. He was told and then warned to not use that term towards another player. Personally, I think this makes him an IDIOT, not necessarily a racist.

[S.Ramanathan]

Australian fans are claiming their team's playing prowess won them the match. But on TV it was clear to see whether it was skill or otherwise through which Australia won the match.I feel bad that posterity will show Australia achieved again a record of winning 16 test matches at trot when they did not deserve this credit.If they had won fair everyone would have applauded them. Shocking that an Australian Captain vociferously claimed a grounded catch. Subsequently he blatantly claimed to the media that his integrity is impeccable. So did Micheal Clarke when he professed he had 100% made the catch and video clearly showed he grounded it. These footages should be preserved for posterity and shown side by side any time these gentlemen flaunt their sportsmanship/honesty in the game in future. These footages should haunt them forever in their career. Then only justice will said to have been served for the wrongs perpetrated by them on the Indian Team

[john]

The Australian team is perhaps one of the only teams left that plays within the rules and spirit of the game. Only now, people are coming to realise the real problem lies with subcontinental cricketers. Just look at this last test as an example - they have very slow over rates, they deliberately waste time, they celebrate wickets like footballers, they stand their ground when decisions go against them, they dont walk (the number 11 didnt walk even after being caught at 2nd slip), their crowds have been shown to systematically racially taunt opponents and their players stand accused of the same. They then blame umpires and opponents of breaching spirit. They should concentrate more on their poor batting, bowling and fielding, and less on umpiring decisions which always go against a team from time to time.

[J.Cross]

The second most interesting thing to come out of all this is how much the English despise Australians.It goes far beyond the fact that Australia has been dancing on our sporting grave for decades.The 2003 Rugby World Cup was an anomaly.

If Australians did not also play Australian Rules, there would be over 120,000 super fit grade players ready to feed other ball sports.Think about that when you say that Australia will never win the football world cup.They will win and the will do it before we do again, I am confident.

Australians use sport as a means to play at war.That is why they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation of the 20th Century.

But We really do hate them only second to the French dont we.As they have so courageously contributed to the defence of the Empire and Commonwealth over the decades we should soften that hatred a little, perhaps to grudging tolerance.Besides, the Queen loves Aussies!

[Adrian]

As the saying goes - winners are grinners - Losers can please themselves! India - the players didn't step up when the game was there for the taking, Australia Did. All this babble about who said what to who, and boycotting of the tour, umpiring mistakes doesn't change on important fact. When it mattered - India weren't good enough.

From a Kiwi