How to weed this out?
In Punjabi culture, comparing a person to a plant or tree is considered extremely offensive and is an extremely racist slur. The entire Sikh and Punjabi community, and indeed India is up in arms over this racist slur by one among the pack of wild dogs (not my comparison call Peter Roebuck!). The nation is demanding that this racist slur be punished to the fullest!
OK so I am kidding. But it seems like these guys just can't learn to keep their mouths shut. Its gone beyond disgust now and just become a really bad taste in the mouth that keeps recurring. It seems like there really are no boundaries to the arrogance, audacity and maliciousness of this Australian team. As a cricket fan again I'm quite aghast at what this Australian team has reduced the game to, trampling its spirit into the mud and brazenly claiming this as a victory for sport at the altar of patriotism. The reception most Australian players save Brett Lee will get in India will be interesting to say the least.
OK so I am kidding. But it seems like these guys just can't learn to keep their mouths shut. Its gone beyond disgust now and just become a really bad taste in the mouth that keeps recurring. It seems like there really are no boundaries to the arrogance, audacity and maliciousness of this Australian team. As a cricket fan again I'm quite aghast at what this Australian team has reduced the game to, trampling its spirit into the mud and brazenly claiming this as a victory for sport at the altar of patriotism. The reception most Australian players save Brett Lee will get in India will be interesting to say the least.
posted by Abs @ 9:01 PM
18 comments
18 Comments:
The double standards that one has seen in this tour disappoints me. The entire respect for few of the Australian players whom I admired for their cricketing ability is getting flushed down the toilet.
come now... you can't just reproduce the gossip column and miss the fact that the Indian team has been solidly trounced for almost two months running... its almost as if you have lost interest in the actual sport and have recognised that India are much better talkers than they are players.
p.s. this is a joke, but seriously it would be great to hear your take on the upcoming IPL and also what the domestic thoughts on India's lackluster One Day performance has been. I think consistancy and objectivity would be a great addition to this blog :->
Westy: Yet again you continue to spew wholly unwarranted and misplaced outbursts of nationalistic fervour, trying to pass them off as witty commentary and humourous jibes. You fail and fail badly.
You constantly point toward the dismal (?) showing of the Indian team. Firstly, you claim that the last 2 months the team has been trounced. Uhh mate the record and matches speak for themselves. I won't go there.
If your comments are in the way of a joke then I have to admit its in very poor taste because you fail to understand how much of an issue this has become among cricket fans in this country. And I mean people who truly appreciate good cricket regardless of the nationality. You completely fail to grasp that Australian cricketers enjoyed god like status in this country which has been flushed down the drain thanks to Ponting & Co's abrasiveness.
I intend writing about the IPL at my own time thank you.
As for your parting shot to bring in consistency and objectivity to the blog, get real dude. Seriously...get real. This blog has been anything but partial and partisan. I have consistently lamented the decline in behaviour of the Aussie team and consistently said this is ruining the game.
Anyways, seems like you will continue to wave the flag of your nationalistic zeal as abrasively as the Aussie cricket team is doing right now.Its time you and many of Australia's cricketers took a step back, called up Brett Lee and took some lessons on how to behave in the real world. I have been consistent about that point as well.
Oh and don't bother commenting anymore on this blog if this is going to be the quality of your comments. Cheers.
This post has been removed by the author.
*slammed. Wasn't expecting that. Drop me an email at [john dot westgarth at gmail dot com]. Would love to keep debating this one, but probably best on email.
peace out,
W
Hmmm with all due respect I am not posting this out of 'nationalistic fervour' and Id appreciate it if you accepted that. But I, honestly and objectively, do think you're being far too dramatic on this post. I think that it's fairly likely that Harbhajan is indeed, very annoying, as are, I'm sure many of the Australian players, which is why Hayden made the comment. He's already been reprimanded and punished for it by the Board, why make it into some sort of nationally defining incident?
And re: Westy's comments about consistency and objectivity, I think he's probably thinking the same thing i am, in that you claim to be a huge cricket fan but your only post in 3 weeks is about some stupid comment Hayden made rather than all the other major developments that have been happening in the actual game. It's your blog and your rules but it is indicative of the fact that you're certainly building Mt. Everest out of a molehill. You claim to represent the voices of the entire Indian nation, it seems, but I hardly believe that a country of 1.1 billion is capable of being this bitter.
Oh and I forgot, regarding the 'reception' the Aussies are going to receive when coming to India. I think the massive sums of money they have commanded during the IPL auction is far more indicative of that than anything else. Your favourite 'monkey', Symonds cost $1.5m and was the second highest priced signing in the entire league. Commentators are saying that Ponting's sponsorship is going to go somewhere near $4m in total. I think Indians are good enough businessmen to not make investments this poor en masse.
The IPL is a marketing wet dream rather than a sporting one, so the Aussies are going to get as much respect and backing as they always have when they start playing for your IPL franchises and you have massive amounts of Indian money being spent on ensuring that.
Lx: dude, thanks for your opinion. I write about what I think are real issues and to me, more than IPL or other stuff, this is a real issue with cricket in general. Colour me conservative but I really believe what this Australian team is doing and a few members from previous teams (Mcgrath, Slater, Lehmann to name a few) have done is inexcusable, ungentlemanly and crass beyond belief. Now that a few people from other teams react similarly you point fingers. I find that rich.
About IPL: the money is not indicative of public opinion. I dont claim to represent 1 billion people: what gave you that silly idea dude? But I do represent a significant section of middle and upper middle class Indian cricket fans ALL of whom without exception (house wives, drivers, professionals, retired folk etc) feel that the current behaviour witnessed is pathetic. If you don't recognise that too bad. However many other Australians do see it for the stain it has become on Australian cricket.
Cricketing ability and performance and money go hand in hand and I agree that Australian players will get a lot of money out of IPL. However dude at the end of the day, its respect which is the most prized possession which is why the likes of Lee and Steve Waugh are a glaring exception to an otherwise crass and boorish team. No one in his right mind can deny that.
Lastly, I dont email you updates from my blog. I write what I feel about and what I see. If you want to comment and read do so. Dont comment about the subject matter.
Hey dude, appreciate the apparent restraint in your reply. Firstly, I'm not so much commenting on the subject matter to influence it. As I said, your blog, your subject matter. What I meant was, that the fact that this is what you chose to write about amidst all this is indicative of the importance you place on it, which I believe to be disproportionate to its actual importance in world cricket. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't post about it, or that you should post on anything else, that's up to you. What I am saying is that, in my opinion, you are blowing this out of proportion in terms of importance.
I definitely agree that the antics of many players of the current Aussie team leave a great deal to be desired in terms of gentlemanly conduct and just plain sporting decency. However, I also think that some of the Indian team are far from innocent. Firstly there are Harbhajans over-zealous wicket celebrations, then theres Ishant Sharma pointing a player to the dressing room (which by the way is not allowed) and then there's the Indian team sending a letter to the match referee (snitching, as I believe we both agreed it to be in our last exchange over Symmo). Now there's no point debating each of these incidents, nor is there any point debating who is more at fault. If anything, I'd probably be inclined to agree with you that the Aussies are the main aggressors, but the Indian team are far from saints.
My main beef (or rather, disagreement?) with your post was the exaggeration, ie. "I'm quite aghast at what this Australian team has reduced the game to, trampling its spirit into the mud". That's a pretty hefty call, nicely worded albeit. I think it's unfair to reduce the Aussie team to equivalence with the Satan of cricket right at this stage. The other beef being with your suggestion that the reception the Aussies will get in India will be "interesting to say the least". I can shyly stab at what you're implying here, ie. it will not be very friendly. While it may not be as friendly and loving as years past, I don't think it's going to be all that different either, realistically speaking. I think the IPL money is indeed indicative of public opinion, these franchises are built by successful and savvy businessmen who understand marketing, and also understand that the 20/20 game and the entire IPL concept is going to live and die by how much the Indian public gets behind it, and that means get behind the players. I don't think they'd shell out that much money if they didn't believe (and these people are not stupid) that the Indian public is going to get right behind these players and I think that is a far more indicative of how India feels about this than some opinion columnists and bloggers getting their knickers in a knot over sledging gone too far. I wholeheartedly believe that the Indian public will, at the end of the day, remember that cricket is about the game and all these negative things that have happened are just minor distractions from the spectacle of the game itself.
Whew that was a hefty comment. I should really stop hijacking your blog and just write on my own. Maybe I'll just copy+paste heh.
Lx: Agree Indian players are no saints anymore. However everyone knows abusing opposition players was championed and largely still continues to be an Aussie pastime.
Secondly, I disagree on how you equate IPL money to player perception. Indian fans are overall largely outraged by this behaviour. I will not say more on this subject at this time...no point flogging a dead horse.
And yes that was a hefty comment! :-)
LX: How in the world is a letter written to the Match Referee about the Australian team's conduct on the fieldand AND published for the world to see, snitching?
You do realise that the Australian team has emerged as the real tattle-tale -what with the several complaints against Harbajan and Sharma. Evidently, they cannot settle matters on the field and have to run to Mummy (read: referre) for every little thing that occurs on the field. Sure they have the right to do so, if they are being belittled on the field. Similarly, the Indian team has the right to ensure that the Match Referee is made aware of what exactly is happening on the field and that is NOT snitching.
The problem is, if this had been a one-off incident, no one would have bothered and everything would've been all hunky dory again. However to not only belittle a team on the field and then extend it to the public over a radio station, is down right dirty. Reprimand? I think Hayden should have been made to apologise to the Indian team, particularly for making it more difficult for two great teams to play a good, clean cricket.
It's not that we see Harbhajan or Sharma as saints who have done no harm to anyone. Harbhajan abused a player and he was punished. Sharma pointed to the pavillion-not allowed in the rule books, and rightly punished. However, this does NOT give the Australian team the license to attack players and that too in public. If the argument is that Hayden is not the "Australian Team", then get real. He is representative of the Australian team.
Everything the Australian team has done on this tour has been below the belt, from blatanly lying on the field to making personal attacks on players.
Why is no one seeing the Indian team's faults (if any) in all of this? The answer is pretty simple: There's no scope to do that, since the Australians are playing dirty (and for the world to see), led by a "captain" unworthy of being called one.
Yep, as I said I don't want to get into a discussion on which team was more at fault. Agreed most of the Aussies have been assholes. My point about it being blown out of proportion still very much stands, however.
Interesting... Abs, things do hit the fan when we berate the Australians, eh? Wonder why they're so touchy?
Couple of things I'd like to add to this ever growing comment thread:
1. On India getting "trounced" and "losing the entire season" etc.: um... we drew the Test series (I think all gentlemen will agree that Sydney doesn't count). Perth anyone? As for the one-day series, India has beaten both Sri Lanka and Australia, and keep in mind India was the only team to have two matches completely rained out. So our cricket is actually good, and the Indian team have a good shot at beating Australia in the finals.
2. Which brings me to my next point: why are the Australian cricketers whining like little girls? Well, it's because they are being challenged on the field. Unused to such uppity behavior from other teams (what, they're actually beating us mate?), Ponting and co. seem to be ready to cheat (appealing on grassed catches) or smear. Speaks volumes, if you ask me.
3. Why Harbhajan? Well, because he represents a new Indian aggressiveness that unnerves the Aussie team. Don't know why it would, since they started the whole "gamesmanship" business to begin with. But apparently, what's good for the goose ain't good for the gander. Also, Bhajji keeps taking wickets. Damn him and his insolence, the obnoxious weed!
4. IPL is a red herring. The money doesn't reflect the popularity, or more importantly, the gentlemanliness of the Aussie players. All it means is that they can bean a ball over the boundary. Nobody ever said they couldn't. I will say this though: if you're an Aussie player, and want a healthy bank account when you're sixty, start playing nice with the Indians. We're no longer a bunch of poor curry-munchers who'll take your abuse. We've got the money bags now. A domestic and international career playing for/in Australia is now just prep for a domestic career in India. Ha!
2. appealing grassed catches is not exclusively australian, its the reason why captains make agreements abt them before matches. And if you want cheating, go examine Dhoni's gloves. And they are being challenged on the field but this is not the first time, India has done well in the last series but they are still the second best cricketing nation by a long shot and no one is betting on them to be a serious challenger to Australian dominance of the sport quite yet.
3. Bhajji may represent 'a new Indian aggressiveness' but that doesn't excuse him for acting the way he does. The question in relation to him is, if the Aussies cut it all out in the next test, would he behave? Doubtful.
4. Firstly, let's not jump our guns. Let's remember that they're chasing the money in India, not any love of the 20/20 game. Most of them reason that it's 6 weeks out of the year and they may as well get paid shitloads for doing not much work. This is not going to affect the playing careers of our best cricketers, you don't see them all resigning in a big long line to go play in the IPL.
Also, the money may not be indicative of their 'gentlemanliness' but as I mentioned in the last post, it is indicative of their popularity - which is derived from their cricketing ability. Yes the main reason why they are being paid this much is because they are good players but, like I said in my previous comment, 20/20 will live and die by domestic support (you dont see aussie TV channels falling all over themselves for IPL coverage rights), thats where the money is going to come from, sponsorship, game attendance and everything else that rests in the hands of the Indian public. It doesn't take a genius to make the connection, they are being paid loads because they are good cricketers and the Indian public is expected to see that as more important than on/off-field remarks made by both teams.
And by the way, this makes me happy. Nothing has hit the fan and I'm not being 'touchy'. I don't feel offended or disagree with your criticisms of the Aussie players. What I do disagree with, as mentioned earlier, is that you guys seem to think this is of momentous importance to the game whereas the IPL salaries, among other things, are far more indicative that the general Indian public is not quite so superficial and actually watches/loves cricket for the sport itself. Just like us Aussies.
@Vijay: everything's all good, it is now an interesting discussion with more people involved. I fully agree that this series has been aflicted with a whole range of childish activities, that's cool. I'll acknowledge that. In saying all that I still believe that a blog labelling itself 'cricket' should be/allow for more engagement and be less antagonistic, labelling this post 'Australia' 'morons' doesn't help build a cross cultural discussion on the merits of the last season. Ironically this has been the root cause of the last two months of strife... childish namecalling from all sides.
Westy: dude the label "australia" was because this is in Australia and "morons" because clearly as you will agree Harbhajan is a moron.
What were you thinking mate? :-)
Lx: Dude by bringing up issues like Dhoni's gloves you are really taking this to a new low. Stop while you can dude. EVen your own pious Gilchrist agrees it was a manufacturing fault and not something Dhoni sat in his hotel room and stitched on. You lose a lot of credibility with such statements.
your compatriot vijay is the one who is 'taking this to a new low' by suggesting that the Australians are cheating and 'appealing grassed catches'. yeah right. and in a close match where everybody else put their heads down and played like professionals, i think your other friend harbhajan is finding some new lows himself, apparently he likes to scratch his armpits in front of an SCG crowd, must be real itchy.
Lx: Kindly refrain from further comment on this post. Thanks.
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