The controversial Aussie cricketer

By Anil - 8 Oct, '02
October 8 2002

The Australian cricket team has just renewed its unsavory reputation as the most unsporting in the game, even as it continues to retain the lofty title of "best in the world".

Australia has barely squeaked by Pakistan in the first Test between the two played in a home series which is treated as a home series for the latter, but had to be played outside their home environment due to the adverse security situation in that country.

Thus, not only was Pakistan deprived of home support and familiar pitch conditions, normally always a big advantage, they were also missing many of their most experienced players. In such an environment, Australia held all the aces, especially as they were playing with their full-strength team and are rated the top side in the world. To then have come so close to losing the match in spite of all these advantages must have come as a rude shock, and they were shown in very poor light as the pressure got to them.

Australian cricketers in this match were at their worst behavior. Sledging, abuse, targetting of batsmen with bullet returns supposedly meant for the wicketkeeper but missing batsmen's heads by a hair, open dissent at marginal umpire decisions which went against them but silence about those that wrongly favored them, complaints when they got a bit of their own medicine.. all this and more were on display as the worst possible ambassadors of their country, and of the game of cricket, were cornered in a match they expected to win by a huge margin.

This is not the first time that Aussies have proven unpopular while touring in recent times. In South Africa, they have been subjected to surprisingly shoddy treatment, including captain Steve Waugh being spat upon by spectators, and other team members splashed with beer from the stands. In New Zealand, Shane Warne's abusive behavior towards some young spectators was received with dismay. In England, Aussie cricketers have often been subjected to derisive booing from the stadiums, but last year even had beer cans thrown at them. In India, a country with genial cricket followers known to be especially friendly to touring teams, antics by a disgruntled Slater and McGrath have earned them a bad reputation. In Sri Lanka, Aussie cricketers are greatly disliked by cricket fans and Shane Warne often appears to be public enemy number 1 when called upon to bowl. Ponting, the ODI captain, is known for his penchant for starting bar room brawls in more than one country.

The personal abuse that this team uses regularly on field, as well as the more openly visible aggressive and physically threatening tactics, promise to turn cricket into a much more violent sport than it has been in the past. But mystifyingly, Aussie cricketers have regularly managed to avoid the severe penalties from umpires and referees that these actions deserve, even when they target officials rather than just the opposing team. West Indian veteran umpire Steve Bucknor, who has been on the receiving end of intimidation from pace bowler Glen McGrath on numerous occasions, now often appears to be cowed and avoiding McGrath's eyes when an over-aggressive appeal is under way, rather than censuring him, after he has turned down the appeal. From an umpire who boasts of being able to maintain discipline on the field because of his experience with umpiring soccer games, this is strange indeed. However other umpires have felt the heat as well.

Sledging may not always serve the Australians well. In the Test just concluded, Peter Hayden (who, incidentally, looks least likely to use vicious sledging but is now known as one of their worst) taunted Akhtar constantly, only to find that his tactics had gone seriously awry by motivating Akhtar to produce his fiery best and put the the Test in the balance by dismissing Australia for a record low total in the second innings.

During this Test, some of the actions of the Aussie cricketers were inexcusable. When Warne fired a return back at the keeper, with the very real intention of almost taking batsman Nazir's head off, the latter attempted to defend himself by putting his bat in the way of the angry throw at him only to face wicketkeeper Gilchrist's ire, who had the cheek to put on an act of being furious with the batsman for daring to stop the throw. Shortly thereafter, bowler Lee felled Nazir with a bouncer aimed plainly at hurting him, even though the laws prevent bowling intended solely to harm the batsman (but Lee is known to do this numerous times even to tailenders without copping any penalties). The injured batsman was lying on the ground, but indecent Lee reportedly screamed at him "Get up!" before walking right back to the top of his runup, apparently unconcerned about what he may have done to him, impatient to start his next delivery even as the traumatized batsman was being attended to by a doctor. However, after Lee was struck on the leg by an overpitched ball from Akhtar, the Aussie cricketers and media cried foul and claimed that it was a "beamer" even though it is well known in cricket that this term is used only for a ball aimed at a batsman's face. All this is villainy of the highest order in what is supposed to be a gentleman's game.

In fact, cricketers such as now-retired Sri Lankan batsman Roshan Mahanama, and black South African player Justin Ontong have gone public with accusations of scandalous discriminatory remarks made to them by the Aussie close-in fielders. It seems that these players will stop at nothing to put down opposition on the field, and the heavily Aussie dominated ICC has made no attempt to rein them in. The "mental disintegration" tactics that Steve Waugh has famously boasted of means that they will not think twice before taunting an opposition player with facts dug up on his personal life, such as family problems, divorce issues, or an ill relative - all of which are considered fair game to attack the opposition with. These tactics violate all norms of decency and must be stopped. To add insult to injury, when confronted in public by the rare accusation which bring out the nature of these comments, the Aussie cricketers will often play innocent or worse still, proceed to slam anyone who brings it up, hypocritically claiming that "what's on the field should stay on the field". Cricketer Graeme Smith of South Africa had it right when he said that the public had a right to know the precise nature of the Aussie tactics on-field.

Most Australian media, known for astonishing twisting of facts while reporting on a match, are another reason why Australian cricket has earned a bad rap. Their journalists appear to consider themselves an extension of the team, and will go out of their way to "sledge" opposition cricketers in their columns with devious and misleading comments. Articles in Australian media are often unapologetically parochial. During the 2000 Olympics, newspapers in the US labelled the Australian media as "highly combative" and "aggressive".

Even when not playing, Aussie cricketers will often tend to rub people the wrong way with indiscriminate public comments. Waugh's hypocritical comments after Sachin Tendulkar was unfairly penalized by rogue referee Deness rubbed salt into the wound. Waugh, who makes a large amount of money off personal endorsements from Indian company MRF, tried to make amends thereafter by appearing to back off, especially after an annoyed Indian captain Ganguly told him to "mind his own business".

From reports about the manner of play in junior cricketing circles within Australia, it appears that the situation will get worse before it can get better. It is important for cricket officials not to take these tactics lying down, or to turn a blind eye towards them until it's too late, as they did towards evidence of match fixing. It is as important for Australia, as for cricket, to stop these tactics NOW. Even if it means penalizing the Aussie cricketers early and often, and in as many matches as possible. The ICC needs to address this very real menace as much as the phantom menace of "performance drugs" in cricket. Unless it is acknowledged by officials as it is by cricketing fans worldwide just how bad for cricket this is, it may kill the game even as it is starting to make far more money than it ever has in the past. Certainly, if you ask the fans in India (where most of the money in cricket originates), they will say that this brand of sordid and unsporting behavior is damaging to the game and must be discouraged at all costs.

The Age, Australia: Team rich with bat and ball, poor in spirit