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The Pavilion.com's team of cricket writers responds to mail from rediff.com's readers.
Name:The Modahalas family
Australian Players: A Disgrace to a gentleman's game
While the Australian team may be good to win 16 tests in a row, the team
comes at the bottom in terms of sportsmanship and civilized behavior.
The whole bunch of players including the captain have a disgusting and
un sportsmanship attitude. The Michael Slater incident proved how
uncivilized these bunch of players are and shows how they all do not
have any moral standards at all. In the first innings, when Slater was
clearly out and he stood his ground and not walk, what moral rights does
he have to argue with the on field umpire and worse use filthy language in
arguing with Rahul Dravid. The moron McGrath comes from nowhere to have
a word as well. And the captain does not do anything about it.
Winning is one thing, but being bad sport is totally disgusting. I do
sincerely hope these bunch of disgusting players are thought a lesson
and for the spirit of the game I do hope no country plays until you go
back to basics of civilized behavior. Otherwise it won't be too long
before some one like Miandad will break the head of one of these guys.
This is totally a disgusting behavior from players representing a
country from which the great "Don", both as a player and as a human
being, hailed from.
Hope the Australian players get to read this mail.
Sam:The ICC has just released statistics about incidents requiring
action by match referees. Pakistan tops the list at 28, India is
second at 19 and Australia third at 18. As far as individual
offenders go, Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan and Saurav Ganguly and
Nayan Mongia of India are top with four incidents apiece, followed
by Shane Warne, Merv Hughes (both Australia), Aamer Sohail
(Pakistan) and Peter Kirsten (South Africa) at three each.
That should answer your query.
Name:TSingh, Devender
Australian Players: A Disgrace to a gentleman's game
When I see Salter behave like this way in bombay test.. I dont get angry
over him coz I have no respect for such stupid people but what happens is I lost half my respect for Steve waugh and I get angry on Dravid and Umpire Venkat. How these two can take such a crap on Indian soil. I can understand Venkat trying to plese his ICC bosses(who happens to be Aussie) but Dravid. If I were to choose(Whichcan never happen in 7 lives) there is no place for such a defensive idiot like Dravid and also over aggresive Suarav Ganguly who can only talk n do nothing
Sam:
Have a look at a story we carried on Sunday which is at
This should things in a clearer perspective.
Name: Rajiv & Renuka Ramanujam
God, but are these #@%$!'s good, or what.But hang on aussies,yr battting
is still not gelling,and at 99 for 5,it could have gone the other way.
Steve Waugh has had my unqualified admiration for years..Please
Steve,when you eventually hang up yr boots,would you consider teaching
the Indians a thing or two about unrelenting resolve?
Hats off ,Oz.Unfortunately,we have only one champion.You have twenty or
more...
It is true.There is no such thing as a bad australian team.
You will get your reality check at some point.Meanwhile,take all the
bows.You are an incredible team.
The Don would be smiling.
Sam:
I think that the reality check will come at the end of this year when
South Africa comes to Australia. That would be a match-up
between the two top sides in world cricket and the winner can
rightly claim to be number one.
Name:Sriram Krishnamurthy
Congrats to the aussies for pulling off a fantastic victory. it is interesting
to see that Steve Waugh has gone on record to say that things are going to
get only tougher for India. Why cant the aussies show some more dignity and
savour this victory? is it essential to turn this series into a battle of words as
well? is it so important to add insult to injury and is it part of the aussie
strategy to make sure that they beat the indians?
Sam:
Nothing wrong in Waugh saying that. I think it is time to realise
that a major part of the game is played in the mind. Once that is
acknowledged, then India may start faring a bit better in the middle.
Go back to the time when Clive Lloyd led the West Indies and you
will see similar comments - he had most of his opponents beaten
before the game even began.
Name:Shashi
Australian Players: A Disgrace to a gentleman's game
HI.
AS a genuine cricket fan , though my heart wishes it were india on the winners podium , i am all praise for the superlative performance of the aussies.
But one incident sticks out sorely. The Slater one. Slater's outburst was not only totally unjustified as television replays showed the ball came off the turf. It was also one that deserved by way of penalty something more than a paltry "warning".
I cant help but wonder if a player from the subcontinent would have been let off so lightly.
Also Slater's fury at Dravid is laughable considering the indian is famed for walking in his debut match at Lords -when he was just four runs short of a century.
The Aussies are a splendid team. Only wish they would polish their on field behaviour
Sam:
Have a look at a story we carried on Sunday which is at
This should put things in a clearer perspective.
Name: Anil Sarsam
Hi,
Slater getting just a WARNING. This is so UNFAIR. He should have been given ATLEAST a match suspension.
It is UNFAIR and BIASED.
Bye,
Sam:
Have a look at a story we carried on Sunday which is at
This should put things in a clearer perspective.
Name:Shiva Varanasi
Hello!
This whole affair of just a Warning for arguing with the Umpire smacks of
RACISM. He should have been banned for at least a game.
Mr. Cammie Smith is a White Ass Licking Big Boy. What else can you expect
from him.
Sam:
Have a look at a story we carried on Sunday which is at
This should put things in a clearer perspective.
To:C Lakshminarayan
Hi Steve and the team,
I wish you screw the living daylight out of Saurav's team. Next time
please think twice before accepting an invitation to come over to the
sub-continent. As you can see, it is a pure waste of your time and
energy.
All the best to you and I hope you keep up the winning spree and wind it
up 3-0.
Best Regards,
Sam:
Now this is an unusual message, for sure!!!
Before the series began, I was of the opinion that India would be
beaten but only by a 1-0 margin. I may still be proved right but I
don't fancy my chances.
Name:Vivek Nurani Viswanathan
Hello,
It was indeed a pathetic sight to see Michael "Short Fuse" Slater giving
Rahul Dravid a lesson on "Walking". But then, one wonders why he didn't
walk? Or for that matter the Langers and Pontings. One wonders why a
particular Venkatesh Prasad is slapped a suspension for exulting, while
Mr McGrath did pretty much the same thing upon snaring Sachin Tendulkar
in the first innings of the recently concluded Mumbai Test? Match referees
continue to bamboozle mere mortals, like yours truly, ( like a Warnie
wrong 'un to Ajit Agarkar!! ) with their amazing inconsistency when comes
to the interpretation of the Code of conduct ( by the way, is there one ? )
It is very depressing to see people being fined for appealing too loudly
on the one hand, and people being "warned" for foul-mouthing on the other.
Tell me, sir, was Slats angered because he thought the Home Umpires usually
take the side of the home team when it came to handing out decisions
? I guess so, he must be so used such thingies Down Under??!!
I hope, Srinivas Venkatraghavan, the straightforward person that he is,
escalates this issue. Alas, it will all be in vain.
Congrats to the Invincible Aussies on their Sweet 16 !!
Sam:
What many people do not know is that Slater is going through a
crisis in his personal life. While that is not an excuse, it could well
be a contributory factor and is possibly the reason why his captain
and teammates did not make too much of an issue about it.
Name:Svarghese
Dear Sir,
The Australian team is a great cricketing team. But the same can not be said
about their on field behavior. I refer to the Slater incidence. I was in
Australia from December 2000 to February 2001 & had opportunity to
watch most of the matches between Australia/WI/Zimbabwe, most on TV & some,
live. If my memory serves me right, there were 4 or 5 occasions when catches
similar to the one claimed by Slater, were claimed by fielding side &
negated by the 3rd. umpire every time. The beneficiary in all these cases
were the Aussie players. The fielders, every time, just shrugged & got on
with the game, even though in at least two cases, catches were found to be
fair when viewed from different angle shots.
Slater's antics were obnoxious in their own rights. Viewed against the
background of this summer in Australia, it seems that the Australian team
wants to have it both ways. The most disappointing factor was the absolute
passive role played by Steve Waugh. He gave the impression that he did not
disapprove. This from a man who is held in very high respect in India & who
has been pontificating on ethics lately! He has lost all of my enormous
respect for him.
The West Indies team of the 80's did not need all this to win their matches.
So, let us not any more nonsense about this Australian team being the
greatest team ever.
Sam:
Have a look at
a story we carried on Sunday
This should put things in a clearer perspective.
Regarding the West Indies teams of the 1980s, do you recall the time when Michael Holding kicked the stumps out of the ground after being refused an appeal? Or the time Colin Croft shoulder- charged the umpire when an appeal was negatived? Or the time when Roberts, Holding and Co peppered the English tailenders with short stuff in the early 1980s in fading light?
This Australian team is the best in the world at the moment. It is not the best of all time.
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