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Unpleasant cricket

The Sydney Test match between India and Australia will be remembered for the worst umpiring in recent cricket history. If it was Symonds who benefited on the first day, it was Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who bore the brunt on the final day of the agonising match.

Ricky Ponting’s men went a bit too far in their quest to equal Steve Waugh’s record of 16 successive Test victories. Rubbing salt to the Indian wounds was the three-test ban imposed on Harbhajan Singh (who will play pending decision on BCCI appeal). It was good to see Team India and the BCCI stand united against the ICC’s decision.

S. Rohit,

Coimbatore

The Sydney Test proved yet again that cricket is no longer a gentleman’s game. The undue importance given to the result exerts tremendous pressure on everyone. Umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson buckled under pressure, as was evident from their umpteen errors.

The on-field behaviour of Australian players is nothing new. Right from the days of Dennis Lillee, on-field provocation has been part of their game. Ponting & Co. must realise that besides winning a game, it is important to win the hearts of cricket lovers. That they have not done so is evident.

A.U.S. Lal,

Bhubaneswar

“Success without honour is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.” These words of Joe Paterno aptly describe the Aussies’ victory.

Ponting is one of the greatest captains in both forms of cricket but his irresistible hunger for win may dethrone him from his position.

Arun Dash,

Hyderabad

Ponting clearly seems to have mistaken the meaning of aggression. It was not India, but cricket and the spirit of the game, which lost in Sydney.

Rejoy Krishnan,

Bangalore

Many teams have suffered due to poor umpiring silently over the years, but the Sydney Test was perhaps the worst. The Australian team’s eagerness to win the Test to equal its record of 16 consecutive wins was palpable.

The spirit of the game and respect for the Australians were lost. And the Indian players gained in stature for their dignified behaviour on the field.

V. Rajagopal,

Tirupati

Jacob Chakko (Letters, Jan. 8) is probably right in saying that we are sometimes badly served by sections of the media, which create a tremendous hype over trivial incidents.

But as far as the reactions to the on-field and off-field fallout of the Sydney Test are concerned, I feel they were warranted. With the umpires doing the maximum damage, the punishment to Harbhajan based on what the Australian players said smacked of bias. The reactions were not over India losing. They were over cricket.

V. Radhakrishnan,

Bangalore

As a mature cricketing country, we must realise that umpiring errors are fairly common, though this time round it was one too many. We should not mistake incompetence for motives.

Let us honestly admit that our three tail-enders got out in five balls instead of staying on which would have given us an honourable draw. As for the Harbhajan issue, the process of appeal is on and if it is proved that it is one man’s word against the other, the decision should be in his favour.

But it is necessary for our players to know the cultural nuances of the use of the language, which is what diplomats and others on foreign assignments are taught by all countries.

P.V. Maiya,

Bangalore

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