What's the Aussie fans / media take on all this?

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Andrew]

India to win in Perth...

Andrew please read this Ponting was OUT on 17 caught behind in the 1st innings, not given by Bucknor. He went on to mke 50+ and was wrongfully given Symonds was out 5 times in his unbeaten knock of 162 anyways read the link I posted It has video evidence. You will need it.

Mmm... I respect how much time and effort shwetabh put into that. Thanks for the link; I will forward it to a bunch of Aussie fans. I had missed Ponting on 17 (?) but had concerns about the other questionable decisions. The Symond's stumping I thought was clearly out, I am still not sure about Michael Clarke's catch. What a damn fiasco. Evidently the game of test match cricket needs some 'product innovation' that extends further than just day-night test matches (an idea mooted out here a few weeks back by the ACB). What I hope happens now is a classic gritty test match in Perth that India win with Tendulkar, the most elegant modern era batsman getting centuries in both inning's and halting a record 17 consecutive match winning streak. Surely would be good for the game. And then, in years to come, Australia forgets about England and the Ashes and looks forward to India and the Border-Gavaskil trophy.

[Andrew]

Australia need a Kumble or a Fleming as Captain.

Andrew, its true that Indians could have still saved the game after all the howlers. But should we have been in that predicament in the first place ? No one denies the gulf in skill levels between the two teams. Australia is streets ahead of any other cricket team. Which is precisely why, umpiring howlers cannot and will not even out in games involving Australia. Opponents are not as skilled as the Aussies in taking advantage of umpiring mistakes. Imagine a Aus-BD contest. Can a reprieve to Haydos equate to Taibu's ? Before you dismiss that kinda argument, remember that the game is not about who takes advantage of external factors better, but rather who does well within the boundaries of fair play.

Dear Bumper, great comment. For your interest; In Australia we actually don't respect people who win with arrogance or disrespect to the opposition (hard as that may seem). The deep rooted cultural belief is to love a humble champion, or champion team. Then something changed. A number of years back the Australian cricket team stopped being a humble, courteous, respectful team and became disrespectful and arrogant. Kind of brash American? I put it down to Steve Waugh. I thought the Australian cricket team was becoming a bunch of... ******s (excuse the french). It shone out in the way we treated New Zealand in particular. I had hoped that Adam Gilchrist would become the Australian Captain not Ponting. Ponting is too much like Waugh. Too many times I have been disgusted with Ponting's post match interviews and speeches. He almost forgets to thank and congratulate the opposition teams. I noticed the effort Anil Kumble took to find and shake hands with every Australian player. The two best captains are Kumble and New Zealand's Steven Fleming. Such gentlemen. Such good sports. Such role models. The Australian cricket team needs a leader like these men.

[kabira]

can you make Brett Lee captain?? He seems nice bloke and plus we can lure him to bollywood. He can help us win games against you guys..:D

[gloryof83]

thank you for not flaming me, and at least keeping it civil. Varun, thats what this site is, one big massive generalisation......i haven't seen one comment not flaming the australian side or australia in general.......a few people here are so over the top it's sickening

Mate you visit some of the Australian sites, its the same but targeted towards India http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/forumdisplay.php?f=90 I have been waging a lone vain battle for much of today.

[Chandan]

Australian fans back their own player to hilt, but they also appreciate good cricket played by the opposition and condemn the unfair umpiring even if goes in Australia's favour. They like good cricket, that is.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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[annoyed_aussie]

What's the Aussie fans / media take on all this? I found this site in order to put a point of view that many of you may no doubt be surprised with. I have been totally disgusted with the behaviour and antics of the Australian cricket team during the Sydney test. I have been posting my thoughts on an forum in Australia but dont seem to have many sympathisers. However there are quite a number of letters and talk back callers registering their annoyance at what has been going by Australians about the Australian team. Believe it or not I actually barrack against Australia in most of the games they have play in the recent past. The only exception would have been the Ashes tour in England. The over appealing when they blatantly know someone is NOT OUT, the not walking when they know they are out, the whole aggressive manner is extremely unbecoming. I am not a disloyal Australian. All I want is a tight contest to be won fair and square. I have followed cricket all my life and attended many a Boxing Day test in my youth and loved the Australian team then but I feel very differently about this now.

[arkay]

Ugly Australians: Mike Coward Mike Coward | January 08, 2008 INDIAN cricket captain Anil Kumble's denunciation of the way Australia plays cricket will be widely supported throughout the international cricket community. Cricket The Australian cricket team has been accused of boorish behaviour. Picture: Phil Hillyard By so publicly questioning the manner in which the Australian cricket team plays he is expressing a view held by many people in this country and many more beyond the Indian diaspora. A calm, dignified man who acceded to the leadership just seven weeks ago, Kumble was distraught after India's loss to Australia in the second Test match which ended at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. It was not, however, the 122-run defeat that prompted him to conclude a tumultuous press conference by saying: "Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game." For someone renowned for his thoughtful and measured approach to matters on and off the field, his statement was a damning condemnation of the operational methods of the most powerful and successful cricket team in the world. The words he chose to vent his spleen were similar to those used by Australian captain Bill Woodfull at the height of the Bodyline crisis in Adelaide 75 years ago to the month, words which still resonate today and are often quoted. When joint manager of the England team Pelham "Plum" Warner entered the Australian room to inquire after the health of Woodfull, who had been struck over the heart by a ball from Harold Larwood, Woodfull said: "I don't want to see you, Mr Warner. There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket and the other is not." As he was acting within the laws of the game as they stood at that time, England captain Douglas Jardine was prepared to flout convention and play outside the spirit of the game to subdue his nemesis Don Bradman and regain the Ashes for England. While there was no physical intimidation of batsmen as was the case in 1932-33, Kumble has asserted that Australia's 42nd captain Ricky Ponting and his charges played outside the spirit of the game by paying scant regard to traditional values of behaviour and honesty in the once rarefied atmosphere of the Test match arena. With the full support of the team management, his employer, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and, unquestionably, a partisan and ropeable Indian media, Kumble has loudly questioned the ethics of the Australian team. The match was punctuated by moments of high drama and controversy and with every passing session the tension intensified until the inevitable explosions late Sunday afternoon. Aside from the apparent racial vilification of Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds by the combative Indian slow bowler Harbhajan Singh, there was a succession of incidents which caused players of both teams to question the honesty and integrity of their fellow professionals. Doubts were expressed about catches claimed and the morality of walking, even when not given out by the umpire, was vigorously debated, especially after Symonds thoughtlessly admitted publicly that he should have been out at 30 on his way to an undefeated 162 in Australia's first innings. While there were many contentious decisions, indisputably this was the one which irrevocably changed the tenor and mood of the match. And Symonds' candour inflamed the situation. That proceedings ran out of control is an indictment of the umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson. As in all sports, chaos ensues if the competitors have no confidence in the judgments of the officials in charge. Players are brought up to accept umpires make mistakes but not as many as was the case here. The saving grace was the fact Bucknor is Jamaican, Benson is English and the match referee, Mike Procter, South African. As poorly as they umpired, at least their neutrality could be celebrated. Once upon a time players were also reared to be good losers and gracious winners, but it has become more apparent in recent years that the attitude and behaviour of Australian players worsens the moment their superiority is seriously challenged. This was the case again when India's batsmen played beautifully to overhaul Australia's formidable first innings total of 463 and so lead by 69 runs. Ponting and his charges may not like it, but this is a commonly held view of many people in this country and beyond. While they consider themselves fair if hardnosed and aggressive professionals, a growing number of observers see them as exceptional cricketers given to boorish, arrogant and ungracious behaviour. Ponting's team is not the first required to defend its reputation and reject the tag of ugly Australians. Indeed, to the despair of the game's governors in this country, many Australian teams have been so branded over the past 40 years. Certainly, Australian teams have long been renowned as the game's worst sledgers, a technique or tactic now covered by the euphemism mental disintegration. Be it spoken or unspoken, historically each country draws a clearly defined line between what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. The Indians to a man are convinced the Australians have breached the acceptable standard and they want their protests heard. As with sledging and walking, it is always a matter of degrees. What is acceptable to one is unacceptable to another. A sad consequence of the contemporary game with its often crass commercial imperatives is the fact players no longer respect each other as was once the case. Traditional values and virtues have been devalued and trust for trust's sake is something which belongs to the dim dark past of timeless Tests. It will not only be ethicists who analyse and vigorously argue the events of the past few days. Historians and social anthropologists will also have a field day, for this debate extends well beyond the realm of sport. Whether or not it has something to do with geographical isolation, sporting achievement means a great deal to Australia. Cricket, the one true national sport, has helped forge the country's international identity. The first Australian cricket team won against England 24 years before Federation and Ponting and his men wear a baggy green cap bearing the pre-Federation coat of arms. This is a very rich history. From a very young age Australian cricketers are developed in an intensely competitive environment. It is the Australian way, whether playing on cement or coir matting in the suburbs or in the bush or on school fields the length and breadth of the country. This is the way it is. By nature, the Australian cricket character is hardnosed, even ruthless, and one who will not take a backward step however short the bowling. Indeed, he is more likely to discard his helmet to make a point. Bravado perhaps, but it is in the make-up. This combativeness is inculcated from a very young age and the best are exposed to a tough playing environment early in life. Ponting, like many of his predecessors, was playing with men in early adolescence. He has never taken a backward step. Never will. While players and officials of other countries are at times quick to criticise the Australian cricket culture they are, at the same time, busily trying to recruit Australian coaches. They make light of this hypocrisy because Australia has set the benchmark at the start of the 21st century and must be emulated for success. John Dyson is coach of the West Indies, Trevor Bayliss (Sri Lanka), Jamie Siddons (Bangladesh), Geoff Lawson (Pakistan) and until recently Greg Chappell was in charge of India. That Kumble, his team and the Indian diaspora feel so affronted will deeply concern Cricket Australia and its chiefs. India is the modern powerbroker of this ancient, imperial game which has outlived the British Empire and wields great power at the international table while accounting for more than 70 per cent of the game's total revenue. In recent years Indo-Australian cricket has become much more competitive and matches have become more frequent. Last week the venues for four Tests in India in October were announced. That the fall-out from this ugly Test match could carry over into the tour of India later this year will cause considerable concern. There is no doubt the dramas that unfolded in Sydney had their genesis late last year when the Australians toured India for a series of limited-over matches and Symonds was heckled by crowds in a number of cities. While there is no doubt the Indians were hard done by, Kumble and his men need to be reminded that the Australians, too, suffered because of the poor umpiring. It is foolhardy for them to suggest they are being persecuted. Indian cricket has an uneasy history with Bucknor, but his appointment was made from Dubai, not from Melbourne. Furthermore, for all their distress, Kumble and his masters must keep the issue in perspective. Certainly their sensibilities have been offended, which is most regrettable, but they must guard against using the disappointment to mask another failure in the middle. It may very well be that Australia plays the game too hard in the eyes of some, but equally, in the eyes of others, India does not play it hard enough. As always, in such disputes, sport can never be separated from the wider culture of the countries involved. And therein lies the rub as Kumble and Ponting prepare to draw new lines of engagement for the scheduled third and fourth Test matches later this month. Mike Coward is a cricket commentator with The Australian.

[Rajesh Sethi]

How can we blame Aussies for bad umpiring? Is in not the umpires who are at fault?

[Rajesh Sethi]

I see poor display by Australian players (Michael Clarke standing his ground when hit straightforward slip catch to Dravid, Symonds not walking when out in first innings, Ponting not knowing rules when he claimed grassed catch off Dhoni, Ponting dissent when wrongly our lbw in 1st innings), Indian players (Bhajji's calling negro Symonds monkey in Mumbai and Sydney tests, Sourav standing his ground for even when umpire Benson said he was out caught by Clarke, Yuvraj doing same in previous test, Dravid visibly shaking head when unfairly given out in 2nd innings), both umpires for numerous bad decisions and lack of control over verbal exchanges between players and shows of dissent by players from both teams. Sooner we get back to playing cricket rather than verbal rows the better. I think we need 2 new umpires for remainder of series who can adjudicate better than these two have done.