National honor, my foot!

[adzamundo]

Chandan, I agree 100% about the use of technology to prevent this from happening in the future. But to abandon the tour is a disgrace. Many of us here wait for India to come out as they are the best team to watch in world cricket when they are on song. If they were to abandon the tour I feel they should face a permanent boycott. A team cant be allowed to set a precedent which says "unless we always are given the benefit of the doubt by the umpires we wont play." I am interested to see how a victory for India in the 3rd test will impact the opinion of many supporters. I can appreciate, and feel that much of the current furore is based on emotion and anger, but in the long run India vs Australia is a rivalry that must maintain its proud history. Fair umpiring, good sportsmanship are both part of this, but I would rather see that than two mediocre teams playing with perfect umpiring and no passion or hunger for victory. How do you think india will respond if they play in the 3rd test? I dont know whether to have a flutter on them again or just cut my losses, its a big ask on that track, although if they bat first i expect 450+

[Chandan]

Don't expect anything from Indian team. Their moral has been crushed at Sydney by the ICC officials. I think they'd have lost their focus and motivation by now. So, if they play (which they'll do forced by BCCI), I expect them to lose easily. And I won't complain. If I've no enthusiasm left to even watch the series, I can't expect the players to have it to compete, now.

[Rajan]

The true measure of a sportsman is how he behaves in defeat. India are just an average team with a couple of good players and 2 champions. Without their home cooked pitches they have struggled to compete with one of the weakest Australian teams in the last 15 years. Worry about occupying the crease and bowling some decent pace before you all get too carried away. Like screaming about your pimples whilst your body has cancer.

Warne had never been a threat for Indian batsmen. McGrath is more than adequately replaced by Stuart Clark. What do u mean by the weakest Australian team in 15 years? If it gives you a thril by belittling this indian team, then go ahead, enjoy!but dont try to spread half truths! Thanks.

[adzamundo]

Stuart Clark is not even a third of the bowler McGrath was, look at his results. Fair point on Warne vs India. This is a grossly underdeveloped Australian team. Jaques, Clarke, Johnson & Hogg comprise about 35% of the team, they are poor to average international cricketers by Australian standards. Symonds, Hussey & Clarke are barely established as top line test players this is imo the weakest Australian team in 15 years. And I have no hesitation belittling a team which is prepared to walk out on the Australian public at the drop of a dime. We have no say in what the ICC, the umpires or even our own team does! We just want to see the Indian team play cricket, many people here look forward to watching India more that any other country and to watch them throw a childish tantrum like this is disgusting. Except for a couple of solid partnerships market by 2 fantastic centuries India have rarely been in control at any stage during the 2 tests. Forgetting the umpiring fiasco, the Indian team have more or less been trying to keep their heads above water more than setting the pace in this series, against an ordinary team by Australian standards (despite the so called "record"). If India were dominant for more than a few brief flashes in this series I could understand the outrage, But the truth is they have been dangling by a thread all series and the Sydney fiasco broke them. I hope they rebound in Perth and we can all get on with seeing some decent cricket.

[Rajesh Sethi]

There was plenty of decent cricket by both sides in Sydney. The problems began with the poor umpiring (which affected players on both sides but affected India by far the worse, although I think due to Bucknor's and Benson's incompetence rather than supposed bias in favour of Australia as some seem to suggest), then went out of control due to bad attitude and lack of respect by players on both sides particularly in second half of match and finally blew up completely because of questionable refereeing. If player attitudes and behaviour can be sorted out by amicable discussions between AK and Mr Ponting, and umpiring and refereeing are improved by changes brought by ICC today, then we can enjoy the cricket in the next 2 tests without all this childish bitterness which brings discredit to players on both sides and to the game of cricket.

[adzamundo]

Agreed.......well said.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

hey adzomundo... yo seem to be more interested in watching a good game of cricket than anything else.. for us indians... cricket is not just a sport... i knw hw much u aussies wud have hurt ur pride, wen u cud not even mke the finas of the T20 championship, more so cos yo were kicked out of the tournament by india... and not to forget da way ur punter was showing faces at duncan fletcher wen he used subsititutes frm local counties repeatedly during the famous 2005 ashes... wen inzi stood his ground to protect the image of his country even at the cost of forfeiting da match, the whole world gve him a standing ovation. it was an auusie who played spoil sport and did not allow the match to continue.. if yo aussies are talking abt sportsmanship... the sport is higher than the country's pride or personal egos, then why did hair do tat.. am happi he did tat, cos of whch we dnt hve to see him anymore in international cricket. tat was a great thing to happen to cricket.. it eradicated a dangerous virus that has been causing more ill to the game of cricket... nw.. the indian team is on one such mission to challenge the aussie attitude of 'win at any cost' even if it means bowling under arm in the final ball of the match, accusing a champion bowler (to whom ur hyped up captain is a bunny) a racist, half way down the match... how many times have we seen ricky and othr aussie captains shrugging off their boy's sledging as just a bit of banter... then why did he goto the match refree this time.. he could have jst left it right? if yo are thinking' we are being childish by calling off the tour, then wats ur take on ponting's 'infantish' behavious by going to the refree and saying "papa.. that guy is calling us monkey"... dont u guys pride in calling urself kangaroos.. then why is so much fuss if they call u monkey? wat else can we call him dude? u expect uus to call symonds "tom cruise' or wat??? dont be kidding mate...

[Rajesh Sethi]

Dinakkar. Hair was suspected of racism due to ball tampering allegations against Pakistan and calling Murali for no-balling. That is why he was demoted. Calling a man of West Indian background a monkey (ie a sub-human primate) is also racism. I am hoping that Bhajji did not say it, rather than trying to defend racism, which is a whole different matter from sledging (which I don't like either). Mike Procter is very sensitive to racism, as he is a South African, which is probably why he treated it so harshly. The issue is not whether calling a negro a monkey is racist - it is. The question is whether he said it. SRT is adamant he didn't hear him say it.

[adzamundo]

Dinakkar, The first rule of any sport is to respect the umpires decision. Without rules and umpires to enforce them you have no sport. Therefor the 1st step towards sportsmanship is respecting the umpires decision. To say national pride or anything else is above the laws of the game is to bring the game into disrepute. It is akin to seeing oneself or team as above the laws which are the very fabric of the game i.e to believe you are some sort of god or royal figure that doesn't need to follow rules and authority. As far as the sledging comments etc. its all relative to mental toughness, if you are not professional enough to focus on the job at hand in spite of some nasty words then maybe you should just walk away. I guess that is were India is at now. I agree with you there was no need to involve the match referee in the monkey affair. That really is just a bit of banter, racist or otherwise. T20 is a joke, whats next indoor cricket? 3 overs a side? Test Match cricket is above all forms of the game. I will say this though, the indian fans on this forum have a far greater understanding and appreciation of the game than the aussie forum and I have enjoyed the discussion on here. Cheers And if you think Pakistani sides have never engaged in ball tampering then you are most naive.

[adzamundo]

And as for the "win at all costs" comment, it is the job of the professional sportsman to win at all costs. It is the job of those who enforce the laws of the game to keep them within those laws or reprimand them when the breach any laws. If your players don't have a win at all costs attitude I would question their commitment. They are sportsman, paid to be the best. Not paid for their opinions or beliefs. Leave that to the politicians let the cricketers play cricket.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

So "Adza".. your win at all costs include bowling underarm? it was well within the rules at that time... but do yo think that was within the spirit of the game? If your ponting and symo cant tolerate bajji's comments, then why on earth they initiated the intercation in the first place? Symo claims tat bajji hit lee's back.. I dint see any video footage of tat.. even if he did... why dint lee complain abt it? Why does symo instigate bajji to say sumthing like this, which has resulted in cricketing world coming to a stand still... if yo think what symo did was just a bit of banter, then why would he complain to his caaptain and why did he take it to the match refree... i have heard numerous sledging examples and yo wont believe, 95% of those involve aussies. So, doesn't symo have the mental toughness to handle it when it was directed at him.. if he cant, then why is he playing for australia? let him play club cricket... dont ever call T20 a joke and undermine our victory.. yo fellas dint have the balls to even beat zimbabwe... yo lost it cos yo dint take it seriously... yo wanted to play with sleeveles shirts and shorts.. i can imagine da amt of respect yo give to the sport.. what next.. yo guys wanna play ur summer sport in bikini or wat? may be the shameless females in ur country may come out in that fashion to a cricket ground in the name of getting sun tanned while watching a good game of cricket.. referring to "The first rule of any sport is to respect the umpires decision. Without rules and umpires to enforce them you have no sport." - who on earth is ricky ponting to rule Ganguly out? If mark benson decided to go with the captain's word, and if Dhoni's catch that ponting took was actually off da bat, do yo mean to say, he would have been declared out, cos Ponting claimed so? then what are the umpires there for... this reminds me of our gully cricket, where one guy from the batting team will stand as umpire. we used to nominate the toughest nut who never gave anyone out unless it is bowled ;)

[The Outsider]

I have absolutely nothing with the win at all cost philosophy, but please don't put on a garb of hypocrisy after doing so.

[Mr. Wicket]

Yup. I have the utmost respect for Douglas Jardine. He was an assh*le, he pushed every rule and 'spirit' of the game to the limit at points, and he made it very clear from the outset that his aim was to win. He won, and his method of 'the end justifies the means' worked. At no point did he ever pretend to be upholding the spirit and the finer side of the game, or complain when he got his own medicine. When he got hit by Bodyline, he just stood it down and made a test hundred. If he got sledged, he sledged back. He never tried to take the holier-than-thou route, and was honest and straightforward, regardless of whether you like his methods. I cannot and will not say the same of Ponting. I have no problem with him letting his side appeal for everything, refusing to walk and sledging incessantly while trying to act tough on the field. But FFS, don't start the entire 'spirit of the game' bullsh*t after that by making treaties about trusting fielders who can be deceitful, liars and completely unworthy of anyone's trust, about walking when out or only appealing for things that are out and not sledging. If Ponting and his crew could STFU on that front, I'd have no problem with the way they play their cricket. When they preach one thing and practice the other, it's hypocritical and very irritating.

[beetle]

And as for the "win at all costs" comment, it is the job of the professional sportsman to win at all costs. It is the job of those who enforce the laws of the game to keep them within those laws or reprimand them when the breach any laws. If your players don't have a win at all costs attitude I would question their commitment. They are sportsman, paid to be the best. Not paid for their opinions or beliefs. Leave that to the politicians let the cricketers play cricket.

That is your opinion and exactly the reason that the aussie are considered brash and boorish. At any cost is not applicable in sports unless your life is in danger.It is exactly this"at any cost even if you end up acting like wild dogs"attitude may be acceptable to you but not to thr rest of the world. As for respecting the umpires is concerned...It is easy to do so when your team is being helped nine out of ten times.Infact inspite of getting the benifit of the doubt most of the times...your players indulge in Umpire bullying as a game plan. You call that sporting? Have you any idea how the Indian team has suffered at the hands of bucknor? If any umpire had done this to the australian team...the australians players would have torn him apart .

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[DesiChap]

Yes BossBhai so far the things are going as PP reported in his blog.

[adzamundo]

Its this losers mentality that will send Indian cricket into a tailspin. Do you guys really think your side is that good they can afford to pick and choose when and how they want to compete. They only reason they can is because the supporters blindly worship and follow these players like sheep. Notice how in Australia our supporters don't need to be kept behind cages like animals. What is with that? What would happen if the cages if wern't there? Would youll all storm the pitch as soon as something goes against you? This mentality is appauling. You guys cant even be trusted to watch a game of cricket without being kept behind bars and youre talking about sportsmanship? Seriously, you're team can dish it out but cant take it, same goes for the supporters. This has the potential to cripple Indian cricket long term, what are you teaching your children??? If you are not happy with the umpires decision just make enough noise and threaten to walk away. What a valuable lesson!!! Have fun loosing at all costs that should keep many of you happy. And as for the Aussies do you really think they are going let up? Do you think they are pacing up and down like the indians. They are in the nets preparing to play cricket which is what they are paid to do. India will self destruct as soon as a decision goes against them. And that isn't cricket. Next time guys send a mens team out here and we might have a half decent series!

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[adzamundo]

Explain these 1-1 Draw last time in Aus despite the same harami umpires trying their best or you think the worshippers werent around back in 2003 ? Yeah all the umpires fault, nothing to do with runs or wickets And your team (Iam assuming you support Aus) is very brave how ? considering that there is near unanimous opinion that they usually win on the back of help from umpires ? its all because of umpires, if it wasnt for umpires Australia wouldnt win any test matches at all. What a ridiculous statement from you. Unanimous opinion? Only in they eyes of a bunch of bitter losers. Last time I checked it was your own Chief Clown i.e Ponting that threw a hissy fit .... monkey isnt a racist word get over it ... its more like a put down. If you want to be treated like shrinking violets behave like one. Ponting isnt the one threataning to pack up his side and go home. None of your champoins can handle being captain of an international cricket side, including Tendulkar, noone want the responsibility......soft! Pretty rich comming from someone whose team is well renowned for throwing beer cans at players along with heaps of vile racial abuse.

Were not the ones locked up in cages. Do I need to remind you of Symonds treatment by Indina crowds. Burnt down any grandstands lately? You epitomise the childish mentality that will see Indian cricket blown back into dark ages. Why don't you all play all your games in India, you can get your bookmakers to umpire, win every game, and maybe then we will see some sportsmanship out of your fair weather cricket team!

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --