Summer Reflections
It has been one of those summers.
If you are like me you turn on the cricket mostly to get away from the stresses of life. Rushing back from some appointment or commitment, you click on the destop scoreboard even before checking your email or returning that urgent phone call, bursting with excitement at the prospect of Tendulkar or Gilchrist still being at the crease. Cricket makes the whole damned day seem so much brighter.
That is until this season. I never thought I would ever say this but there have been times this season when I considered unplugging the TV, turning off the radio, and disconnecting the internet. It seems as if my love for cricket has been overshadowed in recent times by much darker forces. Egos, money, blind nationalistic pride, lies, empty rhetoric, racism. Did cricket lose its innocence this summer? Perhaps not. Maybe I just lost the last dangling threads of mine.
I can't imagine what kinds of lessons young ten year olds learned about sportsmanship this summer from both the Australian and Indian teams. I wonder, what kind of world did we make for ourselves during the course of this summer?
So what to do about it.
I personally think the IPL, despite its many faults and all the money involved, will help to promote a bit of cross-cultural understanding between players. It should also bring us fans closer together. I was talking with some mates the other day and we all agreed that it would be great in the future to see a side opening the bowling with Lee and Akhtar. Or have Murali and Warnie operating from different ends. Who wouldn't want to see McGrath bowl to Gilchrist or Sreesanth to Tendulkar?
I look forward to the day when Australia and India have a rivalry which is second to none but where the players understand and are respectful of each other in a way that attracts new fans to the game and respects the love of the game the older ones have cultivated.
| Posted by TA on Thu 28 Feb |  27 comments |
What made the Super Test so bland was there was no nationalistic pride, the players really had no motivation (well, the Rest of the World had no motivation, the Aussies smarting from post-Ashes loss had heaps of motivation). So I thought on that point alone, IPL was irrelevant.
But maybe the mixing of different countries will be a plus rather than a negative, particularly with all the angst flying around these days. I confess I've been having trouble mustering interest since the Tests ended but thought it was more a combination of ODI malaise and being more consumed with club cricket. But there's more to it than that. Will be interesting to see how IPL plays out.
Posted by JC on 2008-02-28 15:42:35
But maybe the mixing of different countries will be a plus rather than a negative, particularly with all the angst flying around these days. I confess I've been having trouble mustering interest since the Tests ended but thought it was more a combination of ODI malaise and being more consumed with club cricket. But there's more to it than that. Will be interesting to see how IPL plays out.
Posted by JC on 2008-02-28 15:42:35
Me too. I think both teams have been irritating. IPL is a useless concept. Cross cultural understanding can happen only in the case of monetary incentives.
For eg. Aussies in Australia don't have any incentive to learn Indian culture, unless out of goodness from the heart. But Indians living in Aus have to learn to live with a bit of Aussie culture, because their livelihood depends on it (that they don't feel so comfortable doing it is another thing).
Same way Brett Lee is comfortable with Indian team (I am sure he is sincere when he says this) because he has incentives to be that way. I don't mean that in a negative way. Just a fact.
So what will happen in IPL is, Aussie cricketers will be forced to comply with some Indian practices that they have to follow to play as a team. That might spark spiderman like bottled up anger that they can show against Australia when they don their national colours.
Why else do you think Indians living in Australia are supporting Indian cricket team? I am not a citizen and I don't want to live in Australia, but plenty of my friends who are citizens support India even more vociferously since the Sydney test.
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 15:56:00
For eg. Aussies in Australia don't have any incentive to learn Indian culture, unless out of goodness from the heart. But Indians living in Aus have to learn to live with a bit of Aussie culture, because their livelihood depends on it (that they don't feel so comfortable doing it is another thing).
Same way Brett Lee is comfortable with Indian team (I am sure he is sincere when he says this) because he has incentives to be that way. I don't mean that in a negative way. Just a fact.
So what will happen in IPL is, Aussie cricketers will be forced to comply with some Indian practices that they have to follow to play as a team. That might spark spiderman like bottled up anger that they can show against Australia when they don their national colours.
Why else do you think Indians living in Australia are supporting Indian cricket team? I am not a citizen and I don't want to live in Australia, but plenty of my friends who are citizens support India even more vociferously since the Sydney test.
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 15:56:00
I meant " they can show against INDIA when they don their national colours"
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 15:57:57
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 15:57:57
I just read that Aus players are livid that Hayden is being warned for his comments.
They make the same argument by stating that Harbhajan singh is the biggest offender and some such crap. I wonder if Aussies suffer from selective memory loss. They condemn the ICC for being flippant when Symonds is punished, but flaunt the same ICC's punishment records of Harbhajan to make their point of how much of an little weed he is. Make up your minds, Hayden and Co. You are losing it.
The way the game is run sucks. And unlike aussies here think, Indians have copped punishment unnecessarily many times. Like someone said, the rules of the game reflect Western society's values which is understandable considering how long Aus and Eng have ruled cricket.
But with a change in order, I think we would see laws banning sledging could be passed. Aussies have themselves to be blamed for that if it happens. I am sure they pushed India to the edge in this series.
Why O Why didn't Symonds have the basic decency to shut his stupid trap about the T20 world cup celebrations? What else did he expect from crazy fans in return?
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 16:51:46
They make the same argument by stating that Harbhajan singh is the biggest offender and some such crap. I wonder if Aussies suffer from selective memory loss. They condemn the ICC for being flippant when Symonds is punished, but flaunt the same ICC's punishment records of Harbhajan to make their point of how much of an little weed he is. Make up your minds, Hayden and Co. You are losing it.
The way the game is run sucks. And unlike aussies here think, Indians have copped punishment unnecessarily many times. Like someone said, the rules of the game reflect Western society's values which is understandable considering how long Aus and Eng have ruled cricket.
But with a change in order, I think we would see laws banning sledging could be passed. Aussies have themselves to be blamed for that if it happens. I am sure they pushed India to the edge in this series.
Why O Why didn't Symonds have the basic decency to shut his stupid trap about the T20 world cup celebrations? What else did he expect from crazy fans in return?
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 16:51:46
Subhash, you're talking assimulation! That's a whole other different matter. Nationalistic support is so much easier to quantify, and qualify. Thus it's easy to mix up support for a team, and support for your country of birth. Anyone who has lived in another country will support their own team vigorously when they visit. Cricket was about the only thing Australia was beating NZ at when I lived there in the early 90s...!
You don't have to be a different skin colour or religion to be subjected to (or purportrate) such bias or conflict. How do supporters of teams within the same country behave? I've seen some horrific behaviour between supporters of english football teams. It doesn't have to be differentiated by race/nationalist identity. All we're asking for is for respect between two teams, regardless of background or history. If they can't manage that without rules, disciplinary hearings and bans, then they aren't worth following.
Posted by jaradevans on 2008-02-28 17:22:05
You don't have to be a different skin colour or religion to be subjected to (or purportrate) such bias or conflict. How do supporters of teams within the same country behave? I've seen some horrific behaviour between supporters of english football teams. It doesn't have to be differentiated by race/nationalist identity. All we're asking for is for respect between two teams, regardless of background or history. If they can't manage that without rules, disciplinary hearings and bans, then they aren't worth following.
Posted by jaradevans on 2008-02-28 17:22:05
The Aussies are using the media to raise frenzy against Indian team. And the Indians are using Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Hayden#Trivia
Look at the trivia. It says
"He is known to be always involved in fights with opposition players. Apparently he is not a very likable person. Some Indians cricket fans think they will throw stones and spit on him when he comes to play in India in IPL T20 or any other match."
haha.....
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 18:17:54
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Hayden#Trivia
Look at the trivia. It says
"He is known to be always involved in fights with opposition players. Apparently he is not a very likable person. Some Indians cricket fans think they will throw stones and spit on him when he comes to play in India in IPL T20 or any other match."
haha.....
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 18:17:54
Controversies and court hearings, sledging and soap operas aside, lets not forget we've seen some great cricket this summer. Sangakkara's 192 and the whole India Australia series was a humdinger.
So, not a great summer off the field but we've had one heck of a game on it..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 18:25:23
So, not a great summer off the field but we've had one heck of a game on it..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 18:25:23
Ajesh Nag,
That was a no-brainer. Trying to be politically correct. I understand that back home the aussie bashing in the media must be too much for you to even consider supporting India. Here it is India bashing in the media, and moral high grounds taken by all Aussie team members openly dissing the opposing team. I am not sure what to make of it. Aussies have been as bad a host as Indians have been in October.
The quality of cricket, who cares about that? All many will remember is that India whined and Australia shined. I can't bring myself to like an Aussie team that hates India anymore. I am sure they don't care.
I only hope that India wins this final even if they have to play dirty, sledge opponents. I see that unlikely to happen as they have fallen for the war of words even before the match began.
I don't understand how you see a bright side to it.
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 18:46:50
That was a no-brainer. Trying to be politically correct. I understand that back home the aussie bashing in the media must be too much for you to even consider supporting India. Here it is India bashing in the media, and moral high grounds taken by all Aussie team members openly dissing the opposing team. I am not sure what to make of it. Aussies have been as bad a host as Indians have been in October.
The quality of cricket, who cares about that? All many will remember is that India whined and Australia shined. I can't bring myself to like an Aussie team that hates India anymore. I am sure they don't care.
I only hope that India wins this final even if they have to play dirty, sledge opponents. I see that unlikely to happen as they have fallen for the war of words even before the match began.
I don't understand how you see a bright side to it.
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 18:46:50
And I am going to carry slogans into SCG on sunday. One will read "HAYDOS, A BOXING RING IS TOO SMALL FOR YOUR HUGE EGO" with cartoons.
"GOD IS WORTH $1.5 MILLION IN INDIA"
Watch out for me. :)
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 18:56:34
"GOD IS WORTH $1.5 MILLION IN INDIA"
Watch out for me. :)
Posted by Subhash on 2008-02-28 18:56:34
Just take the positives and move on Subhash..
I agree this summers been a blow to the spirit of cricket, and that Australia many a time haven't quite been befitting of the "Worlds best cricket team" tag, but lets accept India haven't been angels either.
And there is no way India should play dirty and win the finals. Two wrongs don't make a right. We should all leave the past behind and set an example for the future.
But one things for sure, BOTH India and Australia need to just shut up and play cricket..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 18:59:17
I agree this summers been a blow to the spirit of cricket, and that Australia many a time haven't quite been befitting of the "Worlds best cricket team" tag, but lets accept India haven't been angels either.
And there is no way India should play dirty and win the finals. Two wrongs don't make a right. We should all leave the past behind and set an example for the future.
But one things for sure, BOTH India and Australia need to just shut up and play cricket..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 18:59:17
You missed the whole point Ajesh Nag. I am not so worried about Aussie team's behaviour on the field. That's how they always played. What about the huge spin on events to diss the Indian team off the field? Are they whiners? Don't they have equal moral high ground (both low) to the Aussies?
That's how Aussies were treated in India. And now India is treated in Aussie.
Its just a game. But I wonder what people would say about Allan Border becoming a grumpy guy to win? Don't say that was in 80s. I am sure the Indians can learn from Border and give the Aussie team and media a cold shoulder.
Posted by subhash on 2008-02-28 19:14:36
That's how Aussies were treated in India. And now India is treated in Aussie.
Its just a game. But I wonder what people would say about Allan Border becoming a grumpy guy to win? Don't say that was in 80s. I am sure the Indians can learn from Border and give the Aussie team and media a cold shoulder.
Posted by subhash on 2008-02-28 19:14:36
Way to go, Subhash! Now, I'm not missing a second of the finals just to watch you with those banners! Hope the finals are fully packed with punches!
As far as IPL is concerned I'd say, "Where there is money, there is will." The money invested will call for brilliance by its sheer amount. No player would want to play for the sake of playing as there are things like player transfers - from the second year - and player performances and behavior would guarantee a good sum. Also cross cultural exchanges will result in international cricket being played in the right spirit, as TA rightly said.
I'm not a big fan of T20 cricket and but I dont hate it either. It provides good entertaiment and a display of skill and brilliance. Also I like the intensive nature. The 25-45 over stage in an ODI is boring and how often do we find teams losing out just because they made a few silly mistakes in that stage. But again ODI cricket has its positives and Test cricket its charm.
And Ajesh avoid political correctness. Call a spade, a spade. Truth is, this aussie summer was planned out the day India celebrated rather wildly after their semifinal win in the T20 World Cup.
Posted by Zapper on 2008-02-28 19:25:15
As far as IPL is concerned I'd say, "Where there is money, there is will." The money invested will call for brilliance by its sheer amount. No player would want to play for the sake of playing as there are things like player transfers - from the second year - and player performances and behavior would guarantee a good sum. Also cross cultural exchanges will result in international cricket being played in the right spirit, as TA rightly said.
I'm not a big fan of T20 cricket and but I dont hate it either. It provides good entertaiment and a display of skill and brilliance. Also I like the intensive nature. The 25-45 over stage in an ODI is boring and how often do we find teams losing out just because they made a few silly mistakes in that stage. But again ODI cricket has its positives and Test cricket its charm.
And Ajesh avoid political correctness. Call a spade, a spade. Truth is, this aussie summer was planned out the day India celebrated rather wildly after their semifinal win in the T20 World Cup.
Posted by Zapper on 2008-02-28 19:25:15
Hey guys I'm not trying to be politically correct!
All I said was that BOTH teams have been unnecessarily going at each other, which isn't good for the game. You can't isolate one of the teams as the culprit.
And noone can deny the fact that we've had a really good summer regarding the quality of cricket played. At the moment things are still a bit hostile, but hopefully once the IPL paycheck reaches the players of both teams, they'll cool down a bit..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 20:03:25
All I said was that BOTH teams have been unnecessarily going at each other, which isn't good for the game. You can't isolate one of the teams as the culprit.
And noone can deny the fact that we've had a really good summer regarding the quality of cricket played. At the moment things are still a bit hostile, but hopefully once the IPL paycheck reaches the players of both teams, they'll cool down a bit..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 20:03:25
Ajesh Nag,
Do you have comprehension issues? I didn't blame the Australian team. I meant the media and the general bad spin they gave to every event involving Indians when the matter could've been laid to rest far earlier. And this is not some stupid tabloids I am talking about. National Newspapers, respected journalists and Television commentators.
Do you think Indian team behaves like whiners? Read media reports in Australia and they make you believe it. It was obvious from the attitude of the radio show host Hayden was talking to yesterday. As if Australians are the angels on cricket field.
Posted by subhash on 2008-02-28 20:20:02
Do you have comprehension issues? I didn't blame the Australian team. I meant the media and the general bad spin they gave to every event involving Indians when the matter could've been laid to rest far earlier. And this is not some stupid tabloids I am talking about. National Newspapers, respected journalists and Television commentators.
Do you think Indian team behaves like whiners? Read media reports in Australia and they make you believe it. It was obvious from the attitude of the radio show host Hayden was talking to yesterday. As if Australians are the angels on cricket field.
Posted by subhash on 2008-02-28 20:20:02
My comment extends to the media as well. The comments from an Australian and Indian perspective are patently contradictory.
And after Haydens weed spray a few days ago, the media here is proposing that the tour should be called off...again!
When you have trivial issues like sledging being commented by the media you can never expect anyone to be neutral, because the players are the only ones who really know what was said.
And re Haydens comments on the radio, there is no doubt he was wrong in describing Bhajji with some colourful words, but if you really look at it seriously, I think it was just an 'in the moment' kind of thing. He was trying to be a bit funny but unfortunately he was the one who pushed the line this time..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 21:56:08
And after Haydens weed spray a few days ago, the media here is proposing that the tour should be called off...again!
When you have trivial issues like sledging being commented by the media you can never expect anyone to be neutral, because the players are the only ones who really know what was said.
And re Haydens comments on the radio, there is no doubt he was wrong in describing Bhajji with some colourful words, but if you really look at it seriously, I think it was just an 'in the moment' kind of thing. He was trying to be a bit funny but unfortunately he was the one who pushed the line this time..
Posted by Ajesh Nag on 2008-02-28 21:56:08
I salute you Ajesh Nag, and understand your love for Australian cricket especially after the barrage of nonsense you had to listen from NDTV and CNNIBN.
But to me in Australia, I don't watch NDTV and Co. Channel Nine commentary team and national newspapers and the aussie sport bars are enough to understand the sentiments of an average Aussie. And I don't think Indians deserve this treatment from them. Calling a sports team whiners is worse than Symonds being called monkey, in my opinion.
I don't have any problem with Hayden's comment, only that the host thought it was right to ask him about that. It is just impossible not to take sides with India on this for me.
I am sure when Australia tours India, things will turn even uglier. Will you then talk about how the quality of cricket was?
Have you played club cricket in Australia? Believe me, my friend who is playing tells me that sledging is like birth right here. And anything goes. If you go and complain to somebody that you are being racially taunted, they will laugh at you. So you still think that all the outrage at Harbhajan issue was justified because it was a racist term? I know several aussies here will jump at ICC having laws against racism, but I ask -are they pssed off that their ploy at implicating Harbi didn't work or are they genuinely hurt that a member of their team was called something racist?
And what's with the host asking Hayden "what's going on in their lives?" Isn't that racist or atleast derogatory?
I agree Indians have behaved badly, but haven't the Aussies fueled it with indignation at every corner? Believe me, if not for that spineless shit called BCCI, India would've cancelled this tour long back because they don't deserve the shame they are being meted out to in the media.
Posted by subhash on 2008-02-28 22:49:14
But to me in Australia, I don't watch NDTV and Co. Channel Nine commentary team and national newspapers and the aussie sport bars are enough to understand the sentiments of an average Aussie. And I don't think Indians deserve this treatment from them. Calling a sports team whiners is worse than Symonds being called monkey, in my opinion.
I don't have any problem with Hayden's comment, only that the host thought it was right to ask him about that. It is just impossible not to take sides with India on this for me.
I am sure when Australia tours India, things will turn even uglier. Will you then talk about how the quality of cricket was?
Have you played club cricket in Australia? Believe me, my friend who is playing tells me that sledging is like birth right here. And anything goes. If you go and complain to somebody that you are being racially taunted, they will laugh at you. So you still think that all the outrage at Harbhajan issue was justified because it was a racist term? I know several aussies here will jump at ICC having laws against racism, but I ask -are they pssed off that their ploy at implicating Harbi didn't work or are they genuinely hurt that a member of their team was called something racist?
And what's with the host asking Hayden "what's going on in their lives?" Isn't that racist or atleast derogatory?
I agree Indians have behaved badly, but haven't the Aussies fueled it with indignation at every corner? Believe me, if not for that spineless shit called BCCI, India would've cancelled this tour long back because they don't deserve the shame they are being meted out to in the media.
Posted by subhash on 2008-02-28 22:49:14
Your a little irrational there subhash, go look at some Indian papers and see the "objective" articles there.
Also what is your objections subhash? India behaved badly and we are not allowed to be upset? Kumble insults the team and we are not allowed to be annoyed?
Look at what India has done, why aren't we allowed to be annoyed and upset.
1) getting an umpire sacked for "ONE" bad game against India, but when it is favour of India its all fine..
2) calling Australian cheats
3) Racist remarks, crowds (no reports so far of any problems in Australian crowds in comparison)
4) Complaining about over appealling which in true style India demonstrated that they can beat Australia in that even.
5) Filing "fake" racial charges against Hogg (without an offical pardon that will hang over his head).
6) Threatening to pull out of a tour because they didn't like the umpires decision
7) the constant whinging by India. Either file a formal complaint or shut up. Its not hard. Instead you get these cowardly remarks which Australia can't defend against. Where is Australia's day in court to clear their names?
8) when their bowler is disciplined and their keeper has been found to have illegal gloves they submit a random complaint about some games that finished weeks ago.
Sorry subhash why can't we show indignation?
Also where is a single apology from India?
No apology from Kumble for his rude remarks
No apology from Dhoni for using illegal gloves, apparently only a small percentage might have been affected so thats ok by him.
Trust me, I had a lot of respect for the Indian team, even after the racist crowds in India and bizarre celebrations of Sreesanth. I was looking forward to some close games in Australia (with names like Tendulker what else would you expect). But any and all respect for India has gone.
Subhash you agree the Indian team has behaved badly but your annoyed that Australians are upset about that? Lets compare that to the effigy burning in India. Which is worse?
Posted by Andrew on 2008-02-29 21:04:26
Also what is your objections subhash? India behaved badly and we are not allowed to be upset? Kumble insults the team and we are not allowed to be annoyed?
Look at what India has done, why aren't we allowed to be annoyed and upset.
1) getting an umpire sacked for "ONE" bad game against India, but when it is favour of India its all fine..
2) calling Australian cheats
3) Racist remarks, crowds (no reports so far of any problems in Australian crowds in comparison)
4) Complaining about over appealling which in true style India demonstrated that they can beat Australia in that even.
5) Filing "fake" racial charges against Hogg (without an offical pardon that will hang over his head).
6) Threatening to pull out of a tour because they didn't like the umpires decision
7) the constant whinging by India. Either file a formal complaint or shut up. Its not hard. Instead you get these cowardly remarks which Australia can't defend against. Where is Australia's day in court to clear their names?
8) when their bowler is disciplined and their keeper has been found to have illegal gloves they submit a random complaint about some games that finished weeks ago.
Sorry subhash why can't we show indignation?
Also where is a single apology from India?
No apology from Kumble for his rude remarks
No apology from Dhoni for using illegal gloves, apparently only a small percentage might have been affected so thats ok by him.
Trust me, I had a lot of respect for the Indian team, even after the racist crowds in India and bizarre celebrations of Sreesanth. I was looking forward to some close games in Australia (with names like Tendulker what else would you expect). But any and all respect for India has gone.
Subhash you agree the Indian team has behaved badly but your annoyed that Australians are upset about that? Lets compare that to the effigy burning in India. Which is worse?
Posted by Andrew on 2008-02-29 21:04:26
Andrew,
So you want to compare Aussie media with Indian media? How many Aussies live in India?? And how many Indians live in Australia? You can avoid looking at the stupid Indian newspapers, can I avoid the Australian newspapers? And to my best knowledge, none of the Indian newspapers had hinted at Australian record with Aborigines to make a point on the SCG incident(the commentors on the blogs may have done it). But "The Australian" thought it was prudent to drag the ratio of caste spread among the Indian team members to make a point on racism in India.
1) Steve Bucknor deserves to be sacked despite of his SCG exploits. India just expedited the process.
2) Dude, Kumble didn't call them cheats. If you wish to take it that he implied it, even Indians can try and take this Hayden comment and make it into a racial vilification.
3) You come back to the same things again. Symonds gave a detailed interview of what he felt about celebrations after T20 world cup even before the tournament started and obviously a good number of people were ticked off. Was it Symonds' first Indian tour????? If you think that Indians have to be following the code of conduct in your country (being immune to sledging and still play great without engaging in antics that Aussie crowds don't like), doesn't it apply for Symonds to shut his trap in a host country that didn't have a problem with him previously. Seriously, if he hates India so much why does he tour there?
4) Where did you read about the complaint on over appealing? Or did you include that under the umbrella of "the" statement that Kumble made?
5) Did Hogg deny the charge? What do you say about Ponting's send off to Harbhajan and quickly getting into a huddle with his teammates. He didn't even give Harbhajan the chance to respond to his quip. Does that make ponting a faker for hiding behind his teammates? Or is it exclusively reserved only when India does something like that off field?
6) Threatening to pull out was a stupid tactic. But don't blame it only on the BCCI. May be withdrawing charge on Hogg was done in exchange for downgrading charge against Harbhajan. And with Ponting backing Symonds to the hilt, things got worse for India and they didn't trust CA to act as pacifier. Do you really believe everything written in the media? Think, why did Indians have to drop the charge against Hogg? Don't come up with your usual answer about them being cowardly. It just doesn't make sense, especially when Hogg himself thanked Kumble for dropping the charge.
7) Whinging. Every team does that when they lose. And they get on with playing. Or did you think Australia are graceful losers?
8) They simply wrote a letter. They didn't file a complaint. Illegal gloves??? Read more on that.
Don't keep saying racist Indian crowds. What happened to Murali's treatment in Australia earlier? If Australian crowds can be better behaved this time, Indians can too in future.
Your underhanded compliments of the Indian team flatter nobody. I can see deep down the disgust for the Indian team and its alright. I only hope Aussie media gives Indian team a fair chance and not paint everything it does in a bad light. I also hope some Aussie fans see that the Indian team is pushed to behave like that (not by Aussie team, but mostly by the media). Like Ponting correctly captured today that the controversies going on have been very unfortunate and that Indians will also feel the same way.
Effigy burning??? What about the egg throwing on Murali recently? Or did they throw it only on an effigy of Murali?
What do you expect the apology for? Will Australia follow suit? They tried it by dropping charges against Hogg, did Australia follow suit? Or you think the entire bad blood is only because of India?
Apology for illegal gloves?? To whom? What are you smoking?
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 00:20:46
So you want to compare Aussie media with Indian media? How many Aussies live in India?? And how many Indians live in Australia? You can avoid looking at the stupid Indian newspapers, can I avoid the Australian newspapers? And to my best knowledge, none of the Indian newspapers had hinted at Australian record with Aborigines to make a point on the SCG incident(the commentors on the blogs may have done it). But "The Australian" thought it was prudent to drag the ratio of caste spread among the Indian team members to make a point on racism in India.
1) Steve Bucknor deserves to be sacked despite of his SCG exploits. India just expedited the process.
2) Dude, Kumble didn't call them cheats. If you wish to take it that he implied it, even Indians can try and take this Hayden comment and make it into a racial vilification.
3) You come back to the same things again. Symonds gave a detailed interview of what he felt about celebrations after T20 world cup even before the tournament started and obviously a good number of people were ticked off. Was it Symonds' first Indian tour????? If you think that Indians have to be following the code of conduct in your country (being immune to sledging and still play great without engaging in antics that Aussie crowds don't like), doesn't it apply for Symonds to shut his trap in a host country that didn't have a problem with him previously. Seriously, if he hates India so much why does he tour there?
4) Where did you read about the complaint on over appealing? Or did you include that under the umbrella of "the" statement that Kumble made?
5) Did Hogg deny the charge? What do you say about Ponting's send off to Harbhajan and quickly getting into a huddle with his teammates. He didn't even give Harbhajan the chance to respond to his quip. Does that make ponting a faker for hiding behind his teammates? Or is it exclusively reserved only when India does something like that off field?
6) Threatening to pull out was a stupid tactic. But don't blame it only on the BCCI. May be withdrawing charge on Hogg was done in exchange for downgrading charge against Harbhajan. And with Ponting backing Symonds to the hilt, things got worse for India and they didn't trust CA to act as pacifier. Do you really believe everything written in the media? Think, why did Indians have to drop the charge against Hogg? Don't come up with your usual answer about them being cowardly. It just doesn't make sense, especially when Hogg himself thanked Kumble for dropping the charge.
7) Whinging. Every team does that when they lose. And they get on with playing. Or did you think Australia are graceful losers?
8) They simply wrote a letter. They didn't file a complaint. Illegal gloves??? Read more on that.
Don't keep saying racist Indian crowds. What happened to Murali's treatment in Australia earlier? If Australian crowds can be better behaved this time, Indians can too in future.
Your underhanded compliments of the Indian team flatter nobody. I can see deep down the disgust for the Indian team and its alright. I only hope Aussie media gives Indian team a fair chance and not paint everything it does in a bad light. I also hope some Aussie fans see that the Indian team is pushed to behave like that (not by Aussie team, but mostly by the media). Like Ponting correctly captured today that the controversies going on have been very unfortunate and that Indians will also feel the same way.
Effigy burning??? What about the egg throwing on Murali recently? Or did they throw it only on an effigy of Murali?
What do you expect the apology for? Will Australia follow suit? They tried it by dropping charges against Hogg, did Australia follow suit? Or you think the entire bad blood is only because of India?
Apology for illegal gloves?? To whom? What are you smoking?
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 00:20:46
Subhash, you are being argumentative and one-eyed. If you wish to engage in dialogue with Australian fans open up your perspective a bit. No one really wants to read all of this contrived waffle.
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 12:37:03
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 12:37:03
Thanks for your advice TA. The same applies to you too.
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 13:16:24
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 13:16:24
You are a guest on this site pal. Don't forget it.
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 13:23:59
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 13:23:59
So you expect me to be your 'yes man' and agree that Australian fans are open minded? Wake up, TA.
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 14:22:10
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 14:22:10
Last warning Subhash. Put your manners back in. Nobody expects you to agree with other people or to be a 'yes man.' You can, though, be civil or start trying to communicate rather than rub everyone up the wrong way. Make an effort to communicate or forfeit your right to comment on blogs I'm involved with. Your choice.
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 19:21:10
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 19:21:10
You are welcome to ban my IP or delete my messages. If you are so concerned with messages in the site, you should start writing your diary in your closet where no one will read them. Not on the internet.
It was you who made it personal, not me. I was just defending Indian team by posting gibberish, like so many others here but was not personally attacking anyone nor was racist. I didn't even attack Australian cricket team.
Seriously, whats wrong with what I wrote? I was responding to Andrew. Or did you think the characters I was putting in was filling up allocated bandwidth to the site in a rush?
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 20:59:42
It was you who made it personal, not me. I was just defending Indian team by posting gibberish, like so many others here but was not personally attacking anyone nor was racist. I didn't even attack Australian cricket team.
Seriously, whats wrong with what I wrote? I was responding to Andrew. Or did you think the characters I was putting in was filling up allocated bandwidth to the site in a rush?
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 20:59:42
Subhash
This website is first and foremost about cricket. But is also about building understanding: "building and not burning bridges." My comments were written in this spirit. Your's were not. While other writers may have a higher tolerance level for the kinds of nonsense fans (predominantly Indian fans) have been posting on this site, frankly my patience has run out. Let me give you a little summary of some of the nonsense you posted on my thread (which I remind you again is about achieving a higher degree of mutual understanding). I won't even comment on the long response to Andrew which is just plain unintelligble. I'll repeat myself only once: you want to blog on this thread rein it in.
Communication inhibiting gross generalizations
"Cross cultural understanding can happen only in the case of monetary incentives. "
"moral high grounds taken by all Aussie team members openly dissing the opposing team."
"Aussies in Australia don't have any incentive to learn Indian culture, unless out of goodness from the heart. But Indians living in Aus have to learn to live with a bit of Aussie culture, because their livelihood depends on it (that they don't feel so comfortable doing it is another thing)"
Gross generalizations verging on racism
"Aussies in Australia don't have any incentive to learn Indian culture"
"Aussies are using the media to raise frenzy against Indian team"
"I only hope that India wins this final even if they have to play dirty, sledge opponents"
"Channel Nine commentary team and national newspapers and the aussie sport bars are enough to understand the sentiments of an average Aussie."
"Have you played club cricket in Australia? Believe me, my friend who is playing tells me that sledging is like birth right here. And anything goes. If you go and complain to somebody that you are being racially taunted, they will laugh at you."
Rude / offensive / inflamatory language
"Why O Why didn't Symonds have the basic decency to shut his stupid trap about the T20 world cup celebrations"
Ajesh Do you have comprehension issues?"
"Wake up, TA."
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 22:21:25
This website is first and foremost about cricket. But is also about building understanding: "building and not burning bridges." My comments were written in this spirit. Your's were not. While other writers may have a higher tolerance level for the kinds of nonsense fans (predominantly Indian fans) have been posting on this site, frankly my patience has run out. Let me give you a little summary of some of the nonsense you posted on my thread (which I remind you again is about achieving a higher degree of mutual understanding). I won't even comment on the long response to Andrew which is just plain unintelligble. I'll repeat myself only once: you want to blog on this thread rein it in.
Communication inhibiting gross generalizations
"Cross cultural understanding can happen only in the case of monetary incentives. "
"moral high grounds taken by all Aussie team members openly dissing the opposing team."
"Aussies in Australia don't have any incentive to learn Indian culture, unless out of goodness from the heart. But Indians living in Aus have to learn to live with a bit of Aussie culture, because their livelihood depends on it (that they don't feel so comfortable doing it is another thing)"
Gross generalizations verging on racism
"Aussies in Australia don't have any incentive to learn Indian culture"
"Aussies are using the media to raise frenzy against Indian team"
"I only hope that India wins this final even if they have to play dirty, sledge opponents"
"Channel Nine commentary team and national newspapers and the aussie sport bars are enough to understand the sentiments of an average Aussie."
"Have you played club cricket in Australia? Believe me, my friend who is playing tells me that sledging is like birth right here. And anything goes. If you go and complain to somebody that you are being racially taunted, they will laugh at you."
Rude / offensive / inflamatory language
"Why O Why didn't Symonds have the basic decency to shut his stupid trap about the T20 world cup celebrations"
Ajesh Do you have comprehension issues?"
"Wake up, TA."
Posted by TA on 2008-03-01 22:21:25
Ok. I did cross the line. I had short term memory loss. Thanks for pointing them. I won't do that again.
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 22:26:47
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 22:26:47
I was trying to be intelligent and get into socio political commentary and I was in no way disssing Aussies. I mean that honestly. I should avoid it and stick to cricket.
You can't really refute the stuff written in the media that has worked against the team.
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 22:34:47
You can't really refute the stuff written in the media that has worked against the team.
Posted by subhash on 2008-03-01 22:34:47
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