Cricket Blog

Judge Hansen, from New Zealand, gave the verdict of Not Guilty to the racism charge against Harbhajan Singh in a hearing that lasted almost 6 hours. After hearing evidence from the stump microphones, Judge Hansen said that he was convinced that on all evidence submitted before him the charge of a level 3.3 offence was not proven, but that Harbhajan should be charged with a level 2.8 offence.

Harbhajan admitted that he was guilty of using foul language and so has been fined 50 percent of his match fee. A lot of supporters back in India and overseas will find this justice, and it may be, but the way it has been achieved leaves a sour taste.

The initial ban on Habhajan should have been handled more professionally. When you are charging a high profile player from the biggest money-making machine for the ICC, one has to be careful and thoughtful about the possible ramifications. Mike Proctor was guilty of failing on both counts. He made the mistake of believing Andrew Symonds’ and Matty Hayden’s word against Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar’s. When there are witnesses from both sides testifying to different things, even a common person knows that a judge needs more conclusive evidence. Proctor ignored this basic rule to brand Bhajji racist. He lost his reputation. Australia lost the battle then and there.

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A lot of so-called “neutral observers” have mentioned that India’s reaction to the SCG test has been way over the top, the BCCI are bullies, the Indian players are hypocrites, Harbhajan Singh is a racist, the burning of effigies is a barbaric act. I could go on and on.

All the above comments/theories are not going to make matters any easy, they are going to further enrage a nation that is already on the brink of pulling out of the tour. Let me point something out before I start shredding these statements apart. First and foremost, cricket is not a passion in India, it is a religion in its most literal term. The psyche of an Indian fan is that their players are like gods that are battling it out with the rest of the world. So what if they lose. Hey the English only won the Soccer World Cup once, and yet over there soccer is the same as what cricket is in India. What about Aussie rules football. Who really knows about this sport besides the Australians. And yet it overtakes cricket or any other sport in popularity. Oh, and don’t even get me started talking about the crowd/players behavior during a Carlton-Collingwood match.

Cricket is not a contact sport, but the way sledging and intimidation is going on, it may very well become. How much crap can a person take before he gives it back. The Indian players are not like bowling pins that every Tom, Dick and Harry comes and knocks them over. This isn’t India under Mahatma Gandhi that believes in non-violence as the key. This is a young and aggressive India who knows its history of being oppressed by foreigners. So why should they be intimidated by a team that has a known history of insulting, abusing and discriminating its opponents.

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In what is an about turn by the ICC, controversial umpire and the main man who cost India the Sydney test, Steve Bucknor has been removed from the third match to be played in Perth. He has been replaced by Umpire Billy Bowden. The ICC had refused to remove Bucknor in earlier news reports, however, it seems that they have had a reality check in the last few hours.

ICC Chief Executive, Mr Malcolm Speed had the following statement to make:

“It is accepted that Steve, and his on-field colleague Mark Benson, did not have good games by their very high standards and we feel that given the added pressure and attention Steve’s presence would have at the third Test, it is better for the match and for Steve himself if he does not take part.”

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New Australian coach Tim Nielsen has reportedly warned his young team members to respect other players and to refrain from making obscene remarks. If any team member is found to be guilty of not looking after their on-field behavior, then he will have to sit out. These tough measures are said to be the result of Sunil Gavaskar’s comments that the Australians are unpopular winners due to their poor on-field behavior which Nielsen has taken to heart. According to Nielsen, the Aussies need to conduct themselves more professionally as he wants the team to be recognized not just for its winning habits, but also for how it behaves on the field. This could be a big about-turn by Australia who are known to be the top sledgers in cricket. Things are going to be interesting.

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