OK, some really bad umpiring cost us the 2nd test match in Sydney. Or did it ? It’s only a guess that the match would have been drawn if the decisions had not gone the way they did. I actually do not think that Kumble should have been so down beat in his press conference. Why blame the Aussie’s for being unsporting ? They always play with aggressive intentions as must India. Would an Indian player actually have claimed a player ‘not out’ if the umpire was in doubt ? Just look at the way bowlers always howl for dismissals all the time – hoping to unsettle the umpire into giving a decisions against the batsmen. It’s the way the game is all over the world.
Dear Shekhar,
There is a very famous saying, “If winning is not important, then why keep score.” To win in any outdoor sport one has to be aggressive, that’s how the rules are made – when batsmen take risks and show aggression they score 4s and 6s. If they started awarding 6 runs for a defensive “well played” stroke the whole game will become passive. So the goal should be to “play to win” and not “play to just play or enjoy.”
Winston Churchill would have this to say:
Victory at all costs,
Victory in spite of all terror,
Victory however long and hard the road may be;
For without victory, there is no survival.
– Winston Churchill
This great quote by Vince Lombardi sums it up:
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing”
Best Regards,
Himanshu
I live in Australia!
Kumble’s comments do sound a bit sour!! But he promises India will play hard cricket! the next test match is going to be tough pitch to play on for Indians…Sydney was their opportunity!!
Guess it must be pretty hard to be out there in the middle and see that every wrong decision was going against you-particularly when you are, for a change :–)), put your best into the game.
It almost looked as tho’ the aussies had made some arrangement with the umpires to ensure that they equalled the 16 consecutive win record.
cant blame kumble. it can be quite frustrating to think that all your best efforts come to no avail on account of biased or wrong decisions of incompetent decision makers. i think kumble conducted himself with extreme dignity. It is not unsporting to demand a level playing field.
I think Kumble is a guy who has played the game with utmost dignity and respect for the opponents, it must have hurt to see so many (obvious) bad decisions.
He hasnt sounded sore in so many situations, even when he would have been right to sulk, why would he do it now?
Cricket is an agressive game and Aussies are very good at the agressive part, but I think Kumble and his men are right to feel bad here.
Would be interesting to see how the game proceeds and who wins in the end..
Rashmi
Sir, the question on Australians is being raised not bcos of their appealing but bcos all wrong things happen there. Australians crying foul on racism is like a brahmin accusing a harijan for intolerance or like a man claiming rape by a woman. Rules against racism are a tool for the oppressed not for the oppressor. And even otherwise what connection does a monkey have to the race or color of symonds is known only to him.
The second part of the problem is against umpiring. Of cos the australians are totally not at fault here. its within their right to appeal but actually even bcci cant cry foul here bcos they are not pressing on excessive use of technology. The third umpires mistake but is not excusable though and he shd be banned from umpiring simply bcos if he wasnt biased then he is highly incompetent. Bucknor is too old and he shd take early retiremnt from international cricket by himself to avoid further humiliation.
I dont really agree with you shekar…first of all the context of harbhajans comments is important….the aussies have sledged their way to glory for the last 10-15 years using the worst possible language againsit the sub continent….hypocrites that they are the moment harbhajan responded to symonds taunts with a little bit of below the belt comment they couldnt take it and filed off a complaint like cry babies….on the field they were busy carrying on with affectations to pressurise the umpire, not walking when the catch was clearly taken (michael clarke) , or when they have beaten the leather out of the ball ( symonds, Hussey, Ponting)..added to this the falsely claimed catches by ponting , clarke clearly show that the aussies have absolutely no business taking the moral high ground in this matter. As Bhogle says the team feels its being robbed on the ground and called racists outside it. In fact i fail to understand why the tour was not boycotted. And for once and very rareley does this happen in our country everyone was behind the team as they should be. The Aussies may be a great team but they certainly are not the fairest or the most liked by any stretch of the imagination.
Shekhar,
I agree with you and disagree as well.
While Australians play hard, India does not play hard enough. We NRIs in Australia always feel disappointed by the Indian teams’ performance. Indians really crash soon as the decisions go against them which happens a lot when they come to play here. In the two recent tests around eight decisions have gone against them as compared to one against the Aussies. Lots of swearing and sledging goes on the ground if only one is able to observe the body language of players. There was an agreement between the two captains – Ponting and Kumble…that they will play fairly and try to ignore what is said on the field. While Ricky chose to report to the referee Kumble did not and he felt let down by Ricky. Also many things happened like picking up the ball from the ground and appealing for out etc. which Kumble felt that the game was not played in the spirit of cricket…So what do you say to all that…Its high time India stood up against these tactics. On the other hand India should toughen a bit and take a hard look at themselves and improve their game!
Hi Shekhar,
I have been troubled about it all for sometime.
I think you miss the hypocrisy. Glenn McGrath,
according to Roshan Mahanama(now ICC referree)
once called Jayasuriya, “Black Monkey”. It was
amazing to hear Slater(whose reaction on a floored
catch in India smelt of a Level 3 – is on youtube), call of drawing “a line in the sand”.
It is a war of predatory iconoclasm. Ian Chappell,
who called for Sachin to retire, faulted an
unbeaten double century made at SCG in 2003.
Sledging from the commentary box, seeking clever
advantage by playing a rank-second tier bowling
attack in Canberra, the appeal for Dravid’s
catch from a “sporting Gilchrist” all say that the under-armer instinct is alive and well in Australia. They sledge to win. The point is that
Michael Clarke might try apologizing for his
claimed catch, rather than standing his ground.
He ought to say, “Yes, I grounded that catch,
the umpire was in doubt, yet we pressed him”.
Australians run away into their defense of playing
hard. Accepting that we sometimes mislead umpires,
is a good start. Do not forget that they even
roughed up Sharad Pawar and he does not play cricket. You can make Harbhajan “a monkey on
a stick”, but it will not correct Aussie behavior,
rather embolden them. Mike Proctor, Chris Broad,
Mike Denness have all applied the rules discriminatingly. “Lets have a hearing” for
Yuvraj, but not Ponting or Clarke. Latif was
grounded 5 tests while Gibbs just one. I think
non-cricketers who profess neutrality decide
will be better positioned.
Sir,
There is no doubt about the quality of cricket the Australians play. Fine. But if you look back, 8 decisions going against Indians!!!, simple ones!! Umpiring was bad , whether there was a conspiracy and bias is debatable. If you analuse, the match was lost in the last few overs, hardly 3 overs were left. Now wouldn’t the test have been drawn if the decisions had not gone the way they did!!!!