At the conclusion of a dramatic Ashes series on Sunday, the umpires were booed at The Oval and so was Australia’s captain Michael Clarke,
who had only a couple of hours ago had made a sporting declaration to spice up a game that had been severely affected by inclement weather. Most captains can learn a lot from someone like Clarke, who is no fan of dull draws.
The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) meanwhile took exception to comments by Australian coach Darren Lehmann, who wanted Australian public to get up Stuart Broad’s nose. Lehmann had called Broad a ‘cheat’ after he had hit one to first slip and refused to walk.
“From my point of view I just hope the Australian public give it to him right from the word go for the whole summer and I hope he cries and he goes home,” Lehmann told a Melbourne Radio Station. “I just hope everyone gets stuck into him because the way he’s carried on and the way he’s commented in public about it is ridiculous.”
ECB accused Lehmann of ‘inciting’ and went further by saying that they would take necessary steps to ensure Broad’s safety during the return leg of the Ashes series down under. Lehmann has said that he has spoken to Broad and that his comments weren’t malicious.
There seems to be double standards at ECB. They are quick to rebuke comments from opponents, but when their own people overstep the line, mum’s the word.
One remembers the comments of England off-spinner Graeme Swann when they toured Sri Lanka last year. During a warm-up game at R. Premadasa Stadium, England captain Andrew Strauss dived and claimed a catch off Dilruwan Perera. The umpires’ weren’t sure of the catch, but England players were upset that Perera didn’t walk and he came in for a verbal assault.
Swann was one of the men who took on Perera, but the worst followed a couple of days later during a media briefing when he couldn’t hide his emotions. “I am glad I am living in an age where DRS (Decision Review System) is in place. The thing that annoyed the players on the field was that the umpires weren’t sure. The batsman stood there knowing 100 percent that he was out and chose to cheat, in my view,” Swann said last year.
“There was lot of confusion yesterday. We didn’t even appeal, we started celebrating altogether. Then there was confusion. Jimmy (Anderson) wasn’t very happy and Straussy was obviously miffed that his integrity was questioned. I wanted to kill the batsman, because he was cheating and stood right next to me with a smirk on his face,” Swann added.
“I think the batsman then opened him to the level of abuse that was coming at him. To be honest with you, I am glad Straussy was there, because it could have gone further than that, had we not had someone with a bit of intelligence and a bit of nous to calm things down. He just cheated in my view. We live in an era where cheating is accepted in Test cricket. You nick it and don’t walk and no one seems to say anything. But I don’t agree with that,” Swann added.
Swann, however, backed his team-mate Stuart Broad, who edged to first slip and didn’t walk during the recent Ashes series.
One of the commentators flaying the umpires on the final day for sticking to the laws of the game by calling off play was Nasser Hussain. The former England captain talks a lot on ‘Spirit of Cricket’ and being fair. But on Sunday, rather than being independent during the commentaries, Hussain was rooting for England.
The Ashes series was great to watch. It is heartening to note that in some parts of the world still the longer version of the game has not lost interest despite several T-20 events mushrooming. However, the whole series could have been played in a better spirit had Broad walked, that too after edging to first slip.
