" A hideous world record that stands on the poignant corpse of a defaced game"
They say the best thing you can get from sports is the spirit of struggle and the ability to withstand defeats. Perhaps it was some wise man from the old school who had never known the gross ineptitude of his fellow humans towards the notion of honor and spirit.
We all were taught to look at the sporting spirit while watching or playing a game and we were proud to follow it. Our idea of a good game is one where the rules are obeyed and fairness This should explain why Indians all over the world could not contain their shock while their beloved game of cricket was being devastated, its spirit throttled and its honor tarnished by a bunch of "spirited (read arrogant)" "quasi-ethical (read foul)" descendants of British criminals (Yes. In that land, Aborigines do not play cricket and those who do were taught their NOBLE ways by their ancestors who had done a lot of 'unpleasant' acts in the English regime).
Oh and by the way, suddenly a member of a community which has been historically at the receiving end of racism is accused of making racial remarks about "you know who". Ridiculous!! Ironically, even the judges listened to the same bunch of "you know what" kind of people to decide the fate of our poor hero. It is perhaps fitting that a movie channel was playing the film "Ghatak" which added new color to the whole affair. So for each wicket going down in the second innings, Sunny paji shouts on the other channel "So gaya hai kanoon!!"...fate it seems has a strange sense of humor.
Indians have a strange way of reacting to such situations. The media as usual went to the streets (sometimes i wonder if they keep walking on the street asking silly question to people - who knows which question strikes gold and when) asking people what they felt. Outrage was everywhere, as much as the smoke out of burning effigies. The question was if India should come back from Australia immediately. What an idea! A remnant of the Great Indian truth trick called the satyagraha. No way gentlemen, said BCCI, we stay (somebody was fast enough to calculate the dollars lost. Public memory is short and swiss accounts are long term).
It will be a collective defeat of the game and of the players if this issue goes unnoticed. Challenging the decision is not going to suffice. We must use our clout in the ICC to bring home the point that no one is greater than the game. (right now they say "no one is greater than the aussie game" - small change needed). A team that 'specializes' in racism, sledging, cheating and dishonesty should be kept away from the game for a while, to let them cool off their heads against the many world records that they have snatched. A ban or atleast a public apology for the behavior on and off the field is the least of penalties the team deserves for their honorable contribution to the game.
The first line of this blog gave a vent to my emotions. Rest of it is just bits and pieces. The aim was not to comprehend the breadth and depth of the issue, it was just to put in some thoughts.
After all
Ye australia ka cricket hai bhidu
ponting bole to out bhidu
bhajji bole to shout bhidu
umpire to ghar ke hai
match refree bhi jeb me hai
duniya chillaye to parva kise hai
apne najar me to record bhidu
ye australia ka cricket hai....bhidu
@Caution:
This blog is sponsored by the Ponting Cricket Association (the holding company of ICC) and requires every reader to comment that this is the best blog ever written. Otherwise next time you watch cricket, a kangaroo will appear and kill your dog and accuse you of the murder!!
