Say goodbye!

I'm reproducing a mail from a section-mate of mine about the cricket match and the horrendous things happening on the cricket ground

Written by: P.V.Bhaskar - bhaskar_pv@yahoo.com

I’ve just returned from a frustrating morning of cricket-watching. I am a cricket fan, and I love the game. Believe it or not, I watch test matches, ball-to-ball. I find it more interesting than basketball or soccer because of the profundity of the game – the technicality, the rules, the strategies… everything. I love the current Indian cricket team. I also believe that on the field, Australia is the best team in the world today, as it has been for more than a decade now. So it is with a sad heart that I write this essay.

I think we’ve had enough. Kumble has a hearing with the match referee today over the controversy surrounding Steve Bucknor’s decisions yesterday and Harbhajan Singh’s verbal fight with Andrew Symonds. I am willing to bet on the outcome. Bhajji will be punished. Symonds will walk away with those monstrous painted lips of his shaped in a grin. No action will be taken on Bucknor. Kumble will be humiliated. I am willing to bet on it. Sad part is, there’s no one who’ll take my bet.

I think we’ve had enough. We’ve seen the bad side of the Australian team for years now. We know how desperate they can get for a win. We know how much integrity Ponting has on the field. We know that Gilchrist is the only one left in the squad who’ll walk when out. We know they slander and rebuke opponent players. They can’t keep their goddamn traps shut. So why do we play Australia? If they are the best side, one has a right to want to test one’s skills against them, on their fields. I am willing to take humiliation from the Aussie bat and ball, but not from things I cannot control. I am not willing to stand in front of the match referee and listen to gibberish knowing all the while that I am right and will still be punished. I am not willing to let slimy eels like Ponting get away with schoolboy nonsense. Who on earth is he to look at Ganguly and tell him he’s out? Forget Benson’s error for a while. Who is Ponting (of all people) to decide who’s out and who’s not? And even if he was Gandhi for a brief moment, who does he think he is, wagging that annoying finger of his at Ganguly, instead of talking to the umpire?

I think we’ve had enough. I don’t plan to be a consultant. No, I should rephrase that. I plan not to be a consultant. That said, I will venture here to make a recommendation. I say we announce that we won’t play Australia again, except in world championship ties where opponents are drawn, not selected. Let it not be contingent on what happens in the match referee’s courtroom. Let this be an independent decision. One might be tempted to want to win a match and then make this announcement. I say that is overboard. Make it now. You won’t lose your daily bread if you don’t play Australia. In fact, we don’t depend on them in any manner. There are many other test-playing nations. Play them. Or just stay at home. But there is no need to play Australia. For those of you who believe playing Australia and winning is like making a trip to Mecca, let me tell you that I choose to be an atheist. If politics make it necessary for you to play Australia, announce that your batsmen will bat wrong-handed. Anything. Let them know we don’t need this nonsense.

Goodbye, Australia. We've had enough.

BTW: I fully agree with Bhaskar.