Cricket World Cup: this joke that is ‘the spirit of the game’
Posted on March 9th, 2011
By Mario Perera, Kadawata
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I refer to the incident which was the violent confrontation that Shaun Tait led Dilshan into at our last result less encounter with Australia. It was totally unprovoked, unwarranted and unnecessary. Yet it did happen. We saw the umpires talking it over with Tait and later with Dilshan. Dilshan was the victim, but was made to appear himself as an aggressor. We will recall the pithy Sinhala saying about the bull pouncing on and butting the unfortunate man who fell from the tree. Now in such incidents, the opposition (in this case the Aussies) always make it seem that the victim is equally an aggressor because he fires back his remonstrations. So instead of the one who initially broke the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, now there are two, and that is made to ease the guilt complex (if those who indulge in such antics ever have one) of the perpetrator.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now my question is: where was this blessed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ flaunted by the ICC and which the match referee, in this case Mr.Broad (no saint himself) was bound to uphold? Let us call the spade a spade and call this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ a sword in the hand of those who lay down the rules of cricket. I am forced to think of the slogan ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”human rightsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which has a similar intent and effect in the field of politics. As Veera Puran Appu is said to have told the court that tried him: the judge is yours, so are the prosecutor and jury…and naturally the executioner too. After everything is said and done, we are compelled to admit that cricket is yet another ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-white manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, he being the judge, prosecutor and jury all in one.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We know from what we have seen ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”with our own eyesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (as the expression goes), that these Aussies have violence in their genes. No need to go back to the Murali episodes enacted by the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢HaresƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the Darrell type and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”hairless tortoisesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the Emerson brand. During that period the background ancestry of the Aussies was laid bare to the very skin…deported criminals condemned to the galleys. If ancestry is something to go by, then we know whom and what we are against when we play this so called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”gentlemanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ with these Australians!
Cricket laws as enthroned now in the rule books are something similar to pitch preparations for matches. Theirs are stone hard and bouncy. The subcontinent players are not built like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”hulksƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Our boys are all elegance and refinement (just watch chewing gun chewing Pointing and Sanga standing by side). Our bowlers cannot bounce at heads at those speeds not being endowed with brawn as they are. But we do have a Malinga who counters with the art of toe crushing. No felling anyone with one blow on the head, but he does make them ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dance the jigƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by smashing their toes in the view of all. They try to hit us in the heads because they know where our strength lies. Our heads are our jackpots, our source of wealth. Malinga knows, that is not their claim to glory. So he gets the entertaiment value they can afford us by hitting their toes. Once that happens, oh boy, it is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”hoppety skippety high and lowƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢…what fun!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We know that these Aussies, the bullies who flout the spirit of the game, derive unfair advantages by the agitations they cause in the sensitive minds of our boys, and get away with it. And then the umpires step in to tell sweet nothings to this hulky, beefy bulks in crocodile skin. But Dilshan (no doubt he was perturbed, which made him hit out and get out) did somethings brainy. He waited till Tait lumbered in, and when the man was in his delivery stride, pulled back. Sweetly and superbly done. Then the umpire stepped in once again to remind Dilshan that there was something called the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢! What a laugh.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How could our players deal with these public violations of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which are condoned with, while giving it back in the same coin? We know how Arjuna taught them many a bitter lesson. More recently Harbhajan did so, and the hulks were scurrying like mice to mother umpire to complain: see what he said…see what he did. And then the grand juries were convoked in all haste to pat down the ruffled feathers. What a pathetic show in the end for those trying to appear strong but reduced to shivering in their boots when confronted eye to eye.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To my mind, the best way to deal with these timorous big kids, is the way Dilshan did it in the end. Not by ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Tit for TatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (better said Tit for Tait!), but by adopting different tactics which hit them where it hurts. Not the bludgeon of unrefined thugs but deft rapier thrusts that make inroads into the incorrigible violent psyche of these opponents.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Such was the action of Dilshan when his tormentor was about to deliver. Surely reasons are not what is wanting. Dilshan pointed to the sight-screen. It could be other motives. The supporting ground staff should also be kept in the know of the state of the art and the need of the hour. Why not a stray dog that runs across the batsman’sƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ view that legitimizes his pulling back? Why not a fly that gets into his eye? Why not a change of gloves or a faintish feeling which demands a glass of waterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ And why not the following justifiable innovation…the need for on the spot counselling to redress a perturbed mind after such a flagrant aggression for no reason? We have the services of physios for cramps, bruises, cuts and similar mishaps. But we must insist on the calm required for the mind to play the game. Do we not hear commentators telling us time and again that cricket is a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”mind gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢? If our boys continue ruffled as Dilshan did and get out, it is certainly not in the interest of the country, and this is the prime interest of international fixtures.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Our team has all the right for the services of psychologists just as for physios. If a batsmanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mind is troubled by insults levelled by such unscrupulous adversaries, then he must seek those qualified to cure him from that condition before he continues. This is in the unwritten law of fair play. Until this need is officially recognized, then pull out at the last moment, get a fly in the eye, ask for a glove, a glass of water, complain of a cramp, point out to a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dogiyaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ loitering around with his tail up, pull out a boot or a pad, adjust a shoe lace…hold up proceedings without openly flouting this white manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s one sided ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and playing into his hands. All this primarily to regain lost composure and also to unsettle such opponents. Our forte is our spin. So find discrete ways and means of getting them in a spin and making them feel the consequences of the law of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”karmaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.
It is of no use returning home stating with head high ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”we played in the spirit of the gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ while its violators carry away the trophies and the prize money, thus making the unscrupulous rich all the richer and the good-hearted poor still poorer. The sooner we get out of that mind-set the better for the team and the country at large.
March 9th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Dilshan fell into the Ausi trap.
Later Brett Lee used the F word to Thilan.
That is after Ponting smashed a TV in India!
They will do this more and more now.
The important thing is to play the game. Punish them with the bat and ball. If we are affected by these rowdy acts, we don’t deserve to win. Some SL cricketers had the ability to keep cool and get under the Ausi skin. Good if we can do it. Lets push defeat down their throats.
March 10th, 2011 at 6:15 am
Well said Mario!
The Aussies have built up such a reputation for sledging, gamesmanship and psychological tactics that they are despised by many who truly love the gentlemen’s game.The are a bad example from many perspectives of the game.With the exception of a few, most of them are a bunch of brawny rowdies who think they can steamroll over their opponents but in recent time have been proven wrong and creamed to ignominy by a few minnows at best!
As for this bullcrap called “spirit of the game” which is a figure of speech inapplicable to the ‘Roos’ hopping around in tandem thinking they are the best, perhaps it should be an analogy for what is imbibed after they are beaten resoundingly and brought down a peg or two ~ quite likely to happen in this World Cup ~ so lets raise a glass to the Lankans and cheer them on remembering giants like Arjuna who often kept them at bay!
March 11th, 2011 at 5:48 am
Well said Mario!
March 12th, 2011 at 12:21 am
I agree with Lorenzo that Dilshan fell into a trap. Frankly, I was disappointed to see him get out the way he did. The Australian players are well known for their mindless sledging and attempts to verbally intimidate the opposition. And when Dilshan hit that four, Tait reacted predictably, with an earful to Dilshan. Dilshan should have been ready for this and been prepared to handle it without losing his composure. Unfortunately, Dilshan lost his cool and got out to an impetuous stroke.
Mario, you comments on the unsportsmanlike conduct of the Australian cricketers with their overly aggressive tactics and poor conduct on the field are generally fair. But I don’t think you do yourself proud when you say such things as “these Aussies have violence in their genes” and “the background ancestry of the Aussies was laid bare to the very skin…deported criminals condemned to the galleys”. You are by no means the first person to make such remarks on this site. But such comments are both basically flawed and wholly irrelevant to how the Australians play their cricket.
The comments are basically flawed because not all white Australians are descended from ‘convicts’. A good number of them are descended from free settlers who also arrived during the first years of white settlement. Many are also descended from later immigrants. For instance, the spin bowler Jason Krejza is of Czech descent and his parents will have only migrated to Australian after the Second World War. And talking of convicts, it should be noted that some of the so called convicts who were transported to Australia from Britain were guilty of no more serious an offence than stealing a loaf of bread.
The comments are also irrelevant because a person’s ancestry is not pertinent to how he conducts himself on a cricket field. And talking of ancestry, let us not be too smug about our own position. I think it is a fair bet that if each one of us was to trace our ancestry far back enough, we are likely to discover in our family trees, several undesirable characters – even convicts!
As Lorenzo has observed, “The important thing is to play the game. Punish them with the bat and ball. If we are affected by these rowdy acts, we don’t deserve to win”.
March 12th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
I agree with Cassendra. No point insulting other teams. No need to do tit for tat. BE inspired using our best tool, Buddha Dhamma. If we teach these kids how to develop compassion they can keep extreme cool and paly intelligently.
If you wnat to be like Aussies we must have real fast bowlers bowling at 150 kPh. No don’t have to be angry and upset to bowl at the body, bowl at the helmet. This is game. Intention is not phisical harm.