Sean McGuire: Slur overshadows Aussies’ style

Jan 10 2008 by Sean McGuire, Liverpool Daily Post

THE fantastic way in which Australia claimed their 16th consecutive Test win to clinch a series win was a real sporting highlight.

To be on form over such a long period of time, in varying conditions and against different opponents, and then to turn form into victory, is a fine achievement.

Three wickets in five balls by part-time spinner Michael Clarke in the penultimate over against India made great viewing and showed how the Australians never know when they are beaten.

But the furore that has blown up over what Harbhajan Singh is meant to have said to Andrew Symonds has not only overshadowed Australia’s achievement, but has also exposed a faultline in international cricket.

The game’s administrators will have hoped a new year would bring a new start after the World Cup troubles of 2007 and the abandoned England-Pakistan Test of 2006.

But it has taken less than a week of the new year for their hopes to be dashed.

What is astounding is the way the Board of Control for Cricket in India believe they can hold a gun to the ICC’s head. To demand the retraction of a disciplinary sanction in order for them to continue the series – a series which, you may recall, they can’t win – is beyond belief.

Of course the ICC aren’t about to become scapegoats while the blame or attention can be shifted, which explains umpire Steve Bucknor being very publicly dropped for the next Test, with officials claiming the move was to ease the tension. Just who is running the sport?

It is the ICC’s disciplinary process that found Singh guilty and banned him, so the governing body need to back the decision, or overhaul the process.

But instead a fudged solution is inevitable that will ensure that cricket’s biggest and most valuable fan base are kept on side.

And as for fair play and gentlemanly conduct on the cricket field, I believe you can find them reminiscing about old times with their contemporary and friend, FA Cup romance.