It is a universally acknowledged fact that India - Pakistan cricket series produces more passion and electricity than anything else in world cricket. Now that Indian team is ready to embark on an epic journey to Pakistan, cricket boards of Pakistan and India plan to milk all the passion. It is also universally acknowledged by cricket lovers that watching Australia play anybody, even Bangladesh, is more fun. In the last four weeks, I managed to watch a great deal of Australian cricket.
Watching Warne bowl in a test match is perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing experience for a cricket fan. As he slowly walks upto bowl, time slows down. Warne accelerates just before he hits his delivery stride, and as he bowls, one could see him straining every sinew. It is poetic to watch him in slow motion. Then as he stands in the slips after completing his over hands on hips, one could see him plotting his next over. In the last three weeks, I tried to watch every single ball Warne bowled in the Australia- South Africa test series. Even when he isn’t taking wickets, just watching him use the crease, vary his line and length and plot every single dismissal is a great thrill.
Warne and McGrath have been at the heart of Aussie dominance of world cricket in the last ten years and now as sun sets on their careers, Australia struggles to retain its dominance. But along with the drama and great cricket, new complaints about the aggressive Aussie, both on and off the field, have begun to emerge. This summer, Warne and Lee have been particularly guilty of over appealing, putting plenty of pressure on the umpires. Off the field, Andrew Nel, Makaya Ntini and others have been the targets of racist epithets by Aussie spectators.
But the main complaints have been about inconsistent umpiring. Modern technology has already put every umpiring decision under microscope, putting much pressure even on competent umpires who are in the elite panel. Now with screaming Aussies, umpires have apparently been making more mistakes. The third test between Australia and South Africa is a case in point, with many wrongful decisions. Peter Roebuck (who is described by Steve Waugh as the devourer of Shakespeare at night and mediocre county attacks during the day during his playing days) has a suggestion that takes cricket in the direction of Football, where coaches can challenge official rulings on the field:
“The solution is simple. Stop listening to the conspiracy of umpires and batsmen and allow a colleague to review decisions from all the evidence. To avoid delays, let captains challenge three decisions every innings. In short, use technology. Replays are not perfect but they create a higher form of justice than the human element upon which the game has relied since WG Grace’s beard started to grow.”
I don’t know how I feel about that. I don’t want to remove the human element and the uncertainty that brings to the game. But something needs to be done and that has to happen in the realm of cricket administration. Umpires have always been afraid of getting adverse reports from Captains and it might make more sense to have an independent panel to oversee the performance of umpires. At the same time, on field aggression too needs to be addressed, which can only happen when Match Referees find their spine.
Reports from Australia don’t give us any reason to be hopeful. In the meanwhile, let us enjoy Warne bowl, as long as we are afforded that pleasure.
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