Desperate and
Devious
By Dr Shireen M Mazari
Desperate, deceitful and devious
-- these three words describe the English cricket
team most aptly after watching their performance
and antics for the first two days of the Second
test at Faisalabad. Clearly, they do not regard
cricket as a sport to be played and enjoyed in a
sporting environment. Instead, they have shown that
they can stoop to all levels of deceit simply to
try and take advantage. Of course, one has to concede
that the English team is traumatised after their
defeat at Multan. After all, they had come as the
conquerors of mighty Australia and the winners of
the Ashes and they were not prepared to be humbled
in the first encounter with poor little Pakistan
-- a team that is always underrated because of it
marches to its own beat.
Having lost at Multan, the English team saw itself
being rent asunder by the Pakistani batting at Faisalabad,
after an initial disaster. So, what did the visitors
from England do? First, we saw the Bell incident
where clearly he claimed a catch wrongfully to put
out the flowing innings of Mohammed Yousaf. One
would not like to use the word cheating but it is
difficult to find a more diplomatic term for what
Bell did. What a contrast to a similar incident
involving Shane Warne in the last match of the Ashes,
earlier this year. Fielding in the slips he took
what seemed to be a catch but he was sporting enough
to refer it to the umpires even though everything
rested on this match. Of course, many questions
have been raised about the two field umpires also,
especially since they have the facility of the Third
Umpire to utilise when things are as unclear as
they were in this instance -- although for the television
viewer it was clear that the ball had touched the
ground before Bell had secured it and that he tried
to suddenly cover this by moving his other palm
in front of the ball.
Having successfully carried out a deceitful action,
the English team no doubt felt buoyed. But to the
Englishmen's horror, the dismissal of Yousaf only
led to the advent of Afridi and his complete destruction
of the English psyche. Watching Vaughan in the field
during the Afridi batting tornado was like watching
a man about to burst into tears of desperation.
They had no answer to his batting blitzkrieg. He
showed what Pakistani cricket is all about as did
the always-underrated but brilliant captain Inzamam.
With Afridi out, the Englishmen continued to feel
helpless before Inzi and hence the most blatant
act of deviousness by Harmison. With Inzi in the
crease, Harmison physically dislodged him by throwing
the ball straight at him more than at the wicket.
Given that Inzi was not seeking a run, obviously
this was a straight-forward ploy to get him to move
and be "run out" or be injured and be
out of the next few games. As in the Bell case,
the role of the field umpires was dubious at the
very least while the TV Umpire, Nadeem Ghauri, was
either desperate to show his "neutrality"
to the visitors or was simply ill-informed about
the rules. After all, Ghauri's own test experience
has been limited to one innings in one test match
in his whole career (1990 against Australia at Sydney)
with no runs on the record at all. Even in terms
of umpiring, he has only umpired two test matches
and these were earlier this year -- Bangladesh vs
Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka vs West Indies.
Clearly he is ill-informed about ICC rules. As has
now been cited in the press, Rule 38 of the ICC
dealing with run-outs states: "...a batsman
is not Run Out if (a) he has been within his ground
and has subsequently left it to avoid injury, when
the wicket is put down." But if Ghauri can
be faulted for ignorance what about the very experienced
field umpires? Why did they deliberately ignore
the deceitful ploy used by Harmison? That Inzi kept
his cool simply shows the immense tolerance level
and sporting spirit of the Pakistani captain.
The final nail in the coffin of the visitors' claims
to fairness and sporting spirit was the way in which
they reacted to Afridi's turn on the pitch. That
Afridi would actually and deliberately tamper with
the pitch is unthinkable especially since he had
no reason to do so. The decision by the match umpire
is unfair and biased and his statement that the
ban "should serve as a message to players that
this type of behavior is not allowed" would
have been better directed at Bell and Harmison.
It is a pity that Mahanama has chosen to turn a
blind eye to the antics of the English team and
has fallen prey to their devious tactics to rid
themselves of the Afridi menace. And what of the
threatening manner in which the English batsman,
Pietersen, wielded the bat in Afridi's face on the
pitch? Why was no note taken of that behavior?
Unfortunately, the answers to many of these disturbing
questions lie with our own cricketing officials
-- primarily the PCB Chairman and Coach Woolmer,
both of whom are desperate to fall in line to please
the English team. The PCB's decision not to appeal
against Bell and Harmison smacks of a strange absurdity
and duplicity. The Chairman of the PCB, who is arrogant
in his defiance of the elected representatives when
he is summoned before a parliamentary committee,
has shown servility towards England that smacks
of a continuing colonial hang-up. Even on the issue
of having the ODI in Karachi, we seem to be giving
in to English pressure. The security argument seems
a little futile given that the London bombings did
not upset the Ashes despite the massive devastation
they wreaked. If the logic of security is followed,
then London should be out as a venue for any sporting
event in the future. We should learn a lesson or
two from the Indians on the issue of venue selection.
(Talking of selection, why does Yasser Arafat continue
to be ignored despite his outstanding performance
in domestic cricket?)
As for Woolmer's argument that the Pakistani side
would not appeal to the match referee because we
wanted to "maintain a good spirit in the series,"
he should wake up to the reality that the English
team has destroyed this spirit. They are out to
win at all costs and it seems a little foolish to
continue giving in to their bullying ploys to sustain
a one-sided "good spirit"!
It was equally disturbing to see the shameful acquiescence
of commentator, Waqar Yunus, in the antics of the
English team. Not a word of condemnation for what
Bell and Harmison did. Of course, English cricketers
have been indulging in unsportsmanlike behavior
for some time now. Remember the sandpaper Atherton's
trouser pocket? The Pakistanis have always won against
all odds because they play from the heart with a
spirit of defiance as they march to their own drumbeat.
Let them do it again despite the English team's
ploys and despite the PCB pusillanimity.
(The writer is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Courtesy The
News)
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