Umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson have been in the firing line ever since their chain of wrong decisions commenced from Day 1 of the test match. When Hussey and Symonds nicked the ball on its way behind the stumps, Bucknor's index finger seemed to have got stuck in his pocket with great pleasure though. On the other hand, when the wall Dravid was declared out to a ball which brushed his pads and was no where close to the bat, Bucknor's index finger lost its shame and brought itself into light in a jiffy. Andrew Symonds seemed to have his fellow 'monkeys' on the field and in the third umpire's box as well supporting his back. His three let offs cost India the match on Day 1 itself.
When Michael Clarke stood his ground after being caught in the slips for a definite edge, what can one expect out of him while fielding in the same slips quardent. Mark Bensons's controversial decision of declaring Sourav Ganguly 'out' created a huge burst of fury within the Indian dressing room and back home. It was evident after numerous replays that Michael Clarke scooped the ball from the ground and was not in control of it as he rolled over. The so called 'self-proclaimed' clean catch taken by Clarke is no less than questionable and unacceptable in the books of cricket. Whats more !, what does Benson do when in doubt, he looks at the on field 'fifth umpire', Ricky 'Punter' Ponting for affirmation. Ponting's action seemed to have satisfied grandpa Benson who in turn raised his sorry finger upwards.
The thought that comes to my mind is how did the BCCI okay the appointment of Steve Bucknor in the match when the team has been through a patch of wrong decisions in his presence. Steve Bucknor though has over the years shown an almost Musharaff like love for the Indian team, whether it was that dreadful decision against Sachin Tendulkar one after another or his poor umpiring performance during the 2003 Australia series when the then captain Sourav Ganguly spoke about Bucknor's disgraceful performance in his assessment report.
What should have been expected out of the Board was to raise a red flag when his name came on the umpire roster for this on going series... similar to something the Sri Lankans did to Hair. I hear now that Steve Bucknor will not be officiating the next test match at Perth, but the horse has already been bolted and the series can either be a draw or the Australian team can emerge victorious.
After the poor umpiring standards, the last thing Team India wanted was yet another shocker - yes there can be things shocking that just poor umpiring. Harbhajan Singh has been banned for three tests on charges of racism for calling Symonds a 'monkey'. Australians seem to run to their mammas at the slightest provocation when they themselves unleash the worst kind of verbal comments on their opponents. But lets concentrate on the unfairness of the whole judgment, which I believe is the sort of verdict which would come up in a kangaroo court.
It is a well documented fact that the ICC match referees are known to be biased against 'non-white' teams. An Indian is always caught hold of in cases of verbal scuffle and the white man is allowed to let go unharmed. This unfairness seemed to have come into light in the decision of three test ban on Bhajji. Mike Procter (a South African ex cricketer who also represented South Africa during apartheid) accpeted in an interview that there was no evidence of any sort against Harbhajan, yet he came up with the following verdict : " I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Harbhajan Singh directed that word at Andrew Symonds and also that he meant it to offend on the basis of Symond's 'race or ethnic origin,"...
What do you expect when five Australian Players support Symonds claiming they heard Harbhajan pass racist remarks, when the entire team has a definite interest to get rid of the man in form. It was well known to all that Bhajji was a target for the Australian team whether it was his uncanny ability to pick Ricky Ponting's wicket or his ability to face the Aussie' sledging.
It is not much of a surprise to me that the incident conviniently happened on a day when Aussies were struggling and were on the back foot. Now thanks to Mike Procter's decision the team has an enormous advantage against India and more so for Ponting himself. The rivalry between the two teams always existed but it has taken a downturn ever since the Australian team's tour to India in 2001, when the Indians defeated them convincingly and broke their record of consecutive test victories.
As of now the Board has suspended the tour... which seems to be the best decision for Team India. Lifting the ban on Bhajji would then mean that Aussies have had enough of fun on the field. I am proud of Anil Kumble and co. His one statement "Only one team was playing in the right spirit of the game." was enough to slap all criticism and the Aussie team.
As far as I am conerned the Indian team won the Sydney Test Match- look at the number of decisions the Aussies had to rig in to get the team to finally lose. The gesture of coming out of the dressing room and shaking hands in appreciation said it all about the sportsmanship within Team India.
The question that comes in my mind at this time is not if Australia will continue to be successful even after McGrath and Warne's retirements, but will Australia continue to be successful even after Steve Bucknor's retirement?. To conclude I would say that it seems more than enough a reason why cleaning sewage pipes and playing cricket in Australia can all be referred to as 'attending to things DOWN UNDER'.
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