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March 27, 2001
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Back to the Pavilion

The Pavilion.com's team of cricket writers responds to mail from rediff.com's readers.



Name:Krishnan Swamy
Australian Players: A Disgrace to a gentleman's game

I think it was a well-deserved lesson for the Aussies. Winning matches at home is not everything, and the true test is winning in all conditions, and that includes places like India and Sri Lanka, and not necessarily just the WACA, Gabba and the SCG. By S Waugh's own admission, this was indeed the final frontier. And guess what, something tells me that the Ashes is not going to be a breeze either.

One piece of advice for the Aussies. Maybe, people like Glenn McGrath should refrain from writing in the press. His statements of having "figured out Sachin and Rahul", "knowing Laxman's weaknesses", "having a plan for all Indian batsmen" and having team strategy meetings on "how to tackle the spinners" is beginning to wear thin. What happened to Ze Grand Plan when the Aussies got tonked around for 500 plus in two consecutive innings. Glenn McGrath is nothing but an over-grown school boy with a bad attitude. Mr.McGrath, I hope you have taken your lesson well and will be more circumspect before making statements that end up sounding ludicrous. Justin Langer wrote far more maturely in the press.

A great Indian victory. Australia must have fancied their chances at 135/7 but the Indian citadel held firm. See you again in some 4-5 years time, Australia. And then, it will be 36 years since the last victory in India. Cheers!

Sam:
MacGill instead of Warne, yes.



Name:: Anujay Vootla
Australian Players: A Disgrace to a gentleman's game

Dear Mr. Steve Waugh:
I have had several sleepless nights watching cricket but it was worth watching, Thanks for the great entertainment provided by the Australian team. McGrath and Gillespie are great bowlers but they can still be great without those wagging tongues and contorted faces. I mean the sledging which is euphemistically wrapped under mental disintegration. Warne was unlucky, only because he was concentrating too much on a strategy for Sachin while Laxman struck him un-noticed like a tornado. Still Warne is a great spinner, just that his unseen psychological Armour that his team provides was never there. Pointing was a disappointment. Gilchrist was a meteorite blazed in Bombay and failed to ride the same luck. Hayden was awesome just because he practiced and prepared himself well within his potentials. Slater made a joker out of himself trying to be a bully playing a backyard street game. Mark Waugh is poetry to watch but he failed to strike a rhythm. Langer didn't deliver but the standing ovation should go to you Mr. Waugh in spite of your mental disintegration tactics, you are a gem to Cricket. Your team really played great but it happened so that the wishes of one billion people weighed in a lot. Even while loosing you Aussies have taught a lesson to the Indians. The Self belief. The revival of that mental toughness is definitely connected to your mental disintegration volleys in the media. Even though Ganguly reacted as an armature he has the potential to master this art. Of course without the pig headed arrogance. Thanks for baptizing Saurav with fire. Thanks for all the good you have done to the Indian Cricket and Test Cricket overall. I salute you Mr. Waugh, Forget Mike Brarely you are one heck of a captain, not just on the cricket field. I wish we have more captains like you in every field. long live Mr. Waugh.

Sam:
I personally think that Warne is no longer the same bowler after his surgery. Waugh is mentally tough but some of the others tend to fade under pressure. The way the Australians, especially Jason Gillespie, fought on the last day was pretty inspiring.



Name:Jyothi
Dear Sir,
I think that the aussies were very unlucky overall.nothing seemed to work for Jason Gillespie who I think was the best bowler for australia in the series.On such flat helpless wickets his skill was very admirable. I was just thinking about what would have happened if India had a similar target to chase in australia where the pitches have just a wee bit of bounce.
Lucky Indians.....We play on pitches that are unique to our country and our captain cries foul when he finds that the pitch doesnt suit his bowlers. mamamia we surely pulled a duck out of our hats to beat the aussies. Anyway godluck India!!

Sam:
I don't agree. Good teams win on any surface. These were not overly spin-friendly tracks. I have seen real dust-bowls in India and these were as good as any wickets prepared in any country for a five-day match. Australia couldn't cope, that's the truth.



Name:Sameer Viswanathan
Australian Players: A Disgrace to a gentleman's game
Its interesting that this series has sparked off a resurgence of interest in cricket in Australia. The "un-defeatables" have finally met their match in India.
It was a amazing series in that the Indians lifted their game and fought like their lives depended on the outcome and the aussies never let up. Its interesting that in the washup the main news in australia seems to be the controversy about the one fingered salute by Hemant Badani. A careful look at the replay shows that most of the players were waving while Hemant was giving the bird. Seems like the touring Aussie fans have taken on the role of the whingeing Pom. Very amusing reports on aussie TV with the mortally offended tourists complaining as if getting the bird was so damaging to their self esteem. Surely the peurile gesture of one player does not make the team? I have seen Warney do worse at the SCG. The chants going around the SCG during any cricket match are far worse. Wonder why such a fuss is being made?

Sam: This one player was the captain. But there has been a lot of play given to it by the media. Perhaps because there is nothing else on which to focus.



Name: Bala Natarajan
Dear Australians,
I request this note be passed on to the touring Australian team. I want to thank the team for providing a wonderful performance in the entire three test series. The tests were so close that it could have been Australia winning in the "final frontier". The team was very professional in their conduct. There were nice gestures when Indian batsmen scored runs. All the cricket playing nations should learn from the Australian attitude.
I am also sorry about our captain's attitude and behavior. In contrast, Steve Waugh was at his best even in defeat. He is a role model both on and off the field. I was very much touched by his kindness and kindness of the Australian cricketers for caring about poor and orphaned children in India. How many of our own players are like that, I wonder!
Steve, you and your team won the respect and the heart of millions of cricket loving fans. I think that it self is the greatest victory of all! Good luck to you and your team in the one day series and the Ashes tour this summer.
Bala

Sam:
I guess some people see things differently, Bala, but your points are taken.



Name:Gourishankar Pani
It's time the Ausies heed to what John Buchanan says - to be humble, and behaved like other cricketers. Success at home had gotten to their heads. The tantrums of Slater, the antics of McGrath and Warne are the case in point. Ricky Ponting looks lost while facing good spin bowling(read Harbhajan). This puts to rest the debate whether this Australian team is the best ever. When they are put under pressure, they are simply not good enough. The media had glorified the team and given more respect than what was due. The much vaunted attack could not take a single wicket in a whole day in Calcutta and the LONG batting line-up could not hold the fort for a session. So it's high time guys like McGrath ate the humble pie and learnt humility.
Thanks,
Pani

Sam: I don't see exactly how humility is going to help a person's cricketing ability. Commonsense, yes.




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