da cassino online： © CricInfo The course of the English tour of India has seen many in the pressshower plaudits on Nasser Hussain’s captaincy, and it must be admittedthat they were, for the most part, deserved
Samanth Subramanian04-Feb-2002
© CricInfoThe course of the English tour of India has seen many in the pressshower plaudits on Nasser Hussain’s captaincy, and it must be admittedthat they were, for the most part, deserved. Hussain has, within thepast year, imparted shape and a steeliness to an English team that wasonce just a vague, misshapen blob under Michael Atherton. But theprocess of making his team edgier has, it appears, realised someunexpected side effects.As a column writer on the subject, I personally could not have hoped fora more fitting climax to what has been a notably ugly touring spectacle.With five runs to defend and a series to square, Andrew Flintoff castledJavagal Srinath and then, in an act of such startling immediacy that itmust have been premeditated, proceeded to rip off his shirt and careenabout the ground in a wilful imitation of English on-field footballbrashness.Aside from springing a few more yards of lily-white flab on unsuspectingMumbaikars than they bargained for, Flintoff’s action perfectly cappedoff a forgettable performance by the England team – not in terms ofresults, for we shall not inaccurately grudge them that, but in terms ofbeing ambassadors for their country and the sport of cricket.Reliable recyclers of hoary cliches, ever since Cronje-gate, have notmissed many opportunities to tell us that cricket has ceased to be agentleman’s game. Maybe, then, that je-ne-sais-quoi spirit is no longerpresent. But the laws still are, and the ICC Code of Conduct’s ruleabout “bringing the game of cricket into disrepute” can still be invokedif the spirit of the game fails to measure up.Clauses C1 and C2, ironically enough, were in recent memory most notablyapplied against the Indians in the second Test in South Africa. Thematch referee on that occasion – Mike Denness – was accused of beingheavy-handed, and Denis Lindsay, his replacement for the next game – theunofficial “Test” – could only have been chosen for a more markedreputation for leniency.Lindsay proved that in full during this one-day series; indeed, if hewere any more light-handed, he could carve out a lucrative career as apick-pocket. As the commentators stated at the end of the last one-dayinternational, not one player was hauled up for any offence during thesix-match series.This is not to say that there were no breaches of Rule C2. Thenotoriously long memories of the Indian cricket fan will recall, yearshence, Flintoff and other bowlers hurling epithets after dismissals,Hussain jumping up and down, screaming abuse, as Harbhajan edged aboundary between wicket-keeper and first slip in those crucial finalstages of the sixth match, wanton bodily obstruction of sprintingbatsmen by some of the quicker bowlers – and of course, Flintoff’s Half(thank heavens for small mercies) Monty.One can only infer, considering that each of those offences was filmedand replayed many times over, that Lindsay is a less conscientious userof videotape than Denness. His complete ignorance of these incidents wasabetted by the umpires, 11 of the 12 having officiated in less than 11one-dayers and not about to nip their burgeoning careers in the bud bylodging complaints against a touring side.Perhaps the feisty attitude did help the English perform better, forthey fought back admirably to square the one-day series. But they woulddo well to remember that the world’s best cricketer is also incontention to be the world’s foremost gentleman. It was a relief beyondwords to hear, as the culmination of a very un-pretty series, the politeand measured tones of Sachin Tendulkar as he collected his mammoth Manof the Series award. With his shirt on.