Held to ransom?

Ugh.

I usually love cricket - it's one of the redeeming features of Summer, along with mangoes - but this utter bollocks about the stuff between the Australian and Indian teams at the moment following the Second Test in Sydney is driving me nuts. Talk about things being blown out of proportion!

In the final days of the match, I was rather disappointed with the way in which some of the Australian team members behaved, and pretty unimpressed with the umpiring (even though it favoured the Australian team). Following the game, I did feel sympathetic for Anil Kumble and the way the Indian team was feeling.

But their three-year-old-in-tantrum-mode behaviour in recent days has been most unimpressive. Threatening, Pakistan-style, to take their bat and ball and go home? Demanding (and getting, somehow) Steve Bucknor to be removed from the Third Test? People dismissing the "monkey" issue? I really don't know. Plus the way in which most people in the media appear to have lost their heads over the entire thing... Yes, I'm looking at you, Peter Roebuck. Mercy.

I think there's validity to the Indian team feelings of being ripped off by the umpiring. The game really should have been a draw. The poor umpiring cannot be blamed on the Australians, though - after all, the umpires are chosen by the ICC from countries not involved in the Test in order to be impartial. Everyone makes mistakes, too. You'd think this could be one area in which the Indian team could perhaps make a complaint of some variety, but generally suck it up like most other teams do when decisions don't go their way all the time.

At some point or another in the history of cricket, every team has benefited or seriously lost out because of poor umpiring decisions, most of which are based on things that happen within a matter of seconds, all without instant replays to make a choice on, or snickometres or whatever else.

Is there such a storm about the other issues in an attempt to distract from the alleged racist remarks? Who knows. But I don't think the issue of racism should be dismissed, as it seems like some would like it to be. Regardless of who is saying it and why, racist comments really shouldn't be acceptable and should be punished. And yet somehow Ponting is in trouble for reporting the problem? This puzzles me. Why should racism be allowed on the field, or kept under wraps like the other sledging? And why the heck should there be sledging anyway? Plus, if Singh did say it, wouldn't he know how Symonds and others would feel about the "monkey" thing after what happened with the Indian crowds in October 2007? In the hearing, Mike Proctor was "satisfied beyond reasonable doubt" that it happened, and "he meant it to offend on the basis of Symonds' race or ethnic origin."

This reminds me somehow of the issue with Darren Lehmann a number of years ago when Sri Lanka was touring and he uttered a couple words in Brisbane. He was in the Australian dressing room following his dismissal and overheard by a couple Sri Lankan team members in the adjoining room. Instead of pretending it didn't happen, Lehmann apologised in person and in writing. The Sri Lankan team didn't lodge a complaint, but the ICC later charged Lehmann independently.

In that case, Malcolm Speed noted his awareness of the apologies and the Sri Lankan reluctance to lodge a complaint, but believed it to be in the interest of eradicating racial vilification in cricket to do something about it. So, is there going to be consistency? If they are going to have the rules, they must enforce them, rather than faff around with them.

The whole thing is beyond ridiculous, as is that stupid burning effigy crap. Definitely takes the desire to see any more of the India vs Australia series away, which kind of reminds me of that Russian model in one ep of The Simpsons where Moe does his bar up saying, "All zis shouting is takink avay my horny."

Other people's thoughts on it can be found here.