'Bullying' casts shadow over cricket

[mcgillianaire]

Some men prefer puris
Ponting's team needs to grow up. Kumble's team needs to remember how to bat.

An awesome summary of the major illnesses that ail world cricket at present: BCCI bullying backed by 1+ billion jingoistic cricket fans and over-the-limit on-field arrogance from Australia's players. A pity that Brijnath didn't also suggest how to solve the problems.

Comments

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

>I don't see the Australian public forgiving links with the criminal underworld in our cricket team. Nor have our cricketers come close to death from drug addictions.
What does this allude to?

>than anything our cricketers have done
Different sports have different levels of acceptable behaviour.

>I doubt this.
So do I but any guesses on why it took so long to draw the conclusion he did? (Or would you rather wait and see what happens at the appeal?). I don't disagree with the punishment if Harbhajan is guilty because that's the law, but I think it's unfair, if not outright wrong for the public to be kept in the dark.

[pappubahry.livejournal.com]

What does this allude to?
West Coast Eagles fans were largely forgiving of their heroes. Daniel Chick almost died of an OD in most-season partying in the US, Ben Cousins and Michael Gardiner both made on-field gestures of solidarity with underworld figures. Cousins also ran away from the police in a random breath test, as well as having his life fall apart from a drug addiction. He came back with no sanction from the AFL, promised to stay clean, and was only suspended indefinitely when he was caught again.

But you can see why we forgive them. Without Cousins, and with Judd and Kerr injured, we didn't even make the last four in 2007.

So do I but any guesses on why it took so long to draw the conclusion he did?
I have no idea.

Different sports have different levels of acceptable behaviour.
Sure, but I allowed for that. Brijnath was saying that there's no sporting team in Australia as bad as the national cricket team. I strongly disagree. I have no problem with deliberately hitting injured players in Aussie Rules football, and I have no problem with sledging in cricket. But ramming into the injured shoulder of a footballer is definitely closer to the line of acceptability than what our cricketers do.