Off with his head
Michael Atherton has examined the evidence and Sreesanth is guilty. There is an interestingly forensic feel to this article as the former England captain (now, in his new incarnation as commentatory and columnist) dismisses any claims that Sreesanth might have not been behaving with malicious intent. Whats interesting for me about this whole incident is the intense spotlight that the English media can immediately bring to bear on a particular incident (which of course is supplemented by Cricinfo's faithful echoing of their pronouncements). Incidents that occur elsewhere in the world simply don't make the cut. Take for instance the business of bowling beamers. During India's tour of Pakistan in the 2005-2006 season, Shoaib Akthar bowled a beamer at MS Dhoni. No apology was offered. Nothing happened. I doubt Atherton or anyone else in the cricketing world (except for a couple of Australian journalists) knows this even happened. On the tour before that Akthar shoved Parthiv Patel out of his way, an incident captured clearly on television. Nothing happened. No fuss again. They've vanished into the mists of time. But this incident will never go away. You can be sure of that.
posted by Samir Chopra at 11:37 PM
10 Comments:
Well..Atherton actually pardoned Brett Lee when Lee bowled not one but 2-3 beamers in the same series.What a hypocrite.
I think most commentators and cricket columnists have become too big for their boots.
They make these kind of statements because it sells.
Frankly, I find the article a little bizarre.
Personally, I felt that the beamer was an accident; it clearly slipped from his hand. The ball almost came out of the top of the hand, as opposed to behind the two fingers, thus the control was lost.
However, Atherton sees this as irrelevant. That he should still be banned.
Using the same logic, we should ban batsmen who accidentally hit short fielders, as we would batsmen that deliberately attempt to hurt opposition close in.
It's all a bit strange.
Athers prefers to overlook the similar incident of his own countrymate -- Harmison who bowled a beamer to Ponting in 2006 Ashes (which Aussies won 5-0).
He is over reacting to a small incident which at the best was accidental and apologies were offered without a delay to the batsman. And then Athers questions if that was sincere since match referres prowl this days hard on offenders.
You say it right, Athers is off his head and has lost his commmon sense.
Tugga (ex- superunknown)
http://twentytwoyards.blogspot.com/2007/08/atherton-s-sissy-comments-about.html
i agree atherton's allegations are way over the top and probably motivated. i don't buy the argument however that a criticism should not be made if a similar precedent escaped censure. there has to be a first time, and i tend to be biased against anything done on the field that is 'not cricket' - such as abuse, distracting chatter, jelly beans, blocking the path of the batsman taking a run, hurling the ball back at a batsman fractionally out of his crease... and beamers.
Gana: I would be very interested in finding out if Atherton was commentating or writing on that series.
Ottayan: There is definitely a change in the perspective cricketers have once they stop playing. I'm a little suprised by some of the conservative streak that I've seen emerging in some of Atherton's writings though.
Atheist: What I find interesting is the complete divergence of views when it comes to Hussain and Atherton. When the beamer business happened, Hussain had clearly made up his mind that it was an accident, and he went on to urge Vaughan to get on with it (given his mouthing off and staring) as it was clear that it was an accident. The logic is a bit wierd, I agree, but I don't think Atherton thought it through that far!
Tugga: which test was this in? (We're not mixing up the hit on the cheek in the first test in 2005, ar we?)
Sumit: I agree - I just posted a clarification in this regard.
Samir,
Check out this post. Has all the details.
http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/heads_up/
He motivation is a nice little knighthood!
rohSamir bhai
The test I am talking about is the Adelaide Test of Ashes down under when Harmison bowled a beamer to Ponting and incensed by it, he pulled one Hoggard bouncer to the deep third man where Giles spilled a dolly. That was where England lost the plot. Aussies were 3/74 and England had scored 6/551 in their 1st innings.....
Gana: Thanks for the link; I can't seem to get through to it, but will try again.
Soulberry: Now, now, lets be nice :)
Tugga: Thanks - I'd overlooked that instance.
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