Keep a lid on it, said the muppet

Much as I love the game of cricket, I dislike the air of feudalism that hangs over it. Yes, I speak of the relationship between boards and players. Now, we are being told that Marvan Attapattu might be sent home because he, like many other players before him in the history of the game, has described the national selectors as being a few fries short of a happy meal. Now, I'm well aware that you can't do this sort of thing in the military: insubordination and all that. And some rather autocratic corporations have pretty intense disciplinary constraints on employee behavior. But are those the best models? So a player makes a critical remark about some aspect of management. This happens, and is happily tolerated in lots of organizations (in some, it is considered the best way to acquire a critical, introspective feel on thing). But in cricket, it is almost invariably greeted with this sort of hysterical over-reaction. I'm well aware of the divisive effect that certain kinds of pronouncements can have on the team itself but this shut-up-or-go-home treatment seems very 19th century.