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Are umpires and referees scared of the Aussies?
By Marlon Fernandopulle
The double standards of the ICC Match Referees and Umpires and their biasness towards the Australians was once again witnessed during the ongoing West Indies-Australia Test Series in the Carribbean.

When the two Captains Steven Waugh and Brian Lara were indulged in a heated verbal argument on the pitch and required the intervention of the On field Umpires to sort out proceedings,Match Referee Mike Proctor not only ignored the incident but was also reported to have attributed it to gamesmenship.

It came as a huge surprise to all who witnessed the incident whether they were in Antigua or watching it at home on the Television, as generally these incidents are termed by match refrees and umpires (and according to the ICC Official playing regulations 2002/03) as bringing the game to disrepute and the respective players are slapped a fine on their Match Fees. But alas when an Australian player is involved the rules are different? Or it doesn't apply?

The code of conduct for players and team officials demand that at all times play has to be conducted within the spirit of the game as well as within the laws of cricket and the captains are responsible at all times for esuring that this is adhered to.Infact what the ICC expects is for the Captain to lead by example.But in this instance the behaviour of both Captains Steve Waugh and Brian Lara was certainly not within the Spirit of the game.Then why and How did they get away without a fine or a match ban is surprising?

However a few days earlier when Sri Lanka’s rookie medium pacer Prabath Nissanka had an appeal turned down by Peter Manuel during the game against Pakistan at Dambulla and sweared ,the bowler was reported by the Umpires and the match referee Gundappa Vishwanath slapped a fine of 20% from his match fee saying he had brought the game into disrepute.Had Nissanka been an Aussie and Proctor the Match Referee it would have been gamesmenship and the bowler would never have been fined!

In the same Test in Antigua Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath and West Indian batsmen Ramnesh Sarwan exchanged more than a few words and their was a lot of finger wagging between the duo on the pitch as tempers flared, but not surprisingly the Umpires David Shepherd and Venkataraghavan turned a blind eye and so did match refree Mike Proctor.Wasn't the actions of McGrath in that instance bringing the game to disrepute?Where was the so called spirit of the game?

Why the ICC Umpires and match refrees are lenient with the Aussies is a mystery. However it is widely believed among the cricket circles that two Australians Malcolm Speed (Chief Executive Officer) and Malcolm Gray (President) and Englishman C. Hitchcock (Cricket Operations Manager) hold key positions in the ICC and are an influential trio as far as Assignments to umpires and match referees are concerned.So at the end of the day whether you are an umpire or match referee it looks like you have to have the trio on your side. Is this why the ICC match referees and umpires are inconsistent with their decisions and bias towards the Australians?

Captains are also expected to complete a one page report on each umpire after every test and one day International and send it to the ICC.This is another area of concern for the umpires as they fear that the captain will send an adverse report if any action or fine is imposed against him.Thus it's better to play safe and spare the captain as it will ensure that the umpires get a positive report which eventually will help the Umpires to get more assignments.

Infact Indian commentators Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have come out strongly in the past against the alleged biasness by the ICC match officials and criticized the Governing Body for targeting Asian Countries.However, the trend continues and the poor Asian Players are victimized.Well, that is the ICC today.

The declining art of batsmanship
Pakistan and Sri Lanka doing battle in Dambulla at present have newly appointed captains, Pakistan have a newly appointed coach and Sri Lanka are on the lookout for one. Pakistan are trying out many untried players and Sri Lanka some. Both teams boasted of batsmen who excelled in their art an era previously. Today, the cupboard looks pretty bare.

For Pakistan, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohamed, Asif Iqbal led the way in the 1970's. They were followed by Javed Miandad, Salim Malik, Rameez Raja, and joined by Inzamam Ul Haq, Ameer Sohail and Saeed Anwar. While there is promise, none of the present generation have done sufficient to impress in their early days to suggest that they will follow in the footsteps of these past greats.

The Sri Lankan batsmen took longer to get established. Naturally, they joined the big league only in 1982 and until the mid nineties most series they played were of one or two tests duration.Yet, Roy Dias, Sidath Wettimuny, Duleep Mendis, followed by Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda De Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne and to a lesser extent, Ranjan Madugalle, Roshan Mahanama and Asanga Gurusinghe have stood out. This country produces surfaces for batsmen to learn their trade from a young age.

easonable bounce and pace help develop every stroke in the book and promotes batting with a correct technique. Coupled with the possibility to play the game almost all year round makes Sri Lanka a paradise for developing batsmen.

Today, Marvan Atapattu stands out as a technically sound batsman and has looked good and performed around the world. Hashan Tillekeratne is in the autumn of his career and still continues to score, motoring along at his own pace. Sanath Jayasuriya has his own style and defies some of the batting techniques. No one can copy him.

What of the future?
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara carry the hopes. Both have succumbed to pace and swing at varying times. Both have lost concentration and thrown their wickets away at other times. Both remain supremely talented and capable. It is the mindset of a Waugh, a Ponting, a Bevan that they require. School cricket is the cradle that produces players of the future. Defensive bowling, vastly improved levels of fielding, to combat with tournament requirements has crippled batsmen from playing long innings working hard and grafting for runs.

TV is a useful medium of education but it can also mislead. Watch Tendulkar, Lara, Gilchrist or Jayasuriya bat and it is a different game. Young players must learn to crawl before they run or they will fall and not be able to get up.The lack of competitiveness in domestic cricket is the next obstacle in stunting progress.

Lack of passion, pride and professionalism in most of these games fail to produce batting giants who score big hundreds with regularity. With the amount of international cricket being played, the absence of the best takes away the attraction of these games. However, with there being so many opportunities at the highest level, batsmen make a reasonable contribution every fourth or fifth innings and that allows them to continue for another four or five innings.

The demand for consistent performances must be emphasized on those who play as batsmen. And those on the fringe must make substantial scores when they play for the A team. They do get plenty of opportunities these days. Once the cry was that good bowlers are not emerging from the ranks. Gradually the batting is now beginning to betray. It is an issue that needs immediate remedying.

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