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“Doosra” - PM should chuck it in
John Howard may or may not be able to pick Muttiah Muralitharan's doosra. The Prime Minister's occasional appearances in commentary boxes and weak-kneed devotion to anything wearing a baggy green cap have done little to make it clear whether he is a genuine aficionado or just another cricket tragic.

But when Howard starts passing judgement on the Sri Lankan spinner's action, you can't help but cringe. It is not so much the lack of diplomacy or even questionable knowledge of the subject - the PM's pronouncement that Murali is a chucker was no doubt based on the best intelligence available at the time. It is that the politicians who view the world of sport as one giant photo opportunity seem to know precious little about it.

Having to spend their weekends pumping the flesh at shopping centres in key marginals no doubt limits the exposure politicians get to sport. But, from personal experience, there are surprisingly few pollies capable of conducting anything more than the most superficial conversation on the nitty gritty of a game of footy or cricket - beyond those whose entry to parliament was eased by a top-flight sports career.

There are, no doubt, many honourable exceptions. Treasurer Peter Costello's knowledge of his AFL team Essendon seems sound and his love of the game genuine. Should he choose to enter the debate about the competition's ruck rules he might not make a complete goose of himself. However, there is usually nothing more embarrassing than when a politician tries to exploit our passion for the game for their political ends.

As innocent as it may have been, Howard's condemnation of Muralitharan reeks of opportunism. Labelling Murali a chucker in Australia is like suggesting Osama bin Laden is a bit of a cad in New York City. But it has become obligatory for politicians to flaunt their sporting credentials, something for which we can blame Bob Hawke.

Robert Menzies and Malcolm Fraser both held the No.1 ticket at the blue-blooded Carlton Football Club, although this was as much an extension of their place in Melbourne's Liberal Party elite as it was a statement about their sporting passion.

Hawke's attendance at every sporting event from rugby league grand finals to the Mudgee ferret races, however, made overt sporting pride part of the job description - even for those pollies who would have been much happier at the opera than watching a bunch of large chaps bump into each other on a chilly evening.

Because of his well-cultivated "bloke in the crowd" image, Hawke used sport brilliantly for political purposes. The enduring image of Hawke the cricketer is the photograph of his glasses being smashed during a politicians versus press match in Canberra. You can't help admire the fact he was trying to play a lusty hook shot at the time.

He even got away with wearing that outrageous jacket and telling everyone to take the day off after Australia won the America's Cup. But this has set an unfortunate precedent for other, less earthy types. Premier Bob Carr's ride on the Sydney Swans' bandwagon came to an abrupt end with his public praise of "Plunger" Lockett. Paul Keating took the most overtly populist position of all by declaring himself a Collingwood supporter, a mysterious passion for a Bankstown boy, particularly one who did not seem to have an intimate knowledge of the club's players, history or even the rules of the game.

Of course, politicians play an important role in sport. Governments fund athletes and junior programs. Teams compete under national flags and thus represent political systems and regimes. It is absurd to say politics and sport do not mix. Sadly, however, it is usually even more absurd when politicians try to flex their sporting muscles. -Cricinfo Ltd

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