Andrew Symonds is a sporting great, and if he never plays another game of cricket, he will be remembered as one of the all time greats who was let down by administrators.
Symonds does not deserve the racial vilification of being called a monkey. The name calling is thought to have begun among the crowds of a resurgent India. There are few uglier sport supporters than the lower middle class, of which India is abundant. Nothing would be happening, now, even so, if Indian players did not employ the 'monkey' among their on field play.
While 'monkey' is no terrible slur, the anger behind the words at the games gives the lie of the land. Symonds is being denounced as being less than human, because of his ancestry. All it takes to to prevent the ugly from becoming popular is for responsible people to discount it. Instead, some players have promoted it.
But the issue is bigger than Symonds, the issue goes back many years and speaks of a failure of leadership and policy over an extended period of time.
While administrators of the past would never have condoned such nonsense springing from the sport, the modern ICC has been conspicuously ham fisted in its dealings on this issue. Now we see, again, why Speed's mishandling of Hair is come back to haunt us. International sport cannot accept national bigotry parading as pride. The price of not handling Muralitharan properly means that there is no mechanism for us to demand proper behaviour, now.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
ICC Speeds into another Hairy Disaster over Race
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Harbhajan hearing postponed
Cricinfo staff
Mike Procter, the match referee, has delayed Harbhajan Singh's code-of-conduct hearing, originally scheduled for Saturday, until after the conclusion of the ongoing Test in Sydney on Sunday. Harbhajan was charged with a level-three offence under the ICC Code of Conduct following his on-field altercation with Andrew Symonds on day three of the second Test.
"At the request of the India team manager and under the circumstances I have exercised my discretionary powers to postpone the code-of-conduct hearing until the conclusion of this Test match," Procter said. "I am satisfied that with a further 24 hours India will have time to sufficiently prepare for this hearing."
The possibility of lawyers getting involved cannot be ruled out. The charge was laid by match umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor after the close of play after they received a complaint from the Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
"They reported to me that there was a breach of conduct, reported to them by Ponting," Procter said while talking to Nine. "It's a level three, which is pretty serious. The umpires didn't hear anything, they didn't know anything about it. I'm the adjudicator at the hearing, there will be witnesses called. The end result is what I want to achieve. To answer your question, yes lawyers could be involved."
The incident occurred while Harbhajan was batting and Matthew Hayden walked past Harbhajan after his confrontation with Symonds but did not reveal any details of the accusations or the conversation. "We believe we have a very strong case," Hayden said at the close of the fourth day.
"It's a scenario none of us want to be in, we love the game and we hope we can move forward. Andrew's a very strong character who had a great, tough upbringing in Charters Towers [in north Queensland] and we all love him and Australia love him."
Meanwhile, the ICC have asked British barrister Nigel Peters QC to advise Procter during the hearing. Talking to PTI, an ICC spokesperson said that Peters, who is also an elected committee member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, had assisted them in the past.
If found guilty, Harbhajan could face a ban of between two and four Tests or four and eight one-day internationals. The hearing will take place after the conclusion of play on Sunday.
Harbhajan charged with offensive behaviour
Cricinfo staff
Harbhajan Singh has been charged with a Level III offence under the ICC Code of Conduct following his on-field altercation with Andrew Symonds on day three of the second Test in Sydney. The two players came face to face while Harbhajan was batting.
Under the code, Harbhajan has been summoned to a hearing with match referee Mike Procter for "using language or gestures that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person's race, religion, gender, colour, descent, or national or ethic origin".
The charge was laid by match umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor after the close of play following a complaint they received from Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
If found guilty Harbhajan could face a ban of between two and four Tests or four and eight one-dayers. The hearing is scheduled for after close of play on Saturday.
There are some reports that Harbhajan's remarks were racist in nature but the offspinner denied making such comments. "I haven't done anything - we were just talking. It wasn't even sledging - it was just normal talk out on the cricket field. I was concentrating on my batting," he told the Age. "I did not say anything racist. I do not know what is going on. I am here to play well for my country, to bowl well and to win this Test match.
"This is an important game for us and we have a chance to win - that's what I'm focused on."
Television replays showed Harbhajan beckoning Symonds and the two of them having an extended conversation before Matthew Hayden and Sachin Tendulkar, who was batting at the other end, intervened. The two umpires then spoke to Harbhajan, with Mark Benson covering his mouth, probably watchful of the cameras picking up his lip movements. The charge was laid by the umpires following a complaint by Ricky Ponting.
Tendulkar was asked about the incident at the press conference following the day's play and said he thought it was not an issue. "There were a couple of lines exchanged," he said. "It keeps happening virtually every day. As far as I'm concerned [as long as] the game moves on and the players don't cross their limits its fine. It's good for the spectators too. Sometimes it's humorous and sometimes it is funny."
"'You seem to be very friendly with our bowlers' - that's what he [Symonds] said. 'Aren't you trying to be friends with me now? I'm a bowler, as well.' So it was just one of those things."
Symonds has had previous run-ins with the Indian cricketers, particularly with Sreesanth. Earlier this year when Australia toured India for seven ODIs in October, Symonds had slammed India's on-field behaviour and said Harbhajan and Sreesanth had been the major instigators of on-field conflicts between the two sides. Sreesanth, while acting as 12th man during the fourth ODI in Chandigarh, reportedly taunted Symonds as he returned to the pavilion after his dismissal.
Reports from the series also suggested that Symonds had been subjected to racial taunts in the form of monkey chants by spectators in Baroda and Mumbai. Symonds said he hadn't complained about the crowd behaviour at the venues and though he was not bothered at being targeted by partisan spectators, he said he was upset the abuse had been denied by the local authorities.
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