I’m not even thinking about lbw decisions which are judgement calls: we’re talking about audible edges being given not out [Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussey], a stumping against Symonds not being given by the third umpire despite video evidence to the contrary, a stumping where Symonds’ heel was raised not referred to the third umpire by Steve Bucknor, a non-existent edge given against Rahul Dravid when his bat wasn’t in the same latitude as the ball and perhaps, most infuriatingly, Sourav Ganguly given out, caught by Michael Clarke because the fielder said so. Benson didn’t ask the square-leg umpire for confirmation, he asked the Australians. The Indians could be forgiven for thinking that a player who had bizarrely stood his ground after being caught off a massive edge, and who had just dropped a sitter off the same batsman, mightn’t qualify as a neutral witness.

To those who would say that Ponting refused to claim a catch in similar circumstances in the first innings, the point is that whether an umpire decides in principle to refer to the third umpire or not, he needs to make his decisions on the basis of his own judgement or by conferring with his fellow umpire, not on the testimony of an interested party, the fielder. Circumstances alter cases: the same Ponting in India’s tense second innings tried to claim a catch that he hadn’t completed [the ball in his hand hit the ground as he completed his dive].

Why do touring teams get such shockers from neutral umpires? I don’t know. Perhaps umpires prefer their appealing technique, perhaps the Australians, as the dominant team, get the benefit of any doubt, but the point at which opposing teams and their supporters begin to despair is when they get a decision like the one Kumar Sangakkara got from Rudi Koertzen, given out caught off a ball that wasn’t near his bat at a point in the match where Sangakkara was leading an unlikely Sri Lankan resurgence.

The Australians have become so used to dodgy decisions going their way that it reflects in their onfield manner. Most batsmen stand their ground when they think they’ve got a faint edge that the umpire mightn’t have noticed; they generally leave when their edges echo round the stadium. When Clarke was caught in slip by Dravid off Anil Kumble the reason he stood his ground despite the deviation and the sound was because he had learnt both from long experience and Symonds’ good fortune in the first innings, that there was a decent chance he would be reprieved. The horror on Kumble and Dravid’s face when they saw he was sanding his ground was comical: their second appeal which Bucknor finally upheld was a masterpiece of disbelieving desperation.

If Benson was incompetent, Bucknor was incompetent and perverse. The moment that summed up this match’s inexplicably bad umpiring was Bucknor’s decision not to refer Dhoni’s appeal for a stumping against Symonds to the third umpire. What was he thinking? Bucknor and the Indians have have a long history of friction and this last performance by him is unlikely to improve things. He is scheduled to stand in the Perth Test: I’d be very surprised if the Indians don’t formally petition the authorities to substitute him. If I was Bucknor, I’d withdraw and use the time to see an opthalmologist: his dismissal of Dravid in the second innings suggests that he’s seeing things.

Looking to the future and how the game can deal with human error, I think Peter Roebuck has the right ideas. The ICC should take a page out of tennis’ book and allow each team a fixed number of challenges so that they can appeal decisions that they think are plainly wrong. Tennis allows three challenges; given umpires of the quality of Benson and Bucknor, half a dozen might be too few. But seriously, if competitive Test matches aren’t to be ruined and if, in particular, Australian tours are to remain credible, cricket’s authorities need to act now.

Mukul ... you really believe that?

At the same time as decrying what you regard as one-sided umpiring at present in Australia, will you also, out of fairness, also decry the laughably one-sided umpiring that used to take place on the sub-continent before neutral umpires were installed?

And, while we are at it, are you suggesting that the neutral umpires - who do a good job elsehere for the remainder of the year - choose to become partial to the home team just when they are in Australia?

Great win by Australia...when India have the benefit of umpiring decisions is that also cheating???? Why are Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh's records so good at home..yet so poor away?????

India did get the rough end of the decisions...but rather than complaining and saying people are cheating we should look at how they are improved.

Could'nt agree more. People call it sour grapes but it's just not the truth. This was clearly a manufactured win to get Australia to the 16. Truly cricket was the loser over these five days which have resembled wrestling more than cricket. I can't believe Ponting tried to claim that catch he knew he put the ball on the ground. Tragic stuff now a potenially interesting series is dead thanks to the umpires.

Could'nt agree more. People call it sour grapes but it's just not the truth. This was clearly a manufactured win to get Australia to the 16. Truly cricket was the loser over these five days which have resembled wrestling more than cricket. I can't believe Ponting tried to claim that catch he knew he put the ball on the ground. Tragic stuff now a potenially interesting series is dead thanks to the umpires.

The best umpires should officiate in big Test series like Australia/India regardless of what country they are from.

Phil Tufnell is recognized as the best umpire in the world but he can't umpire in any matches involving Australia. It is also not Australia's fault that bad umpiring mired this match. You still can't say for certain that even if India received all the right decisions the same result would not have occurred. Then again if I was an Indian supporter I would be upset as well but would not be blaming the Australian players for the loss.

Australian tours were never credible and will never be... The only people who seem to believe in them are australians and the english. What will India do? More importantly what *can* India do? I mean do we show an uncharacteristic back bone and ensure that Buckner/Benson/Oxenford (lets not forget him, all he had to do was sit on his a** and watch a replay until he got it right. Can we do that? I doubt it... With all our power and muscle we are still amateurs at being able to use it.. We lack the testicular fortitude to take major actions in our interest. I say we dont tour England/Aus/South Africa and let them play against each other.. theres plenty of countries that play good cricket in the right spirit...

The champions have finally shown their true nature - they are petulant, arrogant, boors who will take a win any which way they can. But the reason they do this with impunity is because the rest of the cricketing world does not have the backbone to call their bluff. As for the umpiring, Bucknor should have been put out to pasture eons ago. In a way I am glad India lost this match. At least it has prodded them into belated action. If they had gone on to win as they should have and indeed deserved to, they would have let the atrocious treatment they were meted go unchallenged. Some good may come out of this test - for one thing Australia's sheen (if that's what it was) has been badly tarnished. Many of us cricket lovers no matter where we come from have admired Australia for their sheer talent and dominance but that admiration is now decidedly qualified. Australians are proud of their tradition of giving everyone a fair go. Clearly, this Aussie team missed out on that lesson.

Dear Mukul,
It is a very nice article, that brings out the anguish we feel as Indian supporters. As the captain of the world's 'best' team, I expected better from Ponting.I just hope the umpiring and the spirit of the australians , improve in Perth.

I watched the match. It is diasspaonting to see that current Australian team needs 13 players to win a match. This is the most unfare and tragic day in test cricket- also the last day that I pay money to watch a test match in Australia.In my mind, India won the match!

Bucknor and Benson should be sacked from the panel of umpires immediately. Both have had a reputation of doubtful decisions and there can be no overlooking their mistakes this time - particularly when there were so many. But the Indians should be commended in the dignified way in which they accepted it and continued, in contrast to the Australian team who would have definitely kicked up an fuss had they been in the place of the Indian team. The way in which Australia played has proved their hypocrisy and disregard for cricket and they should hang their heads in shame. Ponting was clearly out in the first innings and yet refused to walk, although he has praised the act of walking in the past and has encouraged other batsmen to follow Gilchrist’s lead. Do no rules apply for the Australian team? Bhajji is right in saying that the Aussie team believes that they can get away with anything. Shame that such an exciting summer of cricket was spoilt but what goes around comes around

I totally agree. The umpiring in this match was a farce; it's good to see the BCCI taking action. I also agree with Kumble that the game wasn't played in the best spirit. Ponting, the beneficiary of a caught behind was hypocritical enough to show his displeasure when the next one didn't go his way. The "human error is part of the game" argument is rubbish. Everybody is frustrated when incorrect decisions are given. I hope the ICC takes another serious look at introducing technology.

Well said Mukul. BCCI should recall the team coz there is no point in playing with a bunch of cheats. What is surprising is that how come all the decisions went against the Indians? Probably, Ponting had bribed Bucknor and Benson. He is quite capable.

KARMA!

Well said. The problem is we Indians have very short memories. Otherwise Bucknor wouldn't have been umpiring in the series in first place. And I feel even if BCCI or the Indian teams don't have the guts to take drastic action, we the Indian fan's should force them to do so. As I write this, there are reports of mob fury in Baroda already and I won't be surprised if the fever spreads across India soon. What I'm pretty sure is BCCI won't do anything knowing very well the money at stake and the fact that the public memory is too short.

Totally agree that the decisions in aus are a total joke. And it is also a joke to request every other touring team to put up "a stiff upper lip" and get on with it. To make maters worse, Aus players are now fronting press conferences and gloating about getting edges and being not given...ie hussey last year v england and now symmo. i can't cheer "great counter attacking "batting when a player is out three times and its time for a new category of statistic.. UAT. umpire asisted tone, Symonds has 2 and hussey must have at least seven...

Well said, Mukul. Indians have had the best chance to set this right, with the omnipotent Sunil G as the head of the technical committee, but what has he or the other wise men there being doing? Why do we hear such banalities from the ICC that the umpire gets it right "94%" of the time? Surely, these matters are first reviewed internally? Why was no one screaming, when Bob Woolmer raised this issue three years ago? We do not need to get shrill, because India lost. Such bellicosity will derogate from the main issue, which is that the selection of the elite panel is flawed, unaccountable, and very damaging to the sport. Sunil should have some blame for that.

Losers are Losers are Losers …………..

It would have been graceful, to say the least, had Indian players and their Media kept their big mouth shut after a humiliating defeat. However, they have had made it much more painful for themselves and their over a billion supporters, by searching for silly excuses, rather then blaming their number one culprit……. “the much boasted Indian batting line-up”, which is solely responsible for this humiliation and many more to come.

Oh what optimists we Indians are. Believe me, I was hoping till the last ball that Ishant faced that India would draw the match. That inspite of being done over my umpiring, we would still prevail. Maybe I have been watching too many bollywood movies. I have to say one thing for the record, Australia didn't win the test, the umpires did it. Nothing more can be said about the bad umpiring that hasn't been said yet apart from one thing. It is a testament to Bucknor's (in)competence that Clarke stood his ground even after being so clearly out, it speaks volumes about his faith in Bucknor. An experience like this would break the spirit of any team, does India have it in them to lift itself up for Perth where the pitch is going to be bouncy? I doubt so but rest assured, all India will be praying for it. Chak de India!

I used to be a fan of the Aussie way of playing test cricket. But the moment Michael Clarke stood his ground after being by caught Dravid I started feeling remorse for the first time. I just cannot figure out how he could do that under the context of what happened on the previous 3 days. Ponting and his men have dragged test cricket so far down that I don't think I will be watching another game involving Ponting's team. It is so ridiculous that a team with 15 consecutive wins would resort to such measures to beat a team without its stike bowlers.

I feel that India lacked a courageous leader like Ganguly who would have taken the battle - psychological and otherwise - to the opposition. Kumble seems to be pretty meek. He obviously bowed to "external" pressures to mess with the batting line up in the first test which cost India the game.

I think there should be a way for everyone to forget this match otherwise test cricket is going to suffer enormously.

I have to get this out of my system. Seeing India succumb to defeat did not leave me sad. No, it left me livid, spewing in fact, something which is far worse. Putting rash strokes from Jaffer, Yuvraj etc aside, it wasn't only the incompetent umpiring which resulted in this ignominious defeat. One has to question the sportsmanship of the Australians. Ponting can beat his chest all he likes about the first innings catch which he didn't claim, but it clearly didn't rub off on his teammates (Clarke, Symonds, Gilchrist etc). As Peter English said, if the Australians were so burnt by the World Twenty20 defeat, carrying on gracelessly like schoolboys post match without sparing a thought for blokes like Kumble (remember Flintoff to Lee after Edgbaston?) says alot about them and their hollow "spirit of cricket".

Australia got their share of rough decisions. It seems ehining is the national passtime for India, their supporters and their bloggers.

If the Indian team had of been properly selected, competetly led and infused with a positive, winning attitude instead of this arrogant sense of entitlement and self interest it's players seem to have, India might win a few test matches, until then, blaming umpires is just a smokescreen to hide the real issue - this Indian team is not good enough. God help them at Perth.

terrific! we get to make challenges .. so heres a challenge, i challenge the Indian cricket team to at least try and be competitive in the Perth test match without digging into the excuse book like they currently are blame yourselves for being bowled out in a pityful display and not the umpires! They dont hold the bat and heres a hint open your eyes hit the ball in the middle of the bat like you are suppose to, instead of giving catching practise

The Indian players have every right to feel aggrieved. Although the Australians played well, India certainly did not deserve to lose this test. The dismissals of Dravid and RP Singh were disgraceful pieces of umpiring and Adam Gilchrist's appealing with respect to the Dravid dismissal casts a long shadow over his good name.

As an Australian fan I obviously enjoy seeing my country win; but this victory was surely overshadowed by the injustice that made it possible. It was a match of utterly petulant behaviour, and Ricky Ponting has proven once again that he is a great cricketer, but no great sportsman.

The behaviour of a number of people - the umpires, Harbhajan Singh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and the sycophancy of Tony Grieg in defending Singh's racism - should be viewed most unfavourably.

And congratulations to Kumble and Dravid for the gentlemanly way in which they handled the injustice that has befallen them.

By the last sentance, are you accusing the Australians of being complicit in the bad umpiring?

We don't pick the umpires. I think you are letting your national bias show here. And you call yourself a journalist. Shame!

you want compentency? get your batsmen to hit the ball in the middle of the bat instead of giving catching practise, that would be a compentent act should give it a try sometime

Ponting even tried to claim _after_ the match that he was 100% sure he didn't grass the ball off Dhoni's pads. I thought it was obvious from the replays, the commentators were discussing it, and he still sticks to his story. How is one supposed to "trust" him? Either he isn't completely aware of his actions on the field, or he's deliberately lying. Both ways, his "word" counts for nothing.

Yes something needs to be done. Dodgy Indian umpires forced the ICC to bring in neutral umpires. Technology and the pressure Tests in Australian brings to Umpires should probabaly bring about some change as well.

I'm glad Bucknor made a goose of himself this Test match (and many others) because it will signal cricket's next advancement in its evolution: the use of more technology.

One man's incompetence will be the spark that will improve the game so exponentially. Ironic isn't it.

However only batpads, edges and stumping referrals should be officiated on with technology. Hotspot and Snicko would be useful in these situations. Hawk-eye is questionable so LBW should be ruled out and low catches have been proven to be inconclusive with technology.

I also believe that there should be a panel of three to adjudicate decisions referred to the 3rd umpire with majority rule enforced.

On another note, why is the neutral umpire rule not enforced when it comes to the 3rd umpire?

This was not the first time that a wonderful match was marred by bad umpiring nor will it be the last. Everyone agrees to err is human and that umpires are human. But does that mean we have to allow these errors to spoil countless more cricket matches to come? There should be a concerted effort to bring technology to cricket and make it a fairer and more beautiful game. Traditions are fine but we are not in the 19th century anymore. Technology has moved on, people have moved on but cricket seems to be lagging behind, being dragged back by its keepers who seem to be afraid and reluctant to mould it to suit the present.

Bucknor was clearly peeved at having his judgment if not his integrity questioned in the first innings. He would also have been well aware that his incompetence, evident for some years now, had really been shown up in this test, such that he may just find himself pink slipped. That coupled explain his openly partisan umpiring on the last day. Before being chucked out for incompetence, why not hurt the Indians while you can. The sad part is what could have been a tight, well-fought series, has been destroyed by two people who at best should be facilitators.

Good one Mukul, first write an article about bhajji that most of the Indians did not agree with and then you write this one, so that 99% of the Indians agree with you.
Anyway, I think you are right this time. Cheers. :)

Mukul - I agree with you in that India were robbed of a win, but at the same time India robbed themselves of a draw. Dravid and Ganguly were given out wrongly, but this Indian batting line-up definitely has enough staying power to bat out 72 overs despite those two blips. Jaffer played an extravagant shot. Laxman fell to an old weakness - the ball that nips in. Sachin was in two minds as to whether to leave or play at the ball. In the end, he did neither. Yuvraj continued to be anonymous.Dhoni's was a serious lapse in judgment - you just cannot pad up to an off-spinner on an uneven track with a huge rough outside the off stump. If even one of these batsmen had stuck around for an over or two more, India would have saved the test. It would have been so much sweeter to say that we saved the test despite the horrific umpiring. Yes, we probably would have won the test if not for Bucknor and Benson, but part of the blame for the loss must rest with the batsmen.

MK, why can't you be unbiased for once and acknowledge that India were beaten by a truly superior team. They may have had some decisions go their way, we have also had a few go our way. The difference is when we've had the rub of the green in the past, we weren't good enough to take advantage.

Though a fan of Australian cricket, this was #16 with an asterisk, just Symonds' first innings after the (first) reprieve was more than Australia's margin of victory, never mind Dravid's "dismissal" today that set in motion the result. Shame on Cricket Australia for letting the ICC ruin this series with incompetent umpires and shame on Team Australia for the Clarke-Ganguly dismissal; India have nothing to be ashamed of unlike at Melbourne.

laxman and tendulkar too had decisions go their way, but they weren't good enough to exploit. So stop your moaning and take it like a man, Mukul

well said, I clearly agree with you mukul.....I think Indian team was playing against 14 men, 11 australian players and 3 incompetent umpiring officials.....and I think man of the match goes to Bucknor for being the MVP(most valuable player) for australia.....Most frustrating of all was decision made by third umpire to rule symonds not out, while replays suggested he was out...I mean he get paid just to watch TV and decide...to get that wrong you're either blind or incompetent....and I think I'll go for the latter.....and don't get me started about the game spirit of ponting and company. What a bunch of losers.....shame on'em

Clarke claimed a catch that did not carry and the umpire Bucknor (who help the aussies in the first innings with bad decicions) asked Clarke if he had caught it. Obviously Clarke said yes, but ironically he had refused to walk when out in the first innings. Very strange behaviour that for an umpire to ask a fielder if he'd caught the ball. I'd label that match fixing! And then there was the dismissal of Dravid which was not out. I question the integrity of the umpires and the australian team. They have a mindset which dogmatically states, that whatever they say, and do is correct and beyond reproach. Nobody is beyond reproach and if it was me, I think the board should review this test match from an objective point of view Like I am. The Australian's played the game in a matter that befitted common thieves and scam artists.

To all those australian's out there, when your team goes to play in another country, do you watch the matches? is it as important as playing at home?

Aussie behaviour aside a big series has two umpires who have no right to be adjudicating International games.

Why a respected umpire like Aleem Dar has not been assigned a single Test remains a mystery.

Bucknor's incompetencies against India have long crossed the line of being "human error", They are looking more and more deliberate and malicious.

The time he takes to give a decision is now a joke. He takes a million years and comes up with the most atrocious of conclusions.

Mark Benson has shown he hardly has the stomach to umpire the last day of a tight game. He would in most cases give the wrong decision in favour of the fielding side because their appealing psyches him out. If batsmen could appeal back just as loudly he would only wet his pants!!

Agree with you Mukul, that there is no point in playing in Australia if every visiting country has to play against 11 Aussie players + the 3 umpires (even the 3rd umpire has to be neutral from now on) + match referee + media (cooked up stories), etc.
From my experience of following cricket on TV for the past 2 decades think Australia have had the rub of the green going their way to assist them in winning matches.

Bob Woolmer had clearly stated based on Pak's last visit to Oz, that the Aussies got 6 times more line decisions in their favour than the visiting teams.

India should have won the 85-86 test series but we had home umpires and they would not even give a snick taken by Kimani in front of 1st slip off Kapil Dev's bowling. The scoreline reads now as match drawn and nobody would be talking about how poor the umpiring was.

Same was the case during our 91-92 tour when one of the decisions was to give Srikkanth lbw to Reid on the back foot to a short ball on a bouncy pitch.

This test has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A superb and gritty contest. Australia won, deservedly, because they maintained their intensity throughout, whereas India only managed it it patches. Yes, India had some outrageous decisions, but they should have been able to bat out two sessions.

Leaving aside the umpiring, about which enough has been said, Australians do need to consider the spirit in which they play the game, as highlighted by Kumble.

We all admire the quality of Australian cricket, but nobody, anywhere, has a good word to say about their conduct. Their sledging is unacceptable in terms of spirit of the game and, even if it was, they react very poorly to receiving a dose of their own medicine.

If winning at all costs is such an objective, why then, do Australians feel that the bodyline tactic was wrong? There is more to this game than winning and losing. Australian cricketers need to consider what example they are setting for their young players.

It's heartache..absolute heartache is what it was at the SCG. But what next? will the powers that be actually do something about the horrendous decisions that did India in? And should India walk outta the test series..or will they do the 'gentlemanly' thing and stay on. At this point, i hope the powers that be in the BCCI do something about this whole thing, make this issue big. we cannot let this go the way of 'it all happens in the game'.. and..the way the mighty aussies, with their backs against the wall, went about things, tells u somethin about that teams sportsman spirit

Finally an article by Mukul that I agree with. Recently, players in the ongoing series were fined for dissent in what the ICC described as a crackdown on player behavior. I find it remarkable that someone like Pietersen can return to the crease after being given out and get off the hook, hope this is applied uniformly. Bucknor, who seem for some reason decided to lick his fingers and rub the cricket ball as Dravid made his way out to the middle during the last tour, (Dravid was suspected of applying lozenges to the ball) should be put to pasture, this really is the lightest punishment he deserves.
You can expect the aussies to say they get their fair share of bad decisions and the game should go on, but you can't accept their claims to adhering to a "Spirit of Cricket". Michael Slater's laughable explanation that batsmen can be dishonest but not fieldsmen is perhaps the best cricket joke of the year. Kumble's decision to accept the opposing skippers word on this, is the second best.

Come on India, take yuh licks like big men and stop blaming the umpires. No point hiding the frailties of the Indian team behind umpiring decisions. All teams have to contend with that in international cricket. Face the fact - you had the opportunity to really compete and blew it! Deal with that and you are well on your way to improving the performance of the team, especially mentally in pressure situations.

One possible explanation for Aussies getting so many positive decisions could be that never stop blabbering about their "hard and fair" cricket ethic(A lie told a thousand times...). They pretend that they are the most honest side in the universe when it comes to appealing. In truth, they are simply riding on Gillie's reputation. This match was a revelation.

I was a big Aussie fan but suddenly something has snapped. I can't support them after Symonds' admission, Ponting's pouting at being given out, Clarke standing after being caught at 1st slip, Ponting and Clarke claiming 2 grassed catches.

Let's also add the disgusting appeal against Dravid and Symonds' baiting Harbajan to the list. And all this when all the clangers have gone your way.

*offers Mukul a spoonful of chicken soup*

Here comes the plane!

if harbhajan and brad hogg can score 70s then you would expect top order batsmen like laxman and tendulkar to score centuries. There is no need to wax lyrical about Laxman's knock. Can he play on a bowler's track. No , so stop being poetic. He and the "famed Indian batting line up" are all "flat track bullies", as you yourself have called Yuvraj. Stop whining about umpiring decisions - if the Indians can't last 2 sessions, you should be ashamed, not be poetic.

the fact that you've named your article 'we was robbed', emphasis on 'we', displays your position as being from impartial. im an australian and of course like to see australia win but at the same time i love the fact about cricket that you can watch and genuinely not know what the umpire is going to do. whether it is a shocking decision or not. appealing in the loungerooms or at cricket venues with the teams on the field is half the fun of watching cricket and if you take that away through biassed complaints such as this cricket will lose much of its appeal to the common person, even if we end up with correct decisions being made (with aid of technology). the human part of the game should always remain.

i strongly with ur point der mukul ... im not an indian fan ... i infact support pakistan but as a neutral cricket fanatic i was deeply disturbed tday to watch dos horror decisions ... how cud da umpires possibly get it so wrong???? n so awfully against one team???? dats just plain ridicilous ... u cannot have cricket matches played in da right spirit wid des sort of umpires ... anyways on a more positive note ... i was very impressed by Kumble's sportmanship .. da way he shook hands wid every australian after india was defeated ... he is a true ambassador of our game ... well done (y) ... i really sympathise will all da indian fans who im sure are just as outraged as me

As an aussie, I am upset that the series is over (basically). The umpires have killed the series. I've looked forward to this series since the drawn series in australia last time. Why do I bother watching the last two games now. India will be deflated and probably will lose 4-0, but that will not reflect on the ability and character of this Indian team. It's upsetting, this great Indian team with legends will go home without much too show for their gallant efforts because of bad umpiring. Though the umpiring in the first test was much better, India lost that game due to bad preparation. Anyway, the series is over and will be remembered for bad umpiring. Sachin and Bucknor will never be back it seems. I only want one to come back, guess who....

Your first sentence should read: "India lost the Sydney Test because their batsmen were woeful." Period. We have been making excuses for decades. Let's stop.

Even in the Blr test in 04 Bowden gave Veeru out lbw on a inide edge while Clarke was reprieved and the test was lost.
Can go on and on where the umpires favoured Australia at crucial times which tilted the match results.
Had seen like when they had Sangakkara given out when he was going great guns and was threatening Australia, he was cut short. Same happened to many a promising innings of Lara, Chander, Sachin(lbw by Darrell Hair when hit on the shoulder and given out caught at short leg when the ball hit only the pad).
There are a few in Australia like members of the Bradman's invincibles who do not agree that the current Australia is not the best team in the world as there is no fair play and a level playing ground. If we had correct decisions made in this Sydney test by way of technology then there would have not been so much of an uproar.
Even 3 challenges per innings per side would not solve the problem, as that does not guarantee correct decisions if these challenges ...

Today strangely, I am proud of our boys in Australia. They fought bravely and were dignified in defeat. It was for the world to see that the Australian want to win at any cost (even by blatantly violating the spirit and laws of the game!). No team in the world can win in any sport if the law makers gang up with a bunch of 'competent' cheats. For the next Test Here are some recommendations for the future test:
1. Kick out Bucknor and Benson
2. Send an 3. Impose a cricketing ban on Ponting for violating the spiit of the game.
4. Boycott any products and movies that feature these filthy Aussie cricketers.

Finally Mukul, Bucknor doesn't only need to see a ophthalmologists but a ENT specialist and shrink!!
Cheers

Steve Bucknor was a soccer refferee in his early days and i am at a loss to think what made him switch over to cricket???Its a game that`s played with a ball which is around ten times smaller than a football.With the kind of decisions he has been making lately,ICC must surely be thinking of `loaning` him to FIFA.And with the kind of havoc he has wrecked in cricket,i m sure that Australian soccer team would want him to officiate in every FIFA game of theirs.And as they say birds of a feather flock together,Mark Benson made sure that he didn`t miss out on the fun either.It seems that Steve Bucknor uses a different pair of glasses for the indian appeals and he forgets his hearing aid as well.Ian Chappell summed up the mood in the Indian team perfectly when he said that a new batsman would ask the batsman at the crease to take Bucknor`s end and leave the rest to him.Does Bucknor need any more of this to retire with whatever grace he has left?

Fool me once ... shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Why dont our chaps get aggressive for a change, spirit of the game be damned.. we should have walked out, and taken the punishment. anyway staying on didn't do our cause any good either.

when umpires make a couple of bad decisions, it could be accepted as human error.. but repeated mistakes against one team is nothing short of a conspiracy.

And now speed has come out in favour of the umpires saying its a tough job. I think its time we called a spade a spade and said it for what it is and not embellish it in decent words.

Sad loss for India. More infuriating is that umpires were cause of the loss. Mr Ian Chappell always vehemently opposes the use of technology saying that it would waste time and mostly they will be inconclusive. How much time and how many replays would it take to say that Symondsor Ponting or hussey were out. How many would it take to say that Dravid was not out. Umpires were not using the same yardstick in giving the decisions for both sides. Whereas umpires turned down Indias appeals because they were marginal or benefit of doubt but they gave our batsmen out. Australia just does not deserve this victory. How can Chappel say that ganguly's catch was inconclusive. it was clear that he grounded the catch and he went to the extent of claiming that the catch was right. How can Ponting say we cannot question his integrity? Look how he claimed the catch even after grounding it. Had umpire given that out?

I know the umpiring was awful and India copped some bad decisions, but how come we hear nothing about Tendulkar's luck in India's first innings? He was plum in-front early on and then went on to make 154*...

I agree with Mukul. This was umpiring at it's worst. Benson never was, Bucknor sadly isn't, capable of Test level umpiring. Get them off the elite panel together with Harper and Koertzen. Introduce more technology without waiting for the all singing, all dancing, perfect technological solution. Institute a player appeal system. Have elite umpires subject to age, eyesight and hearing criteria. We can then move forward.

... were deemed as correct calls by the on-field umpires and then if you get howlers you have no recourse.

So all calls should be ratified for no-balls, clean catches, inside edges, etc by technology to aid the on-field umpires and the neutral 3rd / match referee can over-rule any wrong decision by the on-field umpire based on evidence from technology.

What is sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander. Seems that this does not apply to Aussie cricketers. They seem to be hitting under the belt when the going gets tough for them. Look at their diversionary tactics to ensure that they maintain their so-called winning streak: charge against Harbhajan - a case of the pot calling the kettle black, unsubtantiated media reports about rifts in the visiting team, even Channel 9 commentators (Ian Healy) commented that even Sachin got a fabourable call - lbw against Clarke. Ok 1 call in favor of Sachin and how many for the Aussie batsmen - more than the Woolmer figure of 6 times.

I think Bucknor wants to apply for citizenship of australia. thats why he seems to be giving a lot of decisions in favour of them.

the indians should cry off the series if bucknor and benson are allowed to stand any further

This Australian tour of India has become a total farce. I for one have decided to boycott watching any further cricket involving Australia and any other country.

The umpiring was shocking, though neutral. It definitely cost India the match which they should have won. I doubt there was anything sinister about the preponderance of errors favouring Aussies. Such is fate. Indians have a name for it: karma. You have bad karma.

Having said that, the standards of the neutral umps have declined over the years. Something needs to be done. Bring back Dickie Bird.

This Australian tour of India has become a total farce. I for one have decided to boycott watching any further cricket involving Australia and any other country.

thanks for summing it up on behalf of a billion seething Indians.nobody argues that Australia is the best team in the world and might have won the match even without the umpteen umpiring decisions in their favour.when you feel that you have a chance to carry the fight to them,either they act in a bullying way causing unpleasantness all around as though somebody has the temerity to stand up to them or the umpires help them out.we are not making excuses just because we lost(obviously that hurts as well) as every Aussie is inclined to think.

Think this what they call "mental dintegration of the visiting teams".

Simply put, this is not cricket. No point in playing when all is not far and square. If they want the score-line to read series won by Australia 4-0 so be it - Do what Gavaskar did earlier in Australia walk-out, as there is no point in competing when you are not allowed to win.

You are absolutely right Mukul.There is no doubt that on the whole Australia is a far better team than India,but the tourists didnt allow that to be shown in this test match.They kept fighting and tried to gain initiative throughout the Test.When an inferior opponent is trying to make a match of it against a superior side,there is nothing worse than a few umpiring calls going against them.India fought gamely and the game would most certainly have taken a different turn if Symonds was given out in the first innings.India had gained the initiative after Australia had opted to bat first after winning the toss only to lose it through a series of bad umpiring calls along with an inability to bowl out the tailenders.What is irritating to observe is that in most cases where the umpires got it wrong,it was blatantly obvious to the rest of the world.Why cant the third umpire interfere in some capacity during such situations to correct a wrong decision right at that very moment?

well it looked as if India were up against 13 players in the field today,11 Aussies and 2 umpires by now whose integrity will surely be questioned. Australia may be the best team in the world but their attitude has been disgusting to say the least, not befitting a champions one. Its an insult to the true spirit of the game in the manner players like Ponting and Michael Clarke behaved in this match(as instances referred to by Mukul)and Benson judging a dismissal on the words of these players.Ponting can in no way be compared to Steve Waugh in terms of captain nor a true ambassador to the game.As for the umpiring, it was deplorable.Perhaps a more aggressive captain like Ganguly would have stood up against this unfair treatment meted out against the Indians. They had a good chance of winning the match had Symonds been given out, and that bad judgement by Bucknor has turned this match completely and in doing so robbed all cricket fans from what could have been a fascinating series.

I think ICC will not do anything and Australia will continue to get such dodgy decisions in their favour. Opposition teams have been screaming about Australians getting undue benifits and favours from so called neutral umpires for a long time now but ICC have failed to act properly or decisively. I think ICC will only wake up when some sitaution like that happened in England/Pakistan match happens. But by that time,it may be too late and Australia would have had broken all the records or had achived unbelievable success. ICC need to look into the decision making and integrity of these called neutral elite panel of umpires. Unless they are reprimanded, sidelined and embarrased just like ICC did to Darrel Hair, i think the future of umpiring is very bleak and that of Australian cricket is very bright.

You waz wrobbed! (This coming from an Australian and I'd suggest the majority of Australian supporters)

I'd scrap the neurtal umpire rule, get Taufel in there now. What needs to be understood is that nobody is more critical of the Australian team than another Australian. Also, nobody will stand up to the behaviour (i.e. excessive appealing) of the Australians except another Australian.

This cricket team has been bred through a fierce domestic competition where all players are equals and nobody takes any rubbish or egoism from anybody. They all give as good as they get, there is no mental domination over another side. The Australian umpires understand this and they know how to keep control of the situation and to not be influenced by either side's appeals.

The current umpires have become so used to Australia's dominance, an Australian victory is almost assumed. We need umpires that will not allow reputation to influence their decisions. We need Simon Taufel.

I have been following cricket since 1974.I have seen indian cricket through all its ups and downs. Was expecting a close test series[ I believe ODI's and TT as a waste of time] between 2 of the best teams in world cricket and was disappointed when India were comprehensively beaten in the first.Hoped India would fight back in the second test and my prayers were answered when we had the might aussies on the rack at 134 for 6.When Symonds edged that one [even my wife who can sleep through a tsunami woke up!it was ~ 4am GMT] I thought we were going to win this one and level the series.Alas,Blind Bucknor did not hear it [didnt expect him to see it].If that was incompetent, then the decision of the 3rd umpire-an Aussie- to judge Symonds in when his foot was clearly hanging in the air and beyond the crease was clearly a biased one.It robbed India of a chance to dismiss the Aussies below 300 and if they had done that the 532 they scored would have given them a winnable lead.

well said Mukul
but just wait for the aussie fans to hit you with such excuses, that the best team won, win some lose some, sore looser, "Pup" would never have appealed if he did not think he caught the ball etc etc

All I can say is you have said what all Indian fans want to say, but we do not have the forum to express our views.

In the United States, premier football league ( National Football League, NFL) allows each team's coach two chances to CHALLENGE doubtful calls by the referees. Mind you there is one main referee and and few more umpires and judges at each NFL game. Above all, most plays during NFL games as well college football games are reviewed by an official in the review booth. Following the review wrong calls made on the field are overturned/reversed by the review official. It's time cricket had such a system because the players are not playing the game in the right SPIRIT as in the past and umpires making mistakes. Do the present day captains remember Greg Chappell recalling Derek Randall in the centenary test when Rod Marsh pointed out that he did not make a clean catch. Are the present day counterparts doing the same?

A few bad decisions, split reasonably evenly between the two sides may be attributable to the umpires "having a bad day". Too many bad decisions, again, reasonably evenly split, may be taken as a sign of incompetence, or of a once decent umpire now being well past his 'Best by' date. Far too many atrocious decisions going against one team brings to mind the question - fool or knave? With 13 playing against 11 the result was, in retrospect, a foregone conclusion.

Well said!!! Seems to be a Symonds-Bucknor team goin in particular... that's not cricket - it's plain cheating... India would have ruined Australia's winning streak had it not been for the outrageous umpiring from Day 1 and every cricketing fan - hell even the non-cricketing fans know it! its a shame the aussies can even call it a win - poor sportsmanship!! ponting and symonds have killed the game .. what with the pressure of their appeals and the umpires succumbing!! Go home Bucknor and Benson!!

Apart from the ghastly umpiring, Ponting's on-field behavior and the post-match assertions to the media leave a very bad taste. If harbhajan has brought the game into disrepute by whatever he said to Andrew Symonds, then Ponting, Gilchrist and Michael Clarke have brought the game into greater disrepute by claiming catches that were never there and by browbeating Mark Benson at the time of Ganguly's dismissal - Ponting's expression shows an active cover-up of what he knew - that there was no catch to claim!

Is there any provision in the game for proceeding against dishonest on-field behavior?

we was robbbed ... right on.

Agreed the umpiring was bad, but to say you were robbed is wrong. Team India lost what should have been at the end a drawn test. At the end first innings the game starts again! LEARN NOT TO GIVE IN. Seek no excuses, look only to improve. Best of luck in WA, may the men in white be un-noticed

I have reached the sad conclusion that cricket is a RIGGED sport, designed to favour England and Australia and penalise Asian teams.

Boards are pressurised, players are gagged, carefully-selected umpires makes 'aggregates of blunders', media-men fail to state the truth and so on. On the surface the charade is maintained by blaming umpires and ignoring dissenting voices. Behind the scenes God only knows what shenanigans go on.

I can no longer take Test cricket seriously. The rankings are a farce. How many of your readers know that matches at Lords accrue double the points in the PwC rankings? What other biases are there which we are not told about?

The umpiring in this match was not incompetent. It was wilfully biased.

This series and its result is completely meaningless in my eyes, even if India were to pull it back to 2-2. To me, this whole series is now a no-contest.

I have always believed in bad decisions evening out, but this test was a shocker! For me the worst was Dravid (bat beautifully tucked behind pad) and Ganguly - asking the captain to decide for him!! Come on, give me a break!!! Aussies claim to play fair but they dont. I personally think any form of sledging should be banned as unfairly disturbinb a players concentration or confidence is not sportsmanship. I do hope there are lessones to be learnt from this test match and the ICC tighten up. Bad umpires should be accountable and sledging in all forms should be banned.

Dear sir,
1.Excellent piece. We should also not forget the role played by the cannibalistic Aussie media in this whole touring team experience and that of the Channel nine commentators, who as we see in non India matches, virtually refuse to even mildly criticise their team for anything, even sporting murder. I would be keenly interested in making a ball by ball incident by incident comparison of the Star cricket Channel nine commentators and how they reacted to each of the misdemeanours highlighted by you; even better if you add ABC radio and the local stations giving radio descriptions. The evocative remark of Ian Chappell made on Star Cricket would be even more credible if he or any of his fellow summarisers made it on Aussie television.

One has to feel sorry for the Indians today. I think umpiring and Aussie behavior has been pathetic. They may have technically won this match but not on moral or ethical grounds. This match probably needs to be made null and void as the umpires seemed hell bent on making Australia win. Mukul's point on how dodgy decisions go in their favour at crucial situations needs to be probed further. It happened with sri lanka and now india. I dont think Ponting and his men deserve this victory at all. They are a champion side no doubts but this victory is definitely a not well deserved one.

It is for everyone to see what happened. Still none of us can do anything to change the result and can only vent our frustration like this. Someone who has the power, say ICC, should step and declare this result as void. I am sure none would be complaining if it is done so. Time for men in this game to be counted.

The disgraceful umpiring in this test match should be the catalyst to major changes in adjudication for the future test matches. It almost looks absurd and illogical to play a game lasting for five days whose outcome is hugely influenced not by the skill and tactics of the players but by the incompetence of supposedly neutral non players.You can prepare for a battle of skill against skill or tactics against tactics but how do you prepare for a one sided dubious umpiring.In short what is the point of all the hard work and gamesmanship if it is of less consequence to the actual result.Instead they should be concentrating their energies on how to take advantage of incompetent umpires or how to manipulate umpires to their favour.What is more ridiculous is the assertion that bad decisions even out and that we have to retain the human element in test match outcomes by clueless aussie stalwarts.It is time to wrest control of icc from these idiots before cricket becomes theatre of the absurd.

mukul,i sincerely hope ICC do something about this whole umpiring fiasco. it's such a pity that a great test match had to endure such blantant incompetency from umpires who were blind as a bat and ofcourse deaf, dumb and dead in head too! for heaven's sake, this is test cricket at the highest level. unbelievable and sad that records won't state the circumstances that this test was won! punter, pup and symonds were a mockery of the game's spirit. ricky is like confused king so bent on conquering at all costs, that his double standards are bordering plain and straight hypocrisy. symonds,lesser said the better! and also i just can't imagine that the future oz captain michael clarke a.k.a pup wud ever be worthy of being a role model for cricket aspirants down under! hope cricket aus sees wat a cheating mutt this dishonest pup has turned out to be, definite no for (a position more admired than PM) the captaincy of australia's greatest game. God save australia, God save us from this farce!

we was robbbed ... right on.

I feel like giving up watching cricket. What's the point of staying up night after night, only to see the proper result marred by a couple of moronic decisions? Makes me very unhappy.

Way to go, Mukul! You'll get a fair share of comments from Aussies calling you a sore loser, but we all know that nobody hates losing as much as the Australians. The same 'morals' that tell Ponting not to claim a catch against an out-of-touch Dravid in the first innings, tell him to claim a grounded one against MS Dhoni when there is a risk he may deny them victory. At least Clark is consistent in his dishonesty - Ponting is simply a crook who tries to show himself as what he isn't.

I agree wholheartedly with this article.

Does anyone remember Pakistan's tour in 2005? Yes, Asutralia were by far the better side, but the decisions in their favour were shocking.

Bob Woolmer - a man not prone to exaggeration - said that Australia received 6 times as many borderline decisions as Pakistan.

The umpiring was bad. Bucknor and Benson
both made too many errors, but the players must also accept some blame for it, as there was too much appealing from both sides.
India should have held on for a draw, but the
batsmen let the team down. It was good to see that
the team fought hard, in the end they lost to a team that will do anything to win.
Congratulations to Australia.

Let's put it this way - no matter how many matches on a trot these guys win, they will neither be liked nor respected the way Clive Lloyd's men were...the Aussies might say 'Who cares' but the connoisseurs of the game do. It was amusing to see the childish celebrations by guys in their 30s who should have known better that they were not playing in the real spirit of the game.

I believe your comments do not make out for all the horrid journalism which has gone before this praising Australia's "great cricket play".

India should boycott this series if Bucknor and Benson continue to "officiate". They have proved to be the most biased umpires ever in cricketdom, culminating in India losing a Test where thay should have won in all rights.
Not a single Aussie in his right mind would say that they won this test honourably. They all know this Test match was stolen from the Indians. In their hearts, they know it. But being prejudiced and racists of the first order, you will not find a single Australian coming forward to admit it, be it their Rudd PM, or even a pointless Ponting.
And we have enough of the Ravi Shastris and the Harsha Bhogles, we Indians do not need any enemies. We have enough of these gutless, spineless chamcharigiri Indians amongst ourselfs to ruin this great nation, which cannot standup to such shameless treatment.
Gutless Indians!!!

The disgraceful umpiring in this test match should be the catalyst to major changes in adjudication for the future test matches. It almost looks absurd and illogical to play a game lasting for five days whose outcome is hugely influenced not by the skill and tactics of the players but by the incompetence of supposedly neutral non players.You can prepare for a battle of skill against skill or tactics against tactics but how do you prepare for a one sided dubious umpiring.In short what is the point of all the hard work and gamesmanship if it is of less consequence to the actual result.Instead they should be concentrating their energies on how to take advantage of incompetent umpires or how to manipulate umpires to their favour.What is more ridiculous is the assertion that bad decisions even out and that we have to retain the human element in test match outcomes by clueless aussie stalwarts.It is time to wrest control of icc from these idiots before cricket becomes theatre of the absurd.

There is an ICC law which penalises ppl for bringing the game into disrepute. Will on-field and third umpires be penalised now? WIll Ponting be penalised for excessive appealing, false appeals and post-match conference?

Umpires:

Even Simon Taufel and Aleem daar have given wrong decisions to the Indians during the last 6-7 months. Atleast they said sorry, afterwards. But when we have umpires like ‘the indian hater’ Buckoner and ‘the asian hater’ Darell Hair, who keep making stupid decisions and than act as if they have just spoken the will of god, then it really is hurting, even more so when they go unpunished. Is there a cult in the Caribbean whose sole motto is to punish India whenever they get their chance? Clive Lloyd is always very imposing on us. He was very happy when he had to call off the match at Calcutta. It was like payback time for him after his side was beaten in ’83 by us. Why does Steve Buckoner hate us? Have you not seen the way he rejects our appeals – its like ‘yeah? you think so, go on beg like a dog, I might give you then’. But for the Australians he is a little too close, I bet Ponting and Clarke call him ‘uncle’.

I am just really disappointed at the fact that Ponting didNOT even admit he grounded d catch when d TV replays clearly showed it! wat in d world is he thinkin everyone watching is blind!?! Shane Warne was loud n clear when he said Australian attitude is going to take australian team down and as everyone can see...just one of the starts! you say maybe it wasnt the whole team but just one player, but more than half of the australian team played against the spirit! symonds and hussey cant brag about these hundreds of theirs as Ganguly n Dravid batted far better and atleast batted fair n in d games Spirit! I m sorry to say but All Steve Waugh did for cricket, u stuffed it up real quick ponting...u shud b ashamed son!

To me, there were only 3 contenders for Man of the Match - Steve Bucknor, Mike Benson, and the third umpire (don't know his name). After much deliberation, my vote goes to Bucknor, because, to borrow a phrase from the Aussies, he's a 'repeat offender'.

Ponting – the world’s greatest hypocrite:

What did he say when murali kartik accepted that he was out after the 7th odi, no really what did he say? ‘He should have walked but he didn’t’ in his stupid elmer accent ‘dibedy dibedy that’s all folks’ (pun un-intended on the general aussie accent). Then when he nicked the ball down the leg side and the deaf and blind umpire has rejected the appeal, then he twisted his mouth and was staring down the pitch as if, ‘hey what happened, where did the sound come from’. I was shocked to see that, but for symond’s decision, it was like ‘earth calling mars, earth calling mars’. If Symonds felt naked to have stood there and yet to have batted so confidently, he must really be a pachyderm! Mukul’s take on Clarke’s dismissal is a classic!

We have lost this match because, the umpires played foul.

Kesavan, reading your blog from quite some time now...me not a great writter and always short of words...But have a look at this match maths:

Symondes got out on 30 in first inning ( 30 - 162 = -132 runs Australia)
Ponting got out on 17 in first inning ( 17 -55 = -38 runs Australia).
Can you see the difference of 170 runs above?

About Australians being the alpha-males in sport:

Hold on, hold on, did I say sport? Now just think what will happen if the Chicago bulls and the oz cricket team are to sledge each other, oh yes the aussie will get their b**ts kicked. If they are to travel in the same bus as the worst most bullied American football team, then they will be made to sit on the bus floor. Do you know that if an American baseball coach comes across buchanan’s sporting manual ‘how to sledge and win for dummies’ or the latest edition of ‘The complete idiot’s guide to unfair play in cricket’, then there will be only one use for it – ‘the spare toilet waste paper’. These so called champions are only good among the dozen and half cricket teams in the world. That too they have to cheat, rely on bad decisions, play mind games, sledge, lie and their coach has to read ‘the art of war’ HAHAHHAHAHA (sorry couldn’t help, but really ‘the art of war’, I mean seriously come on) to win against others.

Even then they lose against Zimbabwe. Pathetic! Australians are like frogs in a well. Our (India and others) bad luck is that they are in our well.
P.S – Atleast India doesn’t think they are greatest. They earn more than the aussies because we have die-hard fans. Ricky ponting is clearly jealous that an Indian player who is not in the team like Pathan will earn more money in a couple of years, than ponting can make in a life time of playing, coaching, commentating, training girls, condom ads and even post-retirement pizza delivery service.

Not a single word about that pathetic collpase of a batting lineup that score over five hundred in the first innings or the fact that Australia bowled well. Do you even have journalistic integrity? Meh, why am I asking you? You've proven over your period here you don't have a bone of neutrality in your body, especially when it comes to India vs... Anybody.

Well said, Mukul, but there are a couple of other related issues as well. First, while umpires are not seriously held to account for their blunders, players who express dismay at decisions against them are heavily penalized, however bad the decision itself may have been. When the match referee exonerates the player, the ICC CEO rushes to the press to attack him. Second, when the whole wide world can see what is going on, what happens to the credibility of the game if the cricketing establishment deliberately shuts its eyes? To claim, as Ian Chappell and many other present and former Australian players have done, that TV replays are fine for the entertainment of the viewers but should not be taken seriously in the actual conduct of the game ignores the fact that the very existence of the game depends on the viewers. If in the process of making the game as error-free as technology permits, the umpire's authority is undermined, then so be it.

Can't agree with you more, Mukul. I am surprised at the way Ricky Ponting went on the aggressive regarding the issue in the Press Conference held post the match. Replays "conclusively" suggested that he grounded the "catch" he took off Dhoni's edge, still he went for the appeal. And worse, he vilified and insulted the Indian press-person who questioned him regarding the same in the press-room. Case of arrogance becoming blind?

Apart from the unbelievably catastrophic umpiring, the match was an excellent contest between the two top teams in the world. The Indians bowled well, batted well and held the all-conquering Aussies at bay for most of the match, till the umpires decided to check in. India should take the confidence that they could reduce a star Aussie lineup to 136-6 with a second strung bowling pace combo, and take that to Perth. However, two batsmen really failed to make any impact ; Wasim Jaffer who appears a "subcontinent-bully" incapable of playing on hard Aussie surfaces, and Yuvraj Singh, the much hyped sixer-superstar, who is struggling to put together six runs in the entire series.

Summing up, this was a case of one team needing 25 wickets to outst the other, and yet had only 15 to defend itself.

1. The Umpire asked Ponting about that catch because Kumble and Ponting had agreed to take the fielding captain's word in such situations before the series started.

2. Tendulkar's howling LBW let-off (it was much clearer than any of the 20-30 "out" deliveries that usually get denied in a match) was the evener for Symond's let-off, giving the same advantage, so stop whinging about it.

3. Want to know how Australia succeeds? By whinging (yes, we do) briefly, then moving on. We needed two runs to win the second Ashes Test in 2005 when Lee was given out, clearly incorrectly. That wrong decision cost us the test and the series. But when the series was gone Ponting refused to accept that the umpires decided it. As far as he was concerned you have to be good enough to overcome a few rough decisions, no matter how crucial. Then he took the team home and prepared the perfect response. Will India still be whinging come Perth? I fear so. But excuses don't make champions.

As a cricket tragic I'm saddened by the way this test went down. This test was destined to be a hard fought draw, & the series kept alive until Perth. Sad to see umpires put paid to the chances of keeping the series alive. While I've often admired the Aussie way of playing tough cricket, I've increasingly lost respect for this current incarnation that seems bent on winning at all costs, regardless of the damage they do to the spirit of the game. I've noticed as you have Mukul the dubious nature of decisions opposing teams seem to get against the Aussies. It's a shame that this test & the subsequent record by Australia, which should be commended regardless, will be rightfully tarnished for the lopsided umpiring decisions that sold it in favor of the Aussies. I sincerely hope, the Indian board flexes its clout in relieving Bucknor & Benson of their umpiring duties. Wonder how the Aussies would react if the match was played in India & they suffered the same fate at the hands of the umpire

I agree. Please, can't someone speak some sense to the ICC? The appeals system will solve 90% or more of umpire issues AND puts more power into the players hands and adds an additional strategic element to the game. Why are they waiting???

oooo .. mukhul .. Glad to see u took notice of the umpiring blunders and called a spade a spade! Was expecting u to call em 'a part and parcel of the game!'. Anyhoo .. They say that we had the same batting collapse but then when u have people given out the way they did then i think a collapse was inevitable wasn't it !!!

Hi Mukul
Excellent article-Bucknor is plainly incompetent and there are no two opinions about it
I think Chanderpaul once said that Australia would not be such a dominant force if 50% of decisions they get in their favour can be given to the opposition as well.
They expect that the opposition is going to grovel and with even a semblance of fight they show their rowdy attitudes-I have a feeling that the whole symonds issue involving Bhajji may well have been a fabricated lie to dispose of Harbhajan

Mr Bucknor's poor and one sided umpiring decisions in this test match comes as no surprise. His decisions are so blatantly bad that it leaves one to wonder whether he is medically fit for the job. Certainly, it would appear as if he has a problem with his sight and hearing. My question is do umpires have links to organised betting in cricket? When there appears to be a consistent pattern of poor decisions at critical phases of the game it leaves one to speculate about the possible explanations.

Well said, Mukul.

It would be understatement of the year (and the year is pretty young) to say that the umpiring in Sydney test have been bad. It has been horrible. All credit to India to have come so close in the end.

This one has been Indias test all the way. It has been Indias XI vs Australias XIV (either intentional or unintentional, I cannot say). India must have taken 12-13 Australian wickets in the first innings (considering the Ricky Ponting notout also) and lost only 8 wickets in the final innings. Yet the scorecard will show Australia won. I do not know if any fair minded Australian will be able to savour this win .

That brings me to my second point, how fair are the Australian players? All the talk about playing the game in the right spirit seems to have gone down the drain.

From 1978 (when Bedi complained that every Aisutralian except Simpson got two lives- Simpson got three), touring Australia has been a nightmare for umpiring reasons. In 1986, too, we was robbed at Melbourne. On a recent tour,Michael Holding famously recounted that 21 decisions had gone against the West Indies, while only two went against the home team. There is a pattern to this.Peter Roebuck says that in Australia, one plays the whole country, not just the eleven (or, sometimes, thirteen) men on the field. Sadly, that is true. This is a champion side but their behaviour, in general, is deeply disappointing.
As for Bucknor, he should have been put to pasture years ago. It is ludicrous to blame players for so called dissent when career and series altering decisions are handed down against them.

If after today we are again treated to the Aussie gibberish of playing hard and agressive cricket on the field, I would say- MY FOOT. Aussies are at best moaning sissies, running up to mummy to complain at the slightest hint of provocation and the lesser dais about their sportsmanship, the better it would be. That Bucknor, a black skinned blind buckler buckled down on his knees to this white Aussie masters is nothing new. Whats new was Sunil Gavaskar's belated moan on the TV after seeing one horrendous decision after the other going against the Indians. What the hell is he doing being the head of ICC umpiring panel? Given his political nature, he hasn't allowed a single umpire from India (with all its billions of souls) to officiate in the ICC elite panel but worse, has time and again allowed Bucknor to officiate in Indian matches knowing fully well Bucknor's dislike for people his color. This series is a farce and if we have even an iota of pride we should call it off.

India were denied the opportunity to level the series at the SCG, and denied the opportunity to win the series overall, by the umpires. It is that simple.

We have to stop making excuses for umpires. The technology exists to enable good decisions to be made consistently. Yes, in this test the 3rd umpire contribute one of the howlers, but then the 3rd umpire is less experienced, not neutral, and, so far as I'm aware, not trained in the use and interpretation of the technology available to him. Referrals will not work while this remains the case.

ICC must put in place a more robust 3rd umpire system, with proper training and experience, and with continuous communication between 3rd umpire and the on-field umpires. In this way, there is a chance that neutral cricket fans such as I will be able to enjoy a fair match between two fine teams, knowing the outcome will be determined by the skill and spirit of the players, not by the failings of the umpires.

Martin
Shropshire, UK.

"only one team was playing with the spirit of the game". surely kumble didn't mean India did he, what with their negative bowling tacking and terrible over-rate.

...contd

I have no problem in batsman not walking. But when fielders claim false catches, a la Ricky Ponting of Dhoni and more importantly Gilchrist of Dravid (and we always thought Gilchrist was a honest player), it always takes something out of watching and enjoying this great game we all love.

In the end, as we watched the Australians celebrate their victory, as much as we can say they played well, I couldn't just help feeling robbed.

And the saddest thing is watching Kumble in the post match conference. Here was a man who knew he had been robbed, wronged or cheated, but could not say, much less do, anything about it.

We understand you, Kumble, and stand by you and your team. The whole world will be (including a lot of Australians too).

"only one team was playing with the spirit of the game". surely kumble didn't mean India did he, what with their negative bowling tacking and terrible over-rate.

If this match will be remembered for anything, it will be for:
1)Heralding the introduction of referrals. If they are not done, one or two ageing umpires like Bucknor will stand a risk of being plonked on the head by a bat or ball.
2)The thing about taking the word of the fielder with respect to a doubtful being shelved. Especially after the holier than thou proponent of the same himself claims a bump ball as a catch and gives a "i have been robbed" expression after being denied.
3)The lowering of credibility of the Australian team to almost zero. Gilchrist who is seen as an epitome of fair play appeals when he could see a huge gap between bat and pad. Clark does not walk after a clear edge is taken hundred times more clearly than his take of Ganguly. Fine, do not walk, appeal like shameless idiots intent on robbery since it is your right but do not ever get self righteous on these matters.
4)Kumble as the true role model. He deserves a ticker tape bus top parade just for his conduct.

Right said Mukul
Even when our rage is done and dusted, we will still wonder why BCCI has kept quiet on Bucknor for so many years now. He was pathetic in 2003-4 too. Remember the 'logenze' incident? and many others subsequently. We can call Bucknor (and Benson) many names but the truth is that BCCI's action has been our own undoing. Not for nothing Ganguly had given him a big 0 for robbing us of a series victory last time. A fine umpire who has turned absolute pits.
Further should we have any hesitation in calling Michael Clarke a 'cheat'? No one should. Waiting like a clown after being clearly caught. (wasn't charged for dissent!) and then claiming a catch which he grassed twice! Shudder to think that he is earmarked as the future of Australian cricket!!
How I yearn for a reincarnated West Indies circa 80-95 to rip those overbloated batting averages and above average bowlers. Infact Jardine's 'Bodyline' side will do too!!
World Cheating Champions would have tasted bitter medicine.

The incompetence of the umpires notwithstanding, what has happened to the spirit of the game where a batsman knows he is out and cowardly remains at the crease to change the course of a test - Ponting, Hussey, and Symonds all displayed this cowardice and lack of respect for the game...

Without doubt the Australians have benefitted from poor umpiring decisions. The Australians have no intentions of doing the job for the "worlds best umpires". They know "not walking is not cheating" and will not walk. Bad umpiring is not the Australians fault. The Australians will always play it tough. They do not play to be liked! They play to win! If they are given half an oppurtunity they will make you pay. India is simply not performing well enough under pressure. It should never have lost this test. Winning might be difficult considering the umpires, but it should never have lost. Apart from the lack of mental toughness India start every innings 2 wickets down with Jaffer & Yuvraj. 2 top batsmen down is a nice start to give any opposition! Further Symonds & Hussey making solid contributions in both innings. It would be nice if Tendulkar & Laxman performed in BOTH innings. The outcome would be different. Australia did not win INDIA LOST THIS TEST.
An objective Indian in Australia.

It was a test match which the Aussies have won only courtesy of fourteen players. It was also shocking to see that barring Tony Grieg all commentators of Channel Nine were defending umpires and giving all credit to a cheating Aussie team who should act rather than play. It was heartrending to see that India’s effort was robbed by horrendous umpiring. It’s hard to digest that seven completely wrong decisions were given against India. If the umpiring goes like this no team can ever win in Australia. Teams should not come here to tour as they have to play against fourteen players which simply is not possible for eleven players. I will not switch on to tv to witness a horror show like this again.

Dan claims that Tendulkar not being given out on a lbw appeal compensates for Bucknor's howler when Symonds was 30. But dear Dan, Symonds was reprieved 3 times in the first innings and first ball in the second and Mr. Cricket Hussey was reprieved when 40. Do you have some trouble with arithmetic? Well, come to India and we will teach you 1+1=2 and not 3

3 things... the umpires, michael clarke & the future of australian cricket, and the result of the match.
I have to fight my instincts to comment "the umpires struck regular blows" and to question the integrity of the umpires... so i'll opt for questioning their ability instead. and unlike chappell et al - suggest that technology will never be 100%; only God is. lets start using it. its got to be an improvement on the present.
with due apologies to gilchrist & warnie, they are too gentlemanly to ever be the aussie skipper. ponting (with the dhoni catch appeal) displayed what it takes. clarke obviously has it - the hunger to win AT ALL COSTS. michael, where we come from this is not called one-upmanship... its called cheating.
lastly too many ridiculous decisions were made in this match to allow a fair result. the bcci should be asking the icc for an annulment of the result... nothing less. if the icc says no to walking off the field. lets see how it can ensure a fair result otherwise.

Well, the umpiring was poor. But what about Indian batsmen? Anil Kumble did a great job in batting (2nd innings) and Harbhajan did a good job in the first innings. What about key batsmen like Wasim Jaffer, Yuvraj Singh and Mahindra Singh Dhoni? The only players clicking are the experienced ones (Rahul, Sachin, Saurav and V V S Laxman). Once they retire then there would be a serious vacuum in India's cricket. We cannot find decent openers and have to ask Rahul to open the innings. I would suggest that Virendar open the innings. What worse can he do that Wasim Jaffer? If he clicks, then atleast he can put the Australians on the backfoot.

I had great respect for Australian team, but after this match, I have lost respect for many Australian players. How can a fielding team's player declare a batsman (Saurav) out ? How can the umpire (international) accept it also?

A dejected and avid Indian cricket fan

Glen >> decry the laughably one-sided umpiring that used to take place on the sub-continent before neutral umpires were installed?

Do we know what all happend? Why do you pull in the subcontinent? Talk about India. Now we got the technology to talk about decisions. We have improved and still there is no reason to act like savages.

Dave 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

Australia got their share of rough decisions. It seems ehining is the national passtime for India, their supporters and their bloggers

Oh yeah what were watching? Backyard cricket... List them...

nobody can no deny that australia's golden run is helped by biased umpiring and how can an umpire decide a catch by asking a fielder and decide its fate. Australia clearly didnt deserve to win the 2nd test and its hard to digest

Somebody written had that: Indian batsmen did not last 72 overs. Yes, they should have but if they get wrong decisions how can they? If their settling in like Dravid and their innings is cut short by an anti-India umpire (who does not hear the big snick of Symonds' wooden bat) but hears the ball brush the soft pad? Matches are won or lost on the performances of key players and critical moments. Dravid is a big player and so is Ponting, Symonds and Hussey. Deduct the runs they scored when the umpire after they were out and the numbers speak for themselves. INDIA WIN THE MATCH.

The Aussie tack is simple: Gilly plays the honest bloke as a walker but has no qualms claiming catches of pads. Have not seen such hypocrisy.

To save the fair name of this beautiful game - India need to pull out of this tour and the result of this match deemed null and void.
If BCCI's power (financial clout, etc) is worth something then they need to have both of the above done. Unlesss this is done, this..

LBW's are always questionable and subjective. Not caught behinds or catches or stumpings.

Even then the one that repreived Hussey and Symonds while RP Singh was given out. Appalling.
Hussey was on the backfoot and even Bill LAwry felt team india was undone.

The whole test is a joke.

1) Just when indians got the momemtum by taking 7 wickets crucially Symonds catch was turned off.
2) the indian batters played their own selfish ususal game
3) again in aussie 2nd innings Husssey/Symonds enjoyed the close lbw decisions(while RP Singh was adjudged lbw which had far more reason to doubt).

ICC wake up and smell the coffee. No umpire interference for teams to compete their heartout and for fans to enjoys a good contest. BOth of them without getting disenfranchaised.

Spot on Mukul . It was disgusting to watch the Australians and the umpires in this match . Which match the umpires were standing in ? Words can't describe the injustice done to the Indian team . Plain atrocious !! The two umpires are spineless , incompetent , and were a great pair of clowns..Yesterday , they killed the spirit of cricket. What Ponting is talking about 'integrity ' when the replays clearly showed that the ball he caught touched the ground . There is something called 'objective perception ' . He is deluding himself believing that the world must believe whatever he says . I'm proud of my Indian heroes in this match . They fought till the end against all the injustice . Losing such a fight is not a shame . ICC , another incompetent entity , at last should wake up and do something about objectifying this whole decision making in a cricket match . People say, things even out , but what exactly does it mean and how does it bring the justice to the loser?

As after a few years, nobody will know India were done in blatantly biased umpiring and cheating and the Aussies will proudly display the scoreline. This doe snot reveal the whole truth like the 85-86 series which India should have won bar the umpires and then Steve Waugh did a Michael Clarke then claiming a catch when he dropped it. So it runs in these cricketers irrespctive of which generation they come play in. So they are living upto their reputation of coming from the "land of convicts" which should now be also be called "land of cheats".

BCCI should call off the series and make this test macth result null and void. There is no point in playing a game when it is not a level playing field. Only b these actions the whole cricketing loving fraternity will wake to these dubious strategies of Cricket Australia, its players, officials, media, etc to keep up their so-called cheated winning records.

CALL OFF THE TOUR.

C'mon Indians. Wake up from your emotional stupor. WE LOST A TEST the AUSTRALIANS DID NOT WIN. We cannot improve if we do not acknowledge our own mistakes. The batsmen blew it. They should have drawn it. Forget the umpires. If we wallow in self pity we will also wallow in a 4-0 series loss. Such lamenting articles as "We were robbed" does nothing to improve the mental toughness of the Indian team.

India might as well start appealing for every delivery that hits the Aussies pads or every take by Dhoni, you never know what the umpires might give out and anyway winning at all costs is the matter as long as it lawful and legal so why not appeal for every damn thing.

Im proud Pakistani fan and will back Pakistan everytime. The Australian side is awesome they won fair and square. Yes Dravid decision was outrageous. I watched the match all the replays ganguly was out umpire followed the pact made by captains. Even if ganguly was out so wat? Aus still took 8 wkts no? fairly no? so u telling me those 8 wkts were nothing only Dravid & ganguly matters. Fact is every team in da world is sub par to Australian. Deal with it raise ur game instead of bashing Australians.
Was umpiring bad no doubt abt it. But such hue and cry like this has happened 1st time, India has benfitted in past too anyone remember 1st lord test in england when same umpire didnt give sreenath out and rain and that decision robbed england of a test win and series woudl have been equal? As for spirit of game Indians should talk abt spirit of game, every non-white populi cries racism on slight mistake by white yet calling symond monkey is not racist. Have some shame. Stop beig sore loser

Someone please tell these australian buffoons that it was dodgy umpiring in Pakistan and in Australia that forced the ICC to appoint neutral umpires....

It's just so wonderful that your rules state that racism and accusations of racism will not be tolerated.

Congratulations for not publishing my previous post. And congratulations for posting every half-witted accusation that every single Australian is racist simply because India lost at a game.

You people are all class.

I have documented to Mr. Dave Richardson of ICC a few months ago that the ICC staff are blatantly abusing their authority against Indians.
Mr. Richardson has chosen not to reply - possibly since he knew what I was saying was true.
At Sydney, we have just seen ICC's paid umpires do away with even the formality of showing neutrality.
After the Australians have publicly made clear that they are willing to use everything including dishonesty to be on the winning side, Mark Benson asking Ricky Ponting a question that should have legitimately gone to the 3rd Umpire just shows us where Mark Benson's loyalties were.
There is no question that it is not the efficiency, but the integrity of ICC's umpires that is suspect.
We Indians are now watching to see how ICC will convince us that Bucknor & Benson were not following management orders.
Also-whether ICC considers it within the spirit of cricket to record an Australian victory that seems to be bought rather than earned.

Umpiring mistakes, however egregious, have always been and will continue to be part of this game. In the end, I would like this test to be remembered as a great match, well fought, with the better team coming through. The Indian team, far from being emittered, must hold their heads high and be proud of their performance after the thrashing they received in Melbourne. We must also not lose sight of the fact that Australian cricket does not consist only of the players and a small section of the media. There is a large population of true cricket lovers, who, I am sure, will have derived immense pleasure and satisfaction from the performance of the Indian team in Sydney, regardless of the eventual outcome of the match.

well..... i m really proud of the way my countrymen have fought. just a word of caution for Australia...start practicing on dustbowls, because next time when u will tour India,it will be wankhede everywhere. so take my suggestion and makeup your mind to get mascaraed then. till then happy hunting...

C'mon Indians. Wake up from your emotional stupor. WE LOST A TEST the AUSTRALIANS DID NOT WIN. We cannot improve if we do not acknowledge our own mistakes. The batsmen blew it. They should have drawn it. Forget the umpires. If we wallow in self pity we will also wallow in a 4-0 series loss. Such lamenting articles as "We were robbed" does nothing to improve the mental toughness of the Indian team.

What has upset me is the fact that we got so close to saving the match and yet lost. What has upset me about the umpires is the point to ask Ponting about the catch of Ganguly(If you cannot judge yourself, ask the square leg umpire, though knowing Bucknor, he would probably have given that out).What has most upset me is the attitude of Australian players. They have claimed two catches that were not catches, and got one of them. If this is the way the honor system works, it is better that it does not work at all!
I have become extremely leery of the racism charges against Harbhajan! Seeing the attitude of teh Australians, I feel they are capable of anything.
And to those who talk of biased subcontinental umpiring-please talk of Indian umpires. Indian umpires were known to be either incompetent(in which case decisions were shared 50-50 between teams)or were so enamoured of foreign teams that they gave Indians out wrongly. And I understand why Gavaskar walked out in Melbourne.

I am an Indian.

Bad umpiring. India lost, Australia won. They are a great team but as this test shows, they can be beaten.

Appeal against Harbhajan made by Australians.

Indians appealing against the same umpires adjudicating in the next match.

Next match in Perth. Start preparing. Move on.

And most importantly, take it easy on the blogs and be calm against the Aussies on the field. The best strategy is to laugh a lot even when they are sledging their guts out. Do a Munnabhai on them. Give them 'Jadoo ki jhappi'

To all thoose staunch Aussie fans out there who think team india fans are sore loser and hence complain about umpiring.

Listen to how many complained about umpiring in test 1 and test 2. Get it. If you dont get it then team india should help Australi'a task of winning 17 games in a row easier by starting to bowl with jaffer, laxman and rest tendulkar, ganguly etc.,Afterall you guys want a win at any cost innit.

I have commented often that poor umpiring decisions favour the strong...a team with more depth can continue on course when a decision goes against them and this has been proved time and time again by Australia. Both sides copped some shocking decisions in this one and India was damaged the most by them. They can be categorised these days as Symonds catch behind and Dravid's too were so obviously erroneous as to be risible

Interestingly, having watched all the slows and superslow's, taping it myself too, Clarke’s catch looks pretty clean to me so even technology examination can be interpreted diversely...anyone for a stumping referral?! However it is wrong to say that these decisions are conclusive to the end results as once in the realm of “what-ifs’ you then have to consider other parameters such as dropped catches etc. - the ebb and flow is surely disturbed and the weaker side definitely has a harder row to hoe dealing with any of these set backs but that is all.

In reality I guess it all means that it is time that technology was used more routinely, I wonder why Chappell is so against it? Must be that Aussie depth again, eh! With modern communications systems the umpire could be given information on a replay through an earpiece in close to real time. Most replays are conclusive on immediate review...where they are not conclusive just give the benefit to the batsman and keep playing. Player referrals are contrived and unworkable as they will only introduce more gamesmanship. I mean didn't they work well in England last summer!?

Finally, as for those that say "not walking when you KNOW you have hit the ball" is not cheating, they exhibit a classic example of the loss of standards in ethics on the playing field and the erosion of morality in today's world. Sure, if you are not certain wait but...give me a break, Symonds

That really only leaves us with golf now as a truly gentlemanly game...Oh Brave New World!

Michael Clarke is going down the wrong track. He thinks winning should come at all costs and that includes cheating.

Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Hussey, Gilchrist are good blokes from what I have seen.

Punting, Symonds, Hogg, Clarke are the black sheeps in the Aussie team.

There are too many sooks and sore losers whining to cover up the racism and negative play of their team. Kumble has also embraced that attitude which means they will be even less likely to play winning cricket. They might as well go home.

...and Bucknor and Benson leave on a all-expense-paid-by-CA vacation...

cheats! thats what australia are. kind of reflects on why they were put on the continent in the first place.

harbhajan has been banned for three tests. the fun begins now...

Aussie cricket team is just like New England Patriots (an American football team). Before Patriots cheating was found out this year, they always used to enjoy last moment favorable decisions from referees. What is unique is they were able to turn those decisions into matchwining ones. A small kudos to this cheating Aussie team that they were able to use the help of Uncle Tom and Uncle Ben and win the match. Many teams like India won't be able to do that. That being said, this cheating team is number one in hypocricy, which is a white man disease. Like conquering countries to supposedly improve the lot of people was named white man's burden. I read 1 aussie article questioning why so many Brahmins in India team. Classic case of hypocricy, how many non whites in aussie team??

Aussie cricket team is just like New England Patriots (an American football team). Before Patriots cheating was found out this year, they always used to enjoy last moment favorable decisions from referees. What is unique is they were able to turn those decisions into matchwining ones. A small kudos to this cheating Aussie team that they were able to use the help of Uncle Tom and Uncle Ben and win the match. Many teams like India won't be able to do that. That being said, this cheating team is number one in hypocricy, which is a white man disease. Like conquering countries to supposedly improve the lot of people was named white man's burden. I read 1 aussie article questioning why so many Brahmins in India team. Classic case of hypocricy, how many non whites in aussie team??

The umpiring and Aussie behaviour has cast a doubt on the other 15 wins that Australia had. I don't think cricket can expect to be popular with this kind of biased umpiring. Will Team India stage a walkout at Perth if Bucknor continues ? I have lost all respect for Ricky Ponting and his team.

Poor decisions or not, the bottomline is, the Aussies, Bucknor, Benson and Oxenford equalled the world record.

Australia WON.. however cricket was the loser here.It goes on to show what the aussies can do to win a match. It was obvious that India played against a mightier team .. with 11 against 14 and that sums it up

Enjoy the win which you did not deserve ponting. Even if the stats say otherwise we all know how much the umpires had their say in the last few in wins in australia ( first agains SL and now against India)..

I agree with Mukul here. Having watched the match on TV, I was appalled at the poor decisions made by both umpires. While I would not go as far as saying that the decisions were clearly slanted in favour of the home team it is undeniable that Australia gained a significant advantage from decisions that went in their favour.
Ricky Ponting comes across as a hypocrite. He does not play the game in the right spirit.
Both umpires ruined a genuinely close contest. India has proven that they can easily compete with Australia on their home turf and I think the next two tests will continue to press home that notion.
Australia are not as good as their record indicates.
Probably the worst part of the match was the commentary done by Messers Greig and Mark Taylor. Mark 'Tubby' Taylor comes across as a patronizing, sickeningly partisan Aussie who should not be allowed near a commentary box. Enough said.

to me the LBW irrespective of whether its out or not...we stick to the ump's word...but edges /run outs/stumpings even!...to make such a hash of them...especially affecting india...add to tht some of the most blatant hypocrisy from the aussies ive ever seen...pity this is what being a champion side is about...im glad india arent champions...at least they know how to play it dignified...spirit of the game??...aussies seem drunk on it...and i dont mean in a good way...

Enough said...enough argued...enough debated.....but conclusively proved.. "Australian cricketeers are cheats"......and Adam Gilchrist held in so high an esteem till today, has sunk into the depths of being a gutter snipe cheat. Is anyone trying to say he did not realise that Dravid did not touch the ball with the bat? Hooey !!

Glenn,
When you talk about biased decisions being given in the subcontinent you are making this matter us vs. them i.e white vs. asians.
India is not Pakistan if you do not know.
To my horror when a commentator on Sky Sports said that Australia have had the rub of green in this match, the other one questioned that brazenly saying that Ponting was given out by a bad decision and Tendulkar was given not out when he was in the first innings.
If Sharad Pawar and India have some self respect they should pull out of this tour. period.

What a disgrace - Cricket and wrestling must be vying for the same audience. When is Steve Bucknor set to retire - I hope at the end of the second test. Mark Benson needs to take Umpiring 101. The powers at be need to take a SERIOUS look at the quality of umpiring otherwise current/future test series will lose their appeal, lose support and most importantly, lose CREDITABILITY. India had Australia on the ropes (134/6) The error in favour of Andrew Symonds had the biggest impact on the course of the match for me. Credit to Anil Kumble - what a fighter and player but it's not enough when your biggest fear is not Brett Lee but the Umpires.

Australia deserved to win this match as India was playing 11 men on the field plus 3 umpires plus the match refree plus and the ICC.

First of all, India should have been able to save the test even with all the umpiring decisions going against them...

Secondly, there is nothing honest or gentlemanly about the way the Aussies play their game. Kumble was foolish to accept Ponting's reality-skewed notion of allowing fielders to judge catches. It takes men of great integrity to be honest in tense situations and we clearly see that neither the Aussie captain nor his trusted henchmen are.

Third, the aussies can't expect not to be sledged when they seem to do it regularl, calling it systematic disintegration of the opponent. When someone sledges, they turn wusses and go complain to mommy.

At the end of the day, all I can say is I don't respect the Aussie team any more nor would I get any pleasure watching them play their cricket in 'the spirit of the game'

Now Bhajji gets banned on the word of those two morally upright gentlemen Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden and one of the greatest of all time, Sachin Tendulkars word is ignored...in the abscence of objective evidence...This has been the low water mark of Test Cricket for a long long time.It may not be advisable to call off thetour altogether..too much money riding on this tour.Besides Sharad Pawar is no Dalmiya.The Ugly Australian stands exposed..even if it must be said that India could have batted two sessions out.Ugly and disappointing.India has every reason to be proud of its team and its Captain,,,who fought all the way.will Kumble stand up for Bhajji like Arjuna Ranatunga did for Murali?

I hope India does continue the tour in "black armbands" and fight tooth and nail.Chak De India.Sorry Oz...Great Team, but this is down and dirty.Disgusting.

It is my studied opinion than Indian fans have got to be some of the most abusive fans out there. The Indian cricket team is no better. They have been attacking, whinging and pointing fingers since the day they arrived here in Australia. Acting like spoilt primadonnas is not going to get Indian cricket anywhere. Why not learn some manners and grace from the Sri Lankans? They behave like true gentlemen both on the field and off the field. Their tour here was not marred by any ugly scenes or racial attacks against Symonds. So what exactly is the problem of the Indian team and their fans?

Between the umpiring, the acrimony between the two teams, and now the Harbhajan decision, the series has become untenable. You cannot play five-day matches in this kind of atmosphere. The Indian team should return immediately, and some serious introspection should follow at the BCCI, the CA, and the ICC about all sorts of issues that have surfaced already, from team selection to umpiring and on-field behavior.

Glenn,
When you talk about biased decisions being given in the subcontinent you are making this matter us vs. them i.e white vs. asians.
India is not Pakistan if you do not know.
To my horror when a commentator on Sky Sports said that Australia have had the rub of green in this match, the other one questioned that brazenly saying that Ponting was given out by a bad decision and Tendulkar was given not out when he was in the first innings.
If Sharad Pawar and India have some self respect they should pull out of this tour. period.

What a bunch of low-lifes the Aussies turned out to be!!

Add to that the jellybean-baiting English and we can now see who the real cheaters, frauds, whingers, whiners, moaners and all-round moral degenerates of world cricket really are.

We see that these labels so readily and unhesitatingly applied by the Anglo-Australian cricket establishment to Asian teams are nothing less than an outward projection and transference onto others of their own sordid selves.

Stay away from us! Play your Ashes, glorify your own, vilify us, but please stay away!

I feel ashamed for all decent and fair Australians and English people. Is this how you were taught to behave by your parents?

World cricket as it stands is a farce designed only to buttress the old sense of colonial supremacy and humiliate its former subjects. The West Indians were ahead of the Asians in abandoning the game once they had proved the point as to who was really who.

Reading the comments of all the Indian posters...

Again, I'll point out that it so wonderful that your rules explicitly condemn racism and accusations of racism.

The world we live in is incredibly lucky to have the likes of the moderators of cricinfo.

Why aren't you lot off in the middle-east? You'd solve that pesky Palestinian-Israeli thing in a jiffy....

Yours truly, an Australian. (ie a racist convict who you're quite happy to have be abused by all and sundry.)

PS Thanks again for not publishing my post.

Same to you mate.

India did get the wrong end of the stick this test match.
If they had any backbone they should of held out.
But typically of Indian cricket they tried hard,ended up getting bet by a mentally superior out fit and will now whinge like the bunch of spoilt little dears they are.
Kumble should keep quiet about the Australian test teams integrety when he leads a team which has a proven rascist problem also.

WOW!! I see so many comments. indians, australians and so many others..mukul i give it to you. what ya told was absolutely right. I saw few people saying that we dint have the competency to lost 72 overs and that except those two wickets of dravid and ganguly. ofcourse it doesnt matter that they are the two premier batsmen of the indian side. wonder if ponting would have had no issues had it been himself and hayden given out on a crucial day. Stop complaining saying indians failed. We Tried . We wouldnt have lost tha match if not for the umpiring errors in the second innings and we may have won it if there was no errors in the first. How come ponting who beleives that he played in the right spirit appealed for that alleged catch?. How come Gilly went up for dravid's Catch? and for those australian media who call symonds innnings and counter attacking one.. be ashamed as he was out three times in that innings. it was not counterattacking but outright cheating.

thank god ,mukul is still indian,and he is still writing ,little positive .we lost,no excuse.sehbag,pathan,kartic in;zaffer,yuvi,sharma out.re organise army still you can level

It is not Bucknor or Benson who are the problems, it is the system that supports and encourages this kind of bias and incompetence. It took a walkout by Pakistan to get rid of Hair. If the powers at BCCI have any guts they will do something about it right now and not just supply the goodies with their talking like eunuchs. Something needs to be done right now, not after the series is lost 0-4. Indian fans in Australia will be justified if they decided to boycott the remainder of this series.

Malcolm Speed coming up with the statement that these things even out is a lame excuse. They don't. Does it mean that his umpires are intentionally trying to even things up based on something that happened ten years ago. Even if they did even out in the long run, how legitimate are the results of a test match or a test series for that matter. I don't want the umpires and the authorities controlling who should win when. I just want a fair contest.

No point in ruing the umpire's decision and future course of action, the result shows it as 2-0 in favour of Australians. I've lost all interest in this series. It would take a great lot of events to bring be back to watching Cricket. Don't expect Niranjan Shah & Co to do anything, they are busy counting the riches.

I guess the batsmen were to blame this time.India boasts of the most superior batting lineup in the world-yet why this failure?I guess it's high time that Sehwag gets back to open the innings and Rahul gets pushed down the order.Maybe he did manage opening in Pakistan back in 2006, but it's not the same case scenario here now.There are huge positives to take out of this match.There were ALOT of msiatkes made in umpiring-most of them against India.If Steve Bucknor could not see that the ball had not hit Dravid bats and the circumstance looked doubtful, he should have reffered it to the third umpire.Infact, all the doubtful decisions should have been referred instead of taking the fieldsman's word(as in the case of Ganguly's catch by Clarke in the 2nd innings).And, all hope is not lost.We can still go ahead and try to draw the series.That could prove as a huge boost for the Indians, as well as end the Aussies 16-win streak(like they did in 2001)

Man of the Match - Steve Bucknor. could not have been anyone else. i had the misfortune of seeing the Australian broadcast on the final day. listen to this- slater says Australia got the rub of the green with the decisions this test, and that quintessential Australian Bill Lawry has the nerve to say, "what do you mean we got it all? Ponting got a bad decision, Sachin got a good one?" Is that so???
calling this team 'great' is ludicrous, and a disgrace to what is termed 'greatness'. they are just cry babies, and Ponting looks like he will break into tears if the rub of the green does not go his way...
it is not that they stood their ground after edging, one look at the way they behaved on the final day reminded me of playing street cricket in India as an 8 year old...
disgraceful, cheap and nauseating... this australian team is not even worth playing against, let alone be labelled great. what are records worth if you cheated your way to get it???

Of the Aussies 16 wins on the current streak, unless I'm mistaken, 11 are at home, and 2 of the 5 away games were vs Bangladesh. I'm not saying that is conclusive in the least, but it adds to the argument.
Having said that, I am proud and happy as an Indian supporter. Aussies won the toss, had an incredibly lucky test by any standards, lived up to their reputations of mind-games artists and we still took the game to the penultimate over.
No match since our loss at Barbados chasing 120 has haunted me as this one did - I couldn't sleep till 4am. I think I should watch some tennis instead.

Here's a new dictionary word:

bucknored [\BUCK-nuhd\]adjective
1. a deep belief that passing judgment very very slowly results in the correct outcome
2. completely incompetent at making correct decisions, with an undertone of malice implied

Now I don't think the Aussies are a superior side. I think the two teams are very evenly matched in a fair contest. Australia will probably win on a fast and bouncy pitch like Perth while India will have an upper hand on other types of pitches.

Sharad Pawar worried about the relationship between the two countries at the moment. What a clown!

Whatever it is, I am not watching this stupid piece of made up garbage any more. No more dollars on a soap opera.

Ricky Ponting and his Aussie team have lost their integrity .Maybe they are a great team but their legacy has been tarnished forever by the events in Sydney. Every game they have won will now be seen under a new light. Who was the umpire , how many dubious decisions did they get ?Australia and Test Cricket have lost a lot of fans in Sydney.

History repeats itself 4 years ago after sachin was given 2 horrendous decisions in the same match he said the world had seen now 4 years later the world have seen again.I hope these esteemed gentlemen BENAUD,CHAPPELL,SLATER,HEALY,GREIG,NICHOLAS, LAWRY,rather than praising Australia's victory and super cricketers, take a very close look at the amount of bad umpiring decisions that took place in this match, see which team it affected most, then speak the truth.You guys are doing a terrfic job,I have had the pleasure of seeing some of you at BOURDA-GEORGETOWN,and you played hard but fair,(BILL,IAN,TONY)I would like to hear you make the right comments before you lose your credability.THANKS MUKUL for speaking it like it is,by the way SHEWAG for Jaffer and Irfan for YUVRJ.

On a different note, but similar tactics by Ponting. He is scared of facing Harbajhan Singh, so he frames a charge against Singh and gets him banned for the rest of the series. i.e. Australians will resort to anything including cheating to win.
On the point of neutral umpires -- should Rudy Koertzen be standing in games involving Australia since he lives in Australia? That may be the reason Rudy gave Sangakkara out and blew Sri-Lanka's chances of winning the game in the last series against Australia. As someone pointed out these actions are probably premeditated actions to get Australia the record number of wins. Perhaps, ICC should forfeit Australia's wins against India and Sri-Lanka. Are you listening ICC? why so many of us are taking the time comment on the recent mistakes by the umpires?
Did one of the bloggers hint at match-fixing by umpires?

Throughout history, the Australians have been excellent cricketers, and with the most unsportsmanlike behavior. Every Indian cricketer has been subjected to racial abuse by Australian fielders from the days of Gavaskar. Also Australia used to have the most incompetent umpires (a big reason why neutral umpires were introduces in the first place). The Indian Board needs to develop a backbone: (a) cancel the tour if these Bucknor & Benson are umpires; (b) lodge a Level 3 complaint against the Australian team, especially Ponting & Gilchrist, who are known to abuse Indians. Cancel the tour if the Australians persist in their behavior.
Let's face it - India keeps cricket financially afloat. Let's make sure that we use our fininacial muscle to ensure that the game is played fairly.
Or have the players develop a backbone and fight fire with fire. Remember Bodyline. It took only one Douglas Jardine to ensure 50 years of good behavior from the Australians.

Hey greg! Phil tufnel!? I think you mean simon taufel!

I think everyone needs to look at what is happening here. Two umpires under huge pressure to begin with steadily crumbled under the weight of responsibility. They made blatant mistakes & had no way out. There was no escape from the media, the fans or the endless succession of close calls they had to adjudicate. They did very very badly & cost India a game they might well have won. I can guarantee that that will haunt them both, they will replay those decisions & ask themselves how they did so badly, how much pain they caused millions of Indian fans.

Those Indian fans are hurt & frustrated, & rightly so. I'm not saying they should be happy, but accusations of racism or conspiracy or corruption are well off-base. And one way to earn the sympathy & gratitude of the umpires involved might be to say: This result sucks & you didn't do a great job, but remember these mistakes, learn from them & you'll do better next time.

Showing some understanding might get the umpires better disposed.

Well said Mukul! You are right, it is puzzling why neutral umpires continue the aussie tradition of crucial interventions. All home umpiring used to be bad but aussie home umpiring was all about critical interventions. A player playing for a long time given out incorrectly and then the decision balanced by reprieves to tail enders! Nowadays neutral umpiring is usually incompetent but not biased except in Australia.

One more thing - a crying need of the hour is a transparent evaluation system for the umpires. I keep hearing that Steve Bucknor was a fine umpire. Says who? What criterion?

To say that we should have held our fort even after the two wrong calls for Dravid & Ganguly means that for the challenging team to beat Australia, they must pass the test of fire for being worthy by being able to draw the match even with 2-3 incorrect decisions to their best batsmen and 2-3 extra lifers to the best of the Aussie batsmen. To add to that, I keep hearing from Sunny and also in this column that the umpires might prefer the Aussie way of appealing as its more confident as compared to the other teams. Forgive me if I get it wrong, are you kidding me? If umpires are going to judge an appeal based on how its done, I pity the state of cricket. The rulebook says the players need to appeal for an umpire to adjudicate, nothing about the way its done. So how does the underdog ever catch up? Its like a Mobius strip, the team playing the best team never gets the close calls in their favor, so how do they ever pull off an upset?

If nothing is done about this match (void the match, fire the umpires, ban ponting & clarke for atleast 1 match to emphasize the fact in which the game should be played), all the australians can be best assured that they expect the very best when their team tours India later this year. What a bunch of cheaters! Comparing them to the professional west indians of 80's is an absolute joke. None of the Indians would feel sorry about loosing first test (as it was won by aussies fair and square , which is how it should be), but the second test is an absolute shocker. This test deserves to be shelved on every cricketers library (and the sleepy ICC and BCCI), to explain how a test match SHOULD NOT be played.

Man, sounds look Indians are really bad losers! One (maybe two) bad umpiring decision in the 2nd innings, but no mention of the other eight wickets? Losing eight wickets in 2 sessions plus a few minutes? NO EXCUSE FOR THAT.

At the end of the day, its a game of cricket, and I believe in "Life's hard. Suck it up."; what makes the whole experience distatesful is that not for one minute did Ponting nor the Aussie media acknowledge that if it were not for the umpires, the result would be very different. Its one thing to win, we can live with that, an entirely different thing to rub it in. Because an otherwise pedestrian batting performance by the Aussies gets recorded in history as if they took all the wickets they needed to take and score all the runs they needed to score, well without extra lifers. So please dont tell us to take it in our stride, by not protesting is to take it lying down. FYI, what would the Aussies have done if they were at the receiving end in this match, cry foul over India's financial prowess in the 'sport' of cricket.

Let's look at this another way: How well did India play?

They played as a team, their bowlers had Australia on the ropes in the first innings & they batted & fielded extremely well. Dravid was solid even while opening. Kumble showed extraordinary leadership & great tactical ability. Harbhajan seemed to improve. India were let down a little by Yuvraj & Jaffer. If either had been replaced with a more productive batsman again, the result might have been different.

It is disappointing that this was overshadowed but let us recognise what the Indian team did right & how they can move on from here. If they can lift their batting another notch I don't think Perth should be a foregone conclusion.

The past is written & can't be undone.

India have to win two tests to square the series. It's a tough ask, I don't see why that's impossible.

Dan said "Excuses dont make chanpions." How right you are - Bucknor makes champions.. er.. with a little help from Benson.. and with a little help from the third umpire..

The criticism of Ponting seems unfair. One of the reasons Ponting wants to rely on fielders for close catches is that TV replays are almost always inconclusive or misleading & catches referred to the 3rd umpire were uniformly given not out which statistically seems to indicate a sampling bias.

How can i tell this cheater's champions they have kill this game pointing attitude at present is like god if the decision is not in fever he can fustrated on any seniour player for commenting on him, on opponent on umpire on match refree today its easy to win the and its hard to win respect and hearts of people I can see this team is bunch of liar and arrogants and very very unsporty people. we miss the days of steve waugh when they win the fairplay trouphy at every tournament. hope australian cricket have some true sportman spirit one day we start loving this team once again at present i feel very ashame to be hardcore follower of australian cricket. just last word for ricky pointing and his team liar liar your paints on fire

I can't remember a Test match being so disfigured by umpiring mistakes. Australia had no right to win this match. In the Aus first innings Ponting and Simmonds had six innings between them.

Touring teams have been getting the rough end the stick in Australia in recent years, the late Bob Woolmer suggested as much when Pakistan toured. I also remember Michael Holding expressing similar thoughts when the Windies were in Aus.

Mind you if you think it's bad now you should recall the days prior to neutral umpires. England once won the ashes in Aus without getting a single LBW in the whole series!! For Steve Waugh to recommend the re-introduction of home town umpires is a joke.

There needs to be few lessons out of this Sydney test learnt for India but the game's good name have been tarnished by the Ozzies. Most of Bradman age Australian cricketers do not rate Ponting & his team high because of the "assistance" they get from their board, media, match officials- umpires & referees, i.e., their full team (they are a team here) to boost their averages & wins. Their future cap'n Clarke seems to be having all the traits necessary for being one: like S Waugh in '85 against India who claimed a catch after he had dropped it.

The ban on Harbhajan smacks of double standards adopted by the ICC. No bans on McGrath for all his verbals ever in his career. Proctor has repeated the Mike Denness act. Yuvraj summoned when he stood his ground but Clarke let off scot free. Look at the Aussie team effort - on one front - biased umpiring, 2nd - ban from an apartheid era South African match referee but nothing for Clarke, Symonds who started it all (sledging history by Ozzies

As a neutral observer, I am as disappointed as anyone that a great game of cricket has been overshadowed by poor umpiring decisions. However, the most ardent Indian supporter should not deny that their team should have survived 72 overs on the final day to save the match - Dravid & Ganguly's decisions were only two of the ten - you should look to some of your other key players and ask questions about their lack of application.
Let's get this back in perspective - there have been bad umpiring decisions since the game began. All home sides have, to some extent, received the benefit from officials - in soccer, no referee gives a penalty against Man United at Old Trafford. It happens - let's concentrate on the more significant issue - do not rely on players to assist umpires with decisions. Any decision which has basis for doubt should be referred to the TV umpire, and leave it at that. At least then the umpires on the field are exempt from blame.

Ian Pollard
Doncaster, UK

Mukul - I am a great fan of yours have have read your comments with interest. I think, you should take up your views with the people who matter. BCCI is a joke and despite the backing of a billion fans and most funds it acts "soft" in these matters. BCCI should pick a leaf from Cricket Australias books. I strongly believe, that Dravid and/or Ganguly should have staged a walk-off (like Gavaskar did in the 1970s when given out to Lillee)after the atrocious umpiring decision to give them out. And India should have forfeited the match like Inzy did in England. Playing for your country is a matter of honour.... and there is not need to suffer humiliation at the hands of umpires. It's ok to lose to a better team ... but not to incompetent umpires. BCCI has lodged a complaint .... that is not enough and I will not be surprised if Bucknor officates at Perth. BCCI should threaten boycott of the match if Bucknor officiates. And how can Benson ask a fielder (Clarke)? That is unheard of.

3rd tac:Sledging - created and mastered by the Aussies but if given back by the opponents they whimper and become a cry baby and go to the officials.
What happened to their oft repeated statement: what happens in the field stays in the field. But lo and behold the ICC official finds David guilty but Goliath goes smirking scot free.Think this is what Ponting meant that he has 4 to 5 plans against India. The English say Australia is a land of convicts & cheats rings true.But Ponting speaks as holier than thou in the press when asked about his appeal for catch. Where was this honesty in his batting when caught down the legside & of his cry baby team mates?
How about their unnecesary appeals to pressurize the umpires? Ponting is a follow-the-ball cap'n who took inordinately long time to set the fields for his bowlers but it will be Kumble docked for slow over rates. Some justice this.
C LLoyd's team will be best team post 70s as they beat Aus in Aus with Aus umpires at both ends.

I agree with the rest of India,that India lost the test which they should have drawn.But did we ridicule the same Steve Bucknor,when he gave not out to Sreesanth,(England 2007) thus enabling us to win the series.

I did not see any Indian media making a hue and cry because it went in our favour.Now we are on the receiving end and all of us are jumping up and down.Did the England press cry wolf?

It's just a game.Lodge a complaint sure,but chill and move ahead.

Similarly,Australia lost Ashes 2005 because of Billy Bowden,but they did not whine.So bad umpiring has evened for Australia,India and England.

Now is the time for India to get up and knock Australia.

Harbhajan has diverted attention from the umpiring issue and conceded whatever moral high ground the Indians may have had. Stupid, stupid man. Since Chetan Chauhan has been saying that "monkey" has no racist connotations in Indian culture, we have to assume that Harbhajan did say it. After last year's "monkey controversy," he can hardly
claim that he didn't know the racial implications. (There should be a rule for Indian cricketers that any cursing must be in the vernacular.) There also needs to be a general review at the ICC of the issue of sledging. I fully agree that racial abuse is unacceptable, but by the same token, other kinds of cultural sensibilities deserve some protection - I'm referring to the mother/wife/sister remarks that Australian fielders routinely direct at batsmen, which are as inflammatory to Indian, Pakistani and Lankan players as racial abuse.

grammatical errors..we were robbed..not we was robbed! just letting you know..umpires spoiled the game!

If after all that transpired in Sydney, the BCCI does not lodge a protest to the ICC, it will be a disgrace. BCCI should even ask that the ICC nullifies the win to Australia in Sydney and declares the match a draw. If the ICC refuses, then the world's richest and second best test cricket playing nation, should just cancel the tour and return home. If the ICC insists that the series continues, we can send in our under-17 team to play in the remaining matches. That would ensure our full participation in this farcical Aussie circus.

We finally have proof that match-fixing occurs - we just never suspected that if would be the authorities themselves that were involved!!! Changing the umpires will do nothing - these are all nothing but yes-men taking direction from their higher-ups.

India must be given credit for playing so much better than the Aussies that the umpires were forced to go out on a limb on so many occasions to rescue the Aussies that they ended up exposing themselves.

Until today the Aussies were legends and champions, albeit with a slight tendency to swear and curse. Now they stand exposed as a bunch of conniving gutter-snipes. Whereas I used to follow their progress with interest, in future I couldn't give a hoot whther they win, lose or draw or whether they exist at all. Good riddance!

India should feel free to do as they please in the remaining matches, as the results are immaterial and without meaning.

Typical Indian response to yet another defate abroad... Indian team ha sproven time and again to be "Lions at home.. Lambs abroad".

Aussies have won regularly away and abroad and are a way better team than old againg Indian team... Their so-called young stars (Dhoni, Yuvraj, Jaffer) are exposed and they are relying on aging Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar (his pathetic 4th innings record continues) ... Their bowling sucks except Kumble... And yet thee expect to beat Aussies... No wonder why they are blaming umpiring when they are beaten outright by a much better team...

matchfixing anyone? either that, or bucknor needs to take a trip to vision express.

you indians have to be the biggest cry babies ever to play test cricket.

you lost the game fair and square.

in the first test thier was at least 5 lbw decisions that india should of been given out to.

and sachin tendulkar was out lbw twice in two overs to michael clarke when he was 40 odd runs.

ricky ponting was giving out to harbajahn after a huge inside edge.

anil kumble should be sacked for taking defeat like a cry baby and lodging a complaint to the umpires is poor excuse of sportsmenship.

india should stop acting like cry babies and accept they didnt play good cricket for five full days.

being a bowler i dont like umpires, they turn lbws,caught behinds and bat pads all the time,but thiers not point crying about it.

i would like to see 3 video umpires in a box with all technology like hawk eye,hot spot,snicko and slow motion replays and take all the human element out of the game and maybe have one umpire at square leg to watch the sledging

The outcomes of the match are the following:
1. Ponting is a pathological liar. Its a great joke that he even talks about integrity. Gilchrist joins him from this match onwards.
2. Benson seems to be unfit for umpiring as he raises the finger to SG after asking a pathalogical liar.
3. Bucknor, as we all know, is showing the magnitude of how much he can be anti-India.
4. Hail Kumble and his team for being grace in defeat unlike the monkeys in the opposition.
5. We shud send a XI from the streets of India. Whoever bowls, it doesn't really matter as even the third umpire is not going to rule out even if it is legitimate.

To anyone who has been following indian cricket since last decade or so..today's defeat will rankle the most because it was so UNDESERVED...Let us hurt the aussies financially...if we indians are whiners and losers etc., let us all not pay to watch the aussies in action.
But we need to remember that we fought well..Kumble has brought all his qualities to the team he leads..we are proud of u boys!

The outcomes of the match are the following:
1. Ponting is a pathological liar. Its a great joke that he even talks about integrity. Gilchrist joins him from this match onwards.
2. Benson seems to be unfit for umpiring as he raises the finger to SG after asking a pathalogical liar.
3. Bucknor, as we all know, is showing the magnitude of how much he can be anti-India.
4. Hail Kumble and his team for being grace in defeat unlike the monkeys in the opposition.
5. We shud send a XI from the streets of India. Whoever bowls, it doesn't really matter as even the third umpire is not going to rule out even if it is legitimate.

Well I am from Pakistan and a cricket fanatic. But this test match was a big blow to the test cricket. I can really feel for the Indian supporters because Pakistan has also been through same circumtances on a few occasions.
After all it's just a game but what does a young kid who watched this test match learnt from it?
If talent and competence is rising then sportsman sprirt and fairness is declining.
Maybe sometimes 'Winning is NOT everything'!!!

Well I am from Pakistan and a cricket fanatic. But this test match was a big blow to the test cricket. I can really feel for the Indian supporters because Pakistan has also been through same circumtances on a few occasions.
After all it's just a game but what does a young kid who watched this test match learnt from it?
If talent and competence is rising then sportsman sprirt and fairness is declining.
Maybe sometimes 'Winning is NOT everything'!!!

It was a test that india shud have won.I know that decisions can go either way n india has benefitted in the past.But decisions going entirely against one team isn't justice.When England unleashed Bodyline, the Aussies threw their toys out of the pram. Bodyline was legal as there was no law against it. Jardine did nothing wrong.But aussies had their way and it was banned.
So aussies n others calling this test match a case of 'sour grapes' is laughable. When they cry, its justified.

Neway, its abt time we dropped yuvraj.There is a big question mark on his loyalty. Except for him, everybody made an honest attempt at saving this test match.

But did we ridicule the same Steve Bucknor,when he gave not out to Sreesanth,(England 2007) thus enabling us to win the series.

I did not see any Indian media making a hue and cry because it went in our favour.Now we are on the receiving end and all of us are jumping up and down.Did the England press cry wolf?

- agreed Ramya, but that was one decision, here there were 8 controversial ones....all against india, all at crucial points and 5 of these were crystal clear- (symonds catch @30, 3rd umpire stumping @48, hussey catch @ 45, ponting catch@ 17, and dravid catch in 2nd innings)!!

no one can blame us, indian fans, or media or team for feeling robbed and raising a hue and cry, there is a limit!!

Excuses falling like tropical rain. You mob are incredible. If you could take off the blinkers for a moment you just missed one of the great test matches.

ADVANCE AUSTRALIA UNFAIR

How is it possible to take any satisfaction from blatantly cheating? Whatever happened to conscience and ethics. I guess the ACB set the standards a long time ago. Their failure to seriously censure their players' extraorinarily derelict behaviour - e.g. Marsh, Lillie's betting against Asutralia in Botham's test; numerous instances of taking bribes (Warne, Ponting); innumerable instances of abusive derogatory racist behaviour - in favour winning at any cost has relieved their team of the burden of doing the right thing. In fact the only right thing appears to be winning. Cricket should follow baseball's lead.
Especially worrying that the clearly impressionable Clarke is supping from the same poisoned chalice. And yes it seems that the umpires favour the dominant team, which might explain the sycophantic favouritism of Benson or that clown from NZ. Bucknor likely just despises the Indians and cant wait to exact personal justice for the stupid animal remarks Gavaskar made in 1976

This is in response to Chooka, Dan and Glen and others who seem to argue that India should stop using bad umpiring as an excuse for their defeat. That is patent nonsense and Mukul has hit the nail on the head. Bucknor and Benson cost India possibly victory (Symonds decisions) or a possible draw (Dravid & Ganguly). This is not a whine. I am usually devastated when India lose like they did in Mumbai, Bangalore or in SA without a fight. Here they can hold their heads high. They could have won or drawn and Bucknor and Benson prevented them, plain and simple. The sanctimoniousness of Ponting, Clarke and Symonds is galling but can be tolerated, the two incompetents who referred the match should not be

This Test Match has finally given Indian fans a focal point for their lack of any real success over many years. One obviously bad match for umpiring decisions seems to be an excuse for a couple of decades of failure - use it!!!

Let's not forget that bad umpiring saved a test match in England only last year for India no calls for new umpires, or allegations of bias from the BCCI then was there?

This article didn't consider LBW decisions (as questions of judgement) as bad umpiring - for obvious reasons. Brett Lee was shot and Laxman let off in the two real obvious ones (and that also let you ignore Ponting's inside edge on his ultimate dismissal - whether or not he should have already been dismissed). Things were just a little more even than you allow for Mr Kevasan. The difference was that the Australian batsman went on to make the decision expensive, while the Indian's succumbed not long after.

Yes Indians had a run of bad decisions - yes it damaged the match - that's cricket

As for the catches on the final day - first the non-catch. Ricky Ponting had complete control of the ball in the air - and had completed the catch and any contact with the ground was incidental. The catch was already taken.

Michael Clarke felt he caught the ball. Ponting had the best view on the ground and felt he caught the ball. The two teams agreed at the start of the series that final judgement would be left with the fielding captain. Accordingly, the umpire consulted Ponting and got the nod, and made the decision. This is what Indian team management wanted and agreed to. Now they complain when it can be used to add fuel to the fire!

All the Australians claiming that they had their fair share of rough decisions,name one other than Ponting who by the way was out on 14.The debate is not about questionable LBW's given or denied which is a subjective matter,but about straightforward catches and a bat pad given when the bat is no way near the ball.And what about Ganguly's catch,didn't the replay show the ball actually touching the ground?That camera angle and perspective thing is nonsense,unless you have the fingers completely under the ball and ball seems to touch the ground,its clearly a ground ball.The shocking thing is Benson didn't refer it to the third umpire,not Ponting claiming the catch and telling the umpire so.India clearly played well enough to draw the match,they were only 7 balls short or something.All the Aussies claiming Indians are not good enough,didn't we get first innings lead after losing the toss?And seriously for correct umpiring we would have been in a winning position.Aussie fans really annoy me

Yeah that was the worst umpiring I've ever seen. The Indians were definitely robbed. Every Aussie agrees I'm sure.

But I think Ganguly was caught fair and square. Apart from that I empathise with the Indians 100%

I am glad that Harbhajan was banned though, because racism harks back to the days when people were killed for the colour of their skin. Indians should be able to relate to that.

Also too much babble about what a monkey means in India. The game was played in Australia not India.

Harbhajan is a idiot of the first degree.

So moan about the umpires, absolutely right. But don't be hypocritical about racism.

Australia to win the next match by an innings.

Quit whinning indies and accept defeat. Dubious umpiring decissions are to cricket what thorns are to roses, history is evident that indian cricket owes more than their fair share of record to umpiring decissions going their way and now that indies are on the recieving end, all of the sudden its a sin. Mukhul, you know better that this.

I think Steve Bucknor should be suspended for a single decision of not referring to the third umpire when Symonds was clearly out. I don't care if that decision didnot affect the game a great deal. The fact that he so stubbornly refursed to refer it shows one of the two things, he is unable to concentrate on the field or Hh has lost commonsense.
Both are good enough reasons to seriously reconsider his continuiation in the series and going forward.
Those who call it sour grapes have forgotten last year's world cup when Indian supporters thrashed their beloved team because they knew the team lost due to incompetence. They didnot blame it on umpires or opposition teams or anything else. To say that they are using this opportunity to tranish umpires and Australia is absolute rubbish. Indian fans didnot cry foul when they were beaten at home by Aussies because they were truly and fairly beaten. Just because fans are passionate and sometimes go overboard doesn't mean they are stupid.

And, there goes familiar whinging...Australia lost the ashes due to poor umpiring...Kasper caught off the glove when it wasn't touching the bat... response 5 zip. What about the 2001-02 IND-AUS series in India, Harbhajan's hat-trick anyone? Gilchrist's LBW? The ball clearly pitched OUTSIDE the line of leg stump.. KARMA. There have been numerous such decisions in the sub-continent...fact remains..IND team is no way near as good as AUS.

Nothing should be taken away from this champion team...16 in a row takes some doing...tell Mr.Kumble to try win half as many.

Very well said. Unfortunately all that remains is the hue and cry. A Test Match has been stolen from India and an extremely promising series is now dead. So is the chance for some of India's greatest players to leave behind their imprints in a memorable final series Down Under. Amidst all this the culprits will take their place in cricket's record books. Can things be worse ?!

True, India did not grind home their first innings advantage and bowled poorly, thereby making it hard for themselves, batting last. Nothing proves this point more than the fact that a part-time offie like Symonds outbowled the veteran (albeit overrated) offie Harbhajan. But India need to hold their heads high rather than bury themselves in despair. The time has come for the rest of the cricket world to stand up to the Australians and not just lap up the ridiculous fare that is served up Down Under to every visiting team.

Go India - let us fight and restore some pride. But first things first, GO Bucknor.

This bad blood between the best two cricket teams in the world is a real shame. Let's hope both teams can bury the hatchet before it gets even more out of hand eh?

For too long the Aussies have put winning ahead of the game itself. Its now new. History is littered with examples of Australians behaviour on the cricket pitch where winning was more important than the integrity of the game or themselves. Aussies call it 'competitiveness' or 'professionalism' whereas the rest of the world call it 'cheating' or 'dishonesty'. The worst of all Aussie incidents was the 1981 underarm incident (where NZ needed to hit a 6 off the last ball and the Aussies rolled the last ball along the pitch).

Clearly the media had placed so much emphasis on this streak of test wins and the Aussies have succumbed to the pressure and chose to win, no matter what.

Perhaps its in the breeding... remember Australia was originally a penal colony.

Here is a summary of poor decisions...and then the team that benefited...

1)Ponting caught behind, off Ganguly, when Ponting is on 17. Given not out. Australia
2) Ponting LBW off bat. Ponting scored 55. Given out. India
3) Symonds caught behind, off Sharma, when Symonds is on 30. Given not out. Australia
4) Symonds stumped. Symmonds is on 48. Given not out by 3rd umpire. Australia
5) Symonds stumped, decision not referred to 3rd umpire. Symmonds on 148. Australia
6) Tendulkar, LBW, off Clarke, Tendulkar on 36. Given not out. India
7) Hussey, LBW ( right on the backfoot), off Kumble, Hussey on 22. Given not out. Australia
8) Hussey, caught behind, off Singh, Hussey on 45. Given not out. Australia
9)Dravid, caught behind, off Symonds. Dravid scored 38. Given out. Australia
10) Ganguly, caught at slip, by M.Clarke, decision not referred to 3rd umpire. Given out. Australia
11) Dhoni, caught at silly point, by Ponting, Dhoni on 18. Given not out. India

Here is a summary of poor decisions...and then the team that benefited...

1)Ponting caught behind, off Ganguly, when Ponting is on 17. Given not out. Australia
2) Ponting LBW off bat. Ponting scored 55. Given out. India
3) Symonds caught behind, off Sharma, when Symonds is on 30. Given not out. Australia
4) Symonds stumped. Symmonds is on 48. Given not out by 3rd umpire. Australia
5) Symonds stumped, decision not referred to 3rd umpire. Symmonds on 148. Australia
6) Tendulkar, LBW, off Clarke, Tendulkar on 36. Given not out. India
7) Hussey, LBW ( right on the backfoot), off Kumble, Hussey on 22. Given not out. Australia
8) Hussey, caught behind, off Singh, Hussey on 45. Given not out. Australia
9)Dravid, caught behind, off Symonds. Dravid scored 38. Given out. Australia
10) Ganguly, caught at slip, by M.Clarke, decision not referred to 3rd umpire. Given out. Australia
11) Dhoni, caught at silly point, by Ponting, Dhoni on 18. Given not out. India

Summary of all major umpiring glitches

http://www.dipvid.com/a9eef9bba69c7d4e8710.video?

It is well known that Australians only walk when their car breaks down. I also note the reference to subcontinent umpires, my understanding is that in 1971 Ray Illingworths team did not get one LBW in their favour (a few against). What about Bradman in 1946, caught at second slip and given not out, need I say more.

is there any reason why steve bucknor should not be investigated by ICC's anti-corruption panel for betting/match fixing links (for example, betting that aus will win 16 in a row) given the STRING of decisions against india, some of which did not look like honest mistakes ???

Australians are cheats and Indians are honest players. The whole Australian team are a bunch of beer drinking f**king hillbillies. I think if Buncknor and Benson umpire the next match India shouldn'tplay. I hope next match RP Singh Hits every Australian with a bouncer and knock the crapp out of them.

I am not an Indian fan but I have all the respect for Indian players, as far as umpiring is concerned things like that happened. Jumbo should remember that when he got those 10 wickets were also compliments from umpiring. Now he go into a post match conference and says that only his team played honestly and fairly then he should watch the highlights of that test match where he broke the record.

Jumbo.....you should accept that your team doesnt play good cricket but all is not lost you have two more test and you are fighter and you dont give up easily.

Sydney is history..but you can make history in Perth...

I think the umpiring was utterly farcical. We did'nt know that Ponting was also the ex-officio third umpire and Bucknor the de jure twelfth man for Australia.

After the Sydney Test its now clear that ICC will bring in the player referral system. It will be interesting to see all the teams performance after that. Till then we have to sleep over it and hope for "correct" umpiring.

I think the umpiring was utterly farcical. We did'nt know that Ponting was also the ex-officio third umpire and Bucknor the de jure twelfth man for Australia.

Sport mirrors life - sometimes it isn't fair. India- take a good look at your last innings batting performance - Jaffer, Tendulkar, Laxman, Singh. It was disappointing to say the least. The only thing a player can improve is his performance. Some of the Indian team mneed to do this.

Clearly the umpiring was sub-standard, and something has to be done to improve the standard. And although I don't believe any umpire is deliberately biased at the moment, it should also be researched whether or not the benefit of the doubt most often resides with the home side (ok, or with Australia, as in this test and possibly a few others).

But it is a sport, and I don't accept that it was poor umpiring that robbed India. 3 wickets in hand with as many overs to face was hardly an impossible position, and 6 wickets fell part time spinners.

Spectators seem to have more trouble accepting umpires' decisions than players themselves. It isn't an easy job and they get little or no recognition for making excellent judgements - especially about lbws, for example. It is never noticed how a game could have been turned if a less skilled umpire hadn't've picked a wrong'un and given a batsman not out...etc, etc.

it's Bull crap, Indian players' shouldn't have gone down to shake hands at the end of the game. When they saw this happening they should have wore black band around their arms to show that they are playing under protest. BCCI don't want team to abandon the tour because they are more concerned about their coffers, it's not a national pride for them. They are going to appeal and what good will that do, after a month everyone will forget everything.
It's the players who should take next plane home, over 1 billion people will be behind them and BCCI won't have balls to take action against them.

To my previous comment, I must add that Dravid's decision was really appallingly bad. And India "wuz robbed".

Glenn,
Before technology developed. I had thought that the quality of umpiring in India was poor. But what I found is that Aussies have been (cheating) doing it very effeciently through out their cricketing history! Only Indian Umpiring was criticised as Aussies have very big mouth! In reality even now I consider it was only WestIndies (Clive Loyd's team) were real world champions. Australians are not because they never play any game fairly! Remember the under arm bowling during the match with NZ?

The easiest way for the betting mafia to make hefty profits in cricket is to involve those who make important decisions. Trying to influence a well paid cricketer may be too costly. Just imagine the money that can be made with decisions on matters in cricket such as runs scored, lbw's etc. Maybe the ICC should look into this.

INDIAN RAGE - you have a few issues mate. Have a re read of some of your emotional ranting above. It's fantastic.

The way you're crying Mukul, it looks like you're on BCCI payroll. Stop ranting! You always find reasons to unite "your supporters" under the umbrella of hate: "Boycott any products and movies that feature these filthy Aussie cricketers" [Hemanth Paul]. You seem to blame every thing on the Aussies as if they were the ones responsible for human errors made by neutral umpires. One thing's for "shure", they really did whip India pretty badly. Accept it and move on. STOP RANTING!

You're not doing Indian cricket any good by taking the attention off the real issues. Yuvraj's incompetency under challenging conditions even after coming from huge knocks against Pakistan, and Jaffer's inability to play a proper shot after scoring a double on flat dustbowls should be the real topic of disussion. Not to mention the typical Indianesque meak surrender towards the end of the innings.

You should switch from being a journalist to a hate-monger. Your next employees should be the RSS or the VHP.

One possible explanation for Aussies getting so many positive decisions could be that never stop blabbering about their "hard and fair" cricket ethic(A lie told a thousand times...). They pretend that they are the most honest side in the universe when it comes to appealing. In truth, they are simply riding on Gillie's reputation. This match was a revelation.

I was a big Aussie fan but suddenly something has snapped. I can't support them after Symonds' admission, Ponting's pouting at being given out, Clarke standing after being caught at 1st slip, Ponting and Clarke claiming 2 grassed catches.

Let's also add the disgusting appeal against Dravid and Symonds' baiting Harbajan to the list. And all this when all the clangers have gone your way.

Look, it does not take a rocket-scientist to acknowledge that Australia is a superior team. Yet the fair result for this game would have been a draw. I know many Indian supporters (even I am Indian) believe that if not for the umpiring blunders India would've won... I am not so sure. I say that simply because our top-order did get out lamely (Jaff, VVS, Sachin..) I agree with Kumble, who said in his post-match interview that a draw was the fair result, because India did have the Aussies on the mat for quite a few sessions, while the Aussies did pull themselves up (before you say umpiring blunders let me ask why we could not get the Aussie tail-enders out quickly??).
-- So the fair assessment is that we were robbed of a well-fought draw NOT a win.

Look, it does not take a rocket-scientist to acknowledge that Australia is a superior team. Yet the fair result for this game would have been a draw. I know many Indian supporters (even I am Indian) believe that if not for the umpiring blunders India would've won... I am not so sure. I say that simply because our top-order did get out lamely (Jaff, VVS, Sachin..) I agree with Kumble, who said in his post-match interview that a draw was the fair result, because India did have the Aussies on the mat for quite a few sessions, while the Aussies did pull themselves up (before you say umpiring blunders let me ask why we could not get the Aussie tail-enders out quickly??).
-- So the fair assessment is that we were robbed of a well-fought draw NOT a win.

Responding to Glenn 11hours 50 minutes ago at this point in time, Glenn I wish you a very Good Morning , just as you have woken from a deep slumber, neutral umpires have been in charge of Test Matches for over 5 years now, I am not sure whether you are improving your cross refrencing skills. Just to let you know two wrongs never make a right, what happened historically more than 5 years ago was wrong and using those examples to justify what happened in Sydney yesterday is wrong too. Yes the umpires are neutral and perform better everywhere except Australia, because as admitted by Shane Warne the Australians use all possible methods to pressurise and intimidate the umpires, get your facts write and read Shane Warne's interview on the subject before you carry on your verbal diahorrea. Aussies suck, they are poor losers and arrogant and rude winners, take your pick.

Well said Ramya, swings and roundabouts. Moreover, there is no way that India should have been bowled out in that second innings, and to suggest that one poor call (Dravid), and another line-ball decision (Ganguly) made the difference, surely overlooks other worrying trends like Yuvraj Singh keep getting picked, but does not look even half interested either in the crease or in the field, the dreadful choice of stroke by Jaffer in the first over, knowing the task in front of him. Finally, if professional crickets cannot hold out that fearsome strike force of Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds for 5 overs, perhaps that might help explain things. Fair dinkum, I reckon I could hold Clarke out for a few overs myself!

Today's Headline:
Umpires defeated India by 122 runs.

Australia + Umpires win 16th in a row.

Spot on Mukul. I couldn't have said it better myself. Your analysis of Ponting's egregious behavior is especially good. He has, through his continual unseemly and cocky behavior, established himself as an extremely ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, cheating player and batsman--of little genuine talent and much bravado. He is a hypocrite of gigantic proportions and it is no wonder that his team plays the way it is playing; with an arrogance and cockiness that borders on disrespect and racism even [when the opponents are non-white].
As for the umpiring, atrocious doesn't even begin to describe it. Your suggestion that Bucknor go see an ophthalmologist is a good one;even better would be an appointment with the Devil himself.
Roebuck's ideas resonate well. I think that technology has to be brought in to stem the tide of horrible decisions. That said, as far as the current series goes, I am much in favor of India boycotting it on the grounds of extremely unsportsmanlike behavior from the Aussies.

I am an Indian a big cricket fan of Indian and Australian cricket team, or should I say I was a fan of Australian team till yesterday. Ricky Ponting may be a good captain, but he is not a sportsman. I am not saying this because I am an Indian but the arrogant way in which he tries to prove his methods and double standards right. Same case for Andrew Symonds, they may win 160 matches on trot but they will never be respected in the cricket world. I am pretty sure that even Australians would be ashamed of their team's onfield behaviour..

a neutral (!) pakistani perspective if i may:
india was indeed robbed in this test match. but i feel, mukul, that you are taking a scatter-gun approach and complaining a bit too much - you clearly wrote that article in the aftermath of painful defeat and are a bit too caught up in emotion. the 2 really bad, game-changing decisions, in this game were the symonds catch not given, and the really poor decision to give dravid out. they were decisions that were sub-standard at international level, and they really did cost india the game.the other decisions - honestly they're not as clear-cut. ganguly's catch was inconclusive on tv evidence, as most close-call catches are. the mistake benson made was asking ponting and not bucknor, but that just showed his immaturity as an umpire. the symonds 3rd umpire stumping was again really tight, could have gone either way.

michael clarke standing his ground was comical, and ponting enjoys decisions in his favour, but acts like a child if they dont

Sharad Pawar and BCCI are not going to do anything much about this ordeal. Pawar is a politician and he would not like slugging out for justice.

I very much wish that Dalmiya was board chief. He would have taken ICC and goons by the bull horns and gotten some positive out of this sorry mess.

How sad for the Indian players that they are now expected to get up from the gut wrenching defeat and fight at Perth, where they do not have any chance to start with. My sympathies to players and all the fans.

i agree the umpiring was bad, but what about umpiring from aisia before neutral umpires it was just as terrible. i think we need to keep things in perspective when it comes to umpiriing and need to look again at the selection of officials and the used to technology. because it does nothing for the game to have a world no. team that bullies umpires and decision making

Stupid mentally by Jujman

"C'mon Indians. WE LOST A TEST the AUSTRALIANS DID NOT WIN."

Actually, the draw was there for the taking - With 15 mins to go, India SHOULD have drawn it. Clark won Australia the match at the end. India weren't handed the loss by the umpires - they still should have drawn it despite the umpires with 3 wickets and 15 mins left - basically team India choked at the end.

Normally robberies are committed at night. But this was audaciuos - daylight reobbery committed in presence of billions of viewers. The vengeance with which Bucknor laid low the Indians was only surpassed by the dishonesty displayed by aussie cricketers. The site of pup clarke waiting for his mentor to give him in after edging a catch to slip was a sight to behold. This is the beginning of end of test cricket as we know it. The future belongs to ICL and other leagues that may spring up. The incompetent and toothless ICC will soon be dumped into the trashbook of history.

Terrible no sportsmen spirit what-so-ever. Since when was it legal for the fielding captain to make umpiring decisions. Even if you look at the statistics it clearly shows a significant bias towards visiting teams. As Chanderpaul said if umpires gave even 60-40 decisions Australia are beatable. In this match it would have been an infatic win as Australia woulnt have reached 250 without Symmonds playing is 4 innings. The umpires had a clear agenda, and it was to hand Australia its 16th win. The Indian team should forfeit the series and leave because you cant beat a team who has contracted umpires such as Bucknor. The Australian newspaper even ridiculed the win as it should be purely manufactured by umpiring injustice.

Kumble's call that only one team was within the spirit of the game is hypocricitical: Firstly, I get the feeling from the majority of Indian supporters here every bad incident is blended together - the majority of marring in this match was due to the umpires - and so now it sounds like australians weren't within the spirit of the game because of the umpires.

Two things suggest it is the Indians who do not have the spirit of cricket at heart:
1) Harbarjin was found guilty of racism, and a great number of Indian supporters condone that, even team management tries to cover it up repeatedly - that's not within any spirit. How can civilised people condone racism in this day and age?

2) One incident near the had a 'dirty rat' feel to it - why deliberately send Sharma out with 2 gloves for one hand. This ploy was clearly deliberate! Watching that was like seeing cricket fall to new lows. Disgusting.

Caption Kumble, must accept responsibility for both incidents, neither in the spirit OTG

Australia got some bad decisions too, India got the worst of it no doubt but that happens sometimes. I find it hard to swallow India supporters whinging about bad sportmanship when one of their own has been rubbed out for the lowest form of unsportmanslike behaviour. Double standards.

Yeah, the umpiring errors were shocking and did affect the result and a draw should have been the fitting result.

But, poor umpiring decisions helped India win their 2 most recent series (England and Pakistan, particularly missed LBW decisions)

However, I thought behaviour of some of the Aussie cricketers crossed the line and it is time that some of the former respected cricketers, like AB, Ian chappell and Mark Taylor had a quiet word to them, basically telling them to tone it down a little, as incidents like Michael clarke not walking after clearly edging to first slip is just bad sportsmanship.

In terms of excessive appealling and appealling when the ball and bad are close together, this is not going to change in the age of professional cricket (PS - Which team perfected the art of appealling for every close call - I'll give you a clue, it was not the Australians!!.

Bucknor is part it but where are the next generation of Umpires going to come from?

Australia has been always cheat on cricket field. Who will forgot, the same ponting claimed Dravid's catch in India when it was not clean at the first place. And all of you who are saying that Indians are not able to play with the middle of their bat, what happens to you greats when they are in subcontinent. Even mauled by Bangladeshis...ha ha ha you all losers...

The Indian fans complaing about the poor decisions seem to be missing the fact that the Indian batsmen couldn't bat 2 sessions on a resonable wicket which the Australian's on that very same day had pulverised the Indian attact

Yes there were some very bad decisions during this match for India but at the same time not all of the 20 wickets that India had lost were down to the umpires, poor decipline in the Indian batting couple with some very good Australian bowling there the reason for Indian losing and for India to try and steal a draw from this match where they hardly tried to get Australia out in the 2nd innings would of just papered over the cracks in this Indian team.

Make no make though the Ausies haven't come out of this well and and justifibly their conduct was not in the spirt of the game and hopefuly this will fire up the overpaid Indian players to get off their backsides and leave with a 2-2 draw.

The umpiring situation needs to be looked at very seriously and ironicly with the overhyping and "lest us blame everyone but the indian team" media that there is in india the issue will be highlighted most vehermently and more technology will be used, a simple aid like a ear piece hooked up to the stump-microphone would of made a massive diffence in this test match.

I don't think anyone wants to remove the importance of the pitch umpire, but with sportmanship a myth in professional sport these days i.e. players not walking, technology is the only way to try and get decision right as players quite obviously cheat by trying to decieve the umpire to get decisions to go their way, and the ICC should punish these players retrospecively as they do others for "not playing in the spirit of the game"

I love cricket. I love supporting the Indian cricket team, people all around the world feel the same way. However when umpires are incapable of making the correct decision on multiple occasions against only one team it just ruins the game. How is a team away from home suppose to be expected to challenge the world champions when they get 8 wickets and australia get 15? We need to use technology otherwise incompetent umpires will continue to travel business class to all corners of the globe getting ear infections on their travels, making them incapable of hearing an edge the whole crowd can hear. Australians bar gilchrist are incapabale of walking, we need technology to be introduced into the game of cricket.

“We was robbed”. Yes perhaps so but the much celebrated batting line up that India has should have been able to last comfortably for mere two sessions.

This has been mentioned on www.cricketfiles.com

India lost because they failed to bat out more than 70 overs in thier 4th innings. They cant use the excuse that they were tryin to force the pace, Dravid, Kumble, even Dhoni were stonewalling for the draw, only GangGully was hitting out. If they had anything about them they would win despite a few dodgy umpires decicions going against them.

Oh, as for bump catches, have any of you actually played cricket? If you go for a catch close to the ground, you stick your hands where the ball will go then instinctivly swing your head away at the point of impact, in case it richochets into your face (or more critically, teeth). You are not lookin to see if it bounces, you just pick it up, appeal, and hope the umpire sees it as a fair catch

India lost because they failed to bat out more than 70 overs in thier 4th innings. They cant use the excuse that they were tryin to force the pace, Dravid, Kumble, even Dhoni were stonewalling for the draw, only GangGully was hitting out. If they had anything about them they would win despite a few dodgy umpires decicions going against them.

Oh, as for bump catches, have any of you actually played cricket? If you go for a catch close to the ground, you stick your hands where the ball will go then instinctivly swing your head away at the point of impact, in case it richochets into your face (or more critically, teeth). You are not lookin to see if it bounces, you just pick it up, appeal, and hope the umpire sees it as a fair catch

the reason India lost the Sydney test is because they were up against 13 players on the field and thats for every one to see.
lets even forget about the decisions thata went against india in the 1st innings.BUt when the test is hanging by a wire in the last session or so and Clarke claimed a catch that did not carry and the umpire Bucknor (who help the aussies in the first innings with bad decicions) asked Clarke if he had caught it. he said YES and who vouch for it there GREAT Captain who says nuthing wrong about his integrity. is it not the unpire duty to check with the 3rd umpire.
Thats the difference between a player and a GREAT player
Did Symonds walk although later he said he was out.Ponting, clarke and so is gilchrist all cheat
BRAVO Australia.

Umpiring was bad in this game, no doubt, but there is a longer-term balance of justice, and the irony is amazing. Australia’s previous unbeaten run was ended courtesy of shocking hometown umpiring at the hands of Mr Shyam Kumar Bansal, the Indian umpire under whom India “never lost a test”. His ‘patriotic umpiring’ in Calcutta hastened the end of home umpires for Test Matches – thankfully the end of his own, too, as he rightly never umpired at international level again. Under tight control from captain Waugh and management, the Australians NEVER SAID A WORD about it, just allowed the Indians their hysterical celebrations for their "amazing win".

Sydney 2008 = KARMA

I'm disappointed to see the Aussies playing the game "the sub-continental way". Indistanlankan teams have annoyed me for decades with their appealing. Against Hussey they appealed LB for one which was ALL bat - don't give me that "distinctive sound" line.

I think the racist thing has provoked them - Gloves are off now.

In all this drama – spare a thought for Ishant Sharma. Poor 19 yrs old kid – what will he take from this match? I am sure before the series started he must have had high regard for the Australian players. But after the masquerade at the SCG – all that he will take from this match is - to win the test match you have to cheat like hell and have umpires who are blind and deaf when you are bowling and while batting these very umpires have heightened faculties – they can hear snicks where none exist; can award a non existent catch; and give LBW even if the ball doesn’t threaten the stumps!! Welcome to the OZ land!

Unbelievable excuses excuses the people that really need to be sacked are the Indian selectors. How can they play Jaffer instead of Sehwag? Jaffer did nothing in the first test and kept his spot or at least get rid of Yuvraj Singh who has also done nothing. They are also killing Dravid by forcing one of the better number3's to open. If the Indian team are serious about competing or even winning then select the players to do the job. Shewag has always done the job in Australia as he plays agressive cricket and respected because of it. I dont think the Indian team can rightfully be called a team until they pick a team to play a team game. A line up of 3.Dravid 4.Tendulkar 5.Laxman 6.Ganguly is a great line up so why not use that instead of hoping that a makeshift line up will do the job so they can fit batsmen in that are not performing. I think the Indian fans should be screaming for that and trying to clean up their own backyard before trying to mess about in backyards of others!

Chokers de India!

And another thing. Television replays are NOT good enough to judge outfield catches at the moment. Run outs (HS cameras square of wickets), edges and bat/pads (super-slomo, HD replays and snicko), LBW (hawkeye) and boundary/six decisions (regular cameras) can claim to be more accurate than a human eye, but the standard method of tracking low catches (a regular speed camera pointing roughly at the fielder) is very poor and many perfectly legitimate catches are given not out because of doubt created by slow cameras

A big hello to the bile brigade, conspiracy theorists, glass-jawed fans and one-eyed nationalists out there. India got very much the rough end of the umpiring this week and so lost a game they deserved to draw (and might very well have won), but that doesn't justify vitriol being thrown at anyone, including Steve Bucknor. Also, and apparently contrary to popular belief, neither Lehmann's revolting racist comment years ago nor Symonds' frankness about being a non-walker in any way excuse, set-off or condone racist abuse directed at Symonds.

This Test had Tendulkar's fine 150, Laxman mutating into a superhero again for an even better century, R.P. Singh's great bowling on the first day, Australia's first look at the very classy and promising Sharma, Ganguly playing wonderfully freely, Kumble batting indomitably, the Symonds-Hogg partnership, Hussey's century and an extraordinary exhilarating/heartbreaking final over from Clarke. Plenty of good stuff for us to remember.

sorry Dave but just tot will add d much needed corrections to ur previous post mate! Here it goes..

Victory...a SHAMEFUL n Disgusting Aussie victory!
Once again, the (UMPIRE)ful Australians serve up a big bowl of bulls**t and make the better deserved Indians eat it, utterly humiliating the Australian team spirit after Steve Waugh yet again.

This is one of the saddest test match victories ever - getting lucky as they did from 6-134 to post two totals of over 400 (only losing 17 wickets, which actually was probably 27 after d shocking decisions n d aussie spirit shown),and then bowling out a side in 70 overs (8 out of 10 batsmen atleast), inspite ponting n clarke appealing for grounded catches!

The Aussies must be utterly humiliated and the prospect of facing the reality in near future cud b seen on ponting's face!
Thanx Dave n im sure ud remember d 99WC semis after seeing ganguly's dismissal

India werent outclassed at the sport mate but im sorry, Aussies seem better Drama artists!

Firstly, whoever is moderating these comments should be mindful of libel - particularly the comment by Raj Balakrishnan.

1. The umpiring was terrible, particularly against the Indians but it is not fair to suggest they were working for/bribed in any way by the Australian team. Be reasonable.
2. Regardless of perceived injustices, India had to survive 2 overs with 3 wickets in hand to draw the Test. They failed. There were no poor umpiring decisions in those last wickets, so up until Sharma was out India's fate was ENTIRELY IN THEIR OWN HANDS. Dravid shouldn't have been given out but who knows, he might have gone out the next ball had he stayed in - it is not a given that he would have gone on and saved the game.
3. India has lost the first two Tests because of a) poor selection (esp. Yuvraj) b) appalling fielding c) lax running between wickets.
4. Australians long for competitive series (eg Ashes 05), don't think we all want total domination, it makes for very dull viewing.

This test clearly shows that aust will do anything to win. Walking when out is not in the rules, granted. But so was not the Bodyline tactics used by Jardine all those decades ago. Yet aust at that time & still decry of un sportsmanship by the english for using it. Jardine was in the frontline of the fire but he did nothing wrong!

Symonds was out & he should've walked for the sake of sportsmanship. The fact he didn't show aussies will do anything to win. I think not walking when a blind freddy can tell its out equates to cheating. Symonds admitted later he was out so really he was trying to deceive everyone by standing there showing he hadn't hit it. Deceiving in any form is cheating. Just like if a fielder claims a catch when it hit the ground (hint hint clarke, Pinting!).
To top it all off, when clarke was out edging to fist slip he stood his ground. This proves the point precisely!!
What goes around comes around, aussies. I've lost all respect for symonds & ponting after this!

This test clearly shows that aust will do anything to win. Walking when out is not in the rules, granted. But so was not the Bodyline tactics used by Jardine all those decades ago. Yet aust at that time & still decry of un sportsmanship by the english for using it. Jardine was in the frontline of the fire but he did nothing wrong!

Symonds was out & he should've walked for the sake of sportsmanship. The fact he didn't show aussies will do anything to win. I think not walking when a blind freddy can tell its out equates to cheating. Symonds admitted later he was out so really he was trying to deceive everyone by standing there showing he hadn't hit it. Deceiving in any form is cheating. Just like if a fielder claims a catch when it hit the ground (hint hint clarke, Pinting!).
To top it all off, when clarke was out edging to fist slip he stood his ground. This proves the point precisely!!
What goes around comes around, aussies. I've lost all respect for symonds & ponting after this!

I think India were hard done by in this test. I think that both umpires, adjudicating a stern contest between the two best teams on the planet faltered, cracked & then crumbled. Over 5 days of relentless pressure & intense public scrutiny their confidence in their judgment disintegrated. They second-guessed themselves, their attention wandered & their grasp on the game slipped completely.

India played outstandingly & certainly did not deserve to lose, especially in these circumstances. There are however a great many positives that the Indian team & their fans should carry forward into the remaining tests. This series is by no means over.

I don't think the BCCI should oppose Bucknor standing in the next test. If they instead are willing to let bygones be bygones & give him the opportunity to learn from his mistakes I think that the rapidly escalating hostility of this tour might to some extent be defused. India will be best served in the long run by diplomacy rather than revenge.

When did "MONKEY" become a racist word? Who actually thought it is a racism word? Why not Kangaroo, Sheep, Tiger and Crocadile? 1994-96 Some of the Sri Lankan players were called names including Monkey by the Australian players. That time it was only a silly joke!!!! Now a racism issue, because it was targeted at a Australian player. On the other hand Simons should clean up his image. He looks quite grotesque and unnecessarily so. He could start with the hair and no doubt can afford to shave properly. Ponting should get his act together to control his own players rather than others. He is not a good role model to younger generation.

The ICC should take a page out of tennis’ book and allow each team a fixed number of challenges so that they can appeal decisions that they think are plainly wrong. This will not only eliminate the conflict among players also will minimise dominant teams such as Aussies wining on LUCK all the time.

Ramya nice to read your sensible comment. As they say cricket is a game that is a great leveller and is a game that evens itself out. Yes it does happen players get given not out when they are clearly out (and we all know how good it feels when it goes our way) players also get given out when they clearly are not out (we also know how much that sucks) I doubt that any person that has played at any level (test, 1st class,park, beach cricket, street cricket or the backyard at mum's) could not say that both of these has not happened to them at least once. Cricket is a game of character and tests the character of not only the players but of the fans. From what I am reading it seems there are quite alot of people failing this test of character.

TonyP - No theyre not.
Thats how we now know your boy Ponting IS a cheat, he claimed a catch after laying it on the turf for a whole 10 seconds.

And, is this the same people complaining now, who's country(India and Pakistan) has doctored, and still doctors their pitches(dust bowls) for opposition teams to play on during tests?...Toughen up you girls or get out of the way!

Go India, kick the Aussies in Perth. Just give it back with your performance. Do your best inspite of the Bucknors, Pontings, doubtful-catch Clarkes, umpire-assisted Symonds. And yes I'm rooting for Pakistan when Ponting and his cronies tour the subcontinent. If we lose the series, I'd say go Pakistan. Crush the arrogance of Ricky Ponting and thrash these unsportsmanly goons in the series. Go India, and then go Pakistan. Show em what stuff we're made of. Drama queen Symonds and his whining notwithstanding.

If I were an Indian fan I would be very aggrieved at the circumstances in which this test was taken from the Indian team. Australia played some good cricket to get the job done, but India were indeed robbed.

All that having been said, India has profited in the past from umpiring errors. Some have argued that Harbhajan's success against Australia in 2001 owed more than its fair share to sympathetic umpiring, particularly against Gilchrist. In that circumstance the fate of the series was decided by umpiring & Australia were the victims.

This is not the first time this has happened, it won't be the last either, so get up, grow up, & move on. It's a game, the result's in the score-book & it isn't going to change.

both sides got bad desicions, india the worst of them.

but want to know the real difference between australia and india and the real erason india will NEVER be the best team in the world and never will have the mental strength to be the best (yes you have the talent but mental means more).

articles like this.

England series 07 against india - steve bucknor the same guy your crying foul against gave not out to sreesanth which basically won you the series.

did you whinge? did even the poms who are notorious for whinging whinge this much?

no.

Australia ashes 2005 - lee given out when we needed 2 runs to win and it was clearly not out - it won england the series.

did australia whinge about it?

pray tell what was australias response - i remember a certain ponting who you want to hate on saying never to blame desicions cause you should be tougher than that as a team.

he then went and prepared us for a 5-0 whitewash.

respond in like to win, dont whinge it shows your a crybaby

I'm a neutral.
There is a long debate above. Key remarks are that the Australians are petulant & arrogant boors, hypocrites and cheats.
Well, as Billy Connolly has said about politicians, don't vote, it only encourages them.
Don't watch them! For some reason, the Australians seem to have a Roman circus every Xmas/New year which gets about 10 times as many spectators as most other tests, & no doubt funds high player salaries. Countries- don't go there! Viewers- don't watch it! Channels- don't buy the programmes! Ignore these boors!

In the Mahabaratha war, Yudhistra lied to Dhrona when asked a question about about Aswatthama's death (he muttered inder his breath "Aswaththaman, the elephant was killed). Instantly, his chariot wheels which always floated above the ground dropped down to the ground. The Aussies believe that cricket is war (and not an elegant sport), and matches should be won at all costs. They my have won this match, but lost the admiration of millions of viewrs around the world. Now about sledging....isn't it acceptable when your objective is to kill your opponent at any cost?
Laligam Sekhar
Seattle, USA

The umpires are not cheats and I don't believe anyone should infer they are.

Why is it we have 4 umpires and a referee at a Test match, yet we only ever two umpires on the ground during match play. The sooner "Boards" utilise the skills on hand more effectively by rotating umpires throughout the sessions, the sooner we will have better umpiring.

Who else aside from the umpires spend every minute of the game on the field, concentrating on every ball? Why does that make sense to anyone?

Is Bucknor a good umpire? Under current conditions, I believe he is past his best. With regular two hour breaks or maximum 4 hour days would he be better? I bet he would.

On the racism? For Cricket and this series, Harbajan should have been suspended if found guilty. The sentence should have been immediately suspended with a three year good behaviour bond.

How is it that 4 players and no umpires hear racial abuse? Is it time to turn the sound mics back on and force cricketers to act their age.

It seems shooting the umpires is a favorite subcontinental sport. No doubt you will never be happy til all umpires are Indian and favour only India. That's an Indian's idea of true sportsmanship.

Mukul is spot on in this and previous article. But excuses are excuses. This should not be used to forego some of the blame that the team management deserves.

First blame the board, as they did not give the team enough time to sort things out. While playing against Aussies, 2 first class matches are a must. Should had sorted Yuvraj/Jaffer problems before the first test. Had the batsmen settled in Australia before the 1st test, we would had drawn the test. Similarly in this test, the failures of all other batsmen except Dravid and Ganguly are self-made.

If Harbhajan said anything racist, ban him forever. There is no place for such people in life. If it is one word against others, punish Ponting for bringing this out of the dressing room. Truth is that Harbhajan gets under their skin and they whine. But using race to get under the skin is completely wrong.

Ponting & Co have finally struck a death knell to the coffin of the spirit of the game of cricket And Bhajji did try to put a human element into the same game.
Why the best team requires favour rather they should be generous to the weak teams to help make cricket a global sport. Time and again it proves you can never beliebe these present days blokes. It's high time to use all the latest technological innnovations to help make this game a fairer one

Cricket is dead. Long live Cricket!
If winning a match is all that matters, then chucking, ball tampering, match fixing, getting blind and senile umpires, sledging, lying, cheating, deceit should all be justifiable. And in that case, cricket is dead. Long live cricket! I am glad that I would not be wasting any more of my time on these WWF-like antics!

Don't blame the umpires, blame the ICC for not allowing them greater use of the replay technology.

The human eye simply is not reliable in some of the hard decisions. It happens too fast. The replays are therefore needed, otherwise games will keep being ruined.

The ICC absolutely need to act and follow the lead of tennis and other sports.

Disgraceful umpiring which lead to the match being nothing less than a farce.

At the same time Australia attacked the entire game and were always in the hunt for a victory. The game should've been a draw, but if one team deserved to win I think it was the one which wanted it.

A bit of a question - would people still complain if Simon Taufell was umpiring Australian tests? Of course they would. Australian umpires are the best in the world yet they never umpire in the longer form on home soil, maybe this is the reason for the poor record of umpires in Australia since the neutral umpire rule was introduced.

It's very disappointing to see a potentially fantastic series mared by poor umpiring. As a neutral Kiwi. Poor umpiring has always occured before it appeared patriotic now it appears incompetent, time to pick the best regardless of where they come from and give them the technology to draw their own conclusions in the middle.
The Aussies have always had the majority of the decisions go their way neutral or not. Every year I tune into the ABC and hope for a fair result based on the teams performances on the day and every year I'm disappointed when a critical error occurs in favour of Australia.
However those who have umpired in "home conditions" can't really scream blue murder

Considering Steve Bucknor's experience (120 Test matches), it is hard to believe that (suddenly) he can make so many mistakes in one match and against one team. An umpire (or a coach or a player) from sub Pakistan or India would have been suspected for some sort of foul play (involving match fixing.
I am not jumping to any conclusions here...but this is a good case for ICC to investigate further

@All the Australian posters above who've yapped about Indian 'whining'.Why don't you practise what you preach? 75 years after it happened you guys are still whining and moaning about Bodyline !! Let me remind you of what your captain said during that series :"There are two teams out there and only one of them is playing cricket." In the context of this match that statement resonates loud and clear. Get real!Or is that too much too expect ? You guys have been brainwashed by your Goebbelsian propaganda carried on for decades.

The umpiring in this game was atrocious, and the Aussies should not have celebrated the way they did !
However, in spite of the bad decisions, India could have saved this game. No use moaning about umpiring when batsmen cannot bat out 72 overs.
Dravid and Ganguly got rough decisions, but the rest of the batsmen batted stupidly. Losing three wickets in an over to Clarke was idotic, to say the least.
How better it would have looked if India had saved the test and then said "Look, this is what we can do, even when things go against us". Instead what we get is "The umpires cheated us".

PS : This "home advantage" has existed on the subcontinent for ages. The visiting teams suffered, and now, India get a dose of what they used to dish out.

Let's not have any more discussion about the honesty of Michael Clarke's catch. I remember Ganguly leaping about like a demented grasshopper in the 1999 World Cup for a "catch" which obviously bounce a full foot (ancient imperial measurement, about a third of a metre) in front of him. Hypocritical liar is one of the milder compliments I can offer him.

Yes, India didnt get the rub of the umpiring decisions.

No, the fabled Indian batting line up couldnt face 72 overs.

Yes, decisions go against both teams. Most here in Australia want snicko and hotspot for decisions. (Aust. lost the Ashes in 2005 due to poor umpiring decions, again by Brucknor and Bowden).

Regarding the supposed grounded catches. I have not seen the Clarke 2nd grounding. The supposed first grounding was inconclusive.

The Ponting supposed grounding appears to be when he is appealing. Is that allowed?

Mike.

It is true Australia had the better of the umpiring errors, and therefore India didn't deserve to lose.

But remember Sachin was plumb in front when on 18 and went on to score 154. Laxman was also given a reprieve early on by the umpires. We don't get any mention of these and Australians have been unfairly bashed. Let's face it, The margins by which Australia has been wining matches in the past decade or so (including in India)suggest that they do not bank on umpiring misfortunes to win games, neither do they ever complain about umnpiring.

Get on with the game India- you are lucky that Austalia uncharacteristically dropped five catches of top players which allowed the contest to be closer (If Hayden was fit, Dravid and Ganguly would have been easily snapped up in the second innings without any controversy).

Talking about cheating, only last year Dhoni and his fellow slip fielders celebrated after claiming a catch against Pieterson. It was a CLEAR bump ball. Is Dhoni a cheat?

I totally agree with everything you have written. Finally someone mentioned that for past few years tours in Australia always have some key umpiring decisions going against the tourists. I am from Pakistan so I am not an Indian team supporter but what I saw during this test match was just horrible. Why do we need umpires if they take their decisions on the recommendations of the players?

Who said that Australia is world champion? See the reply of Sydney game to watch how the real champions are playing the cricket. I think street games in India are doing better cheating in the game. And yes that Monkey (Symond) and his caption be ready for facing the anger while they will tour India in future...

Who said that Australia is world champion? See the reply of Sydney game to watch how the real champions are playing the cricket. I think street games in India are doing better cheating in the game. And yes that Monkey (Symond) and his caption be ready for facing the anger while they will tour India in future...

All this hue and cry from a country whose home umpires till today are famous for making the worst one sided decisions.
Who can forget Mr Jayparakash helped Kumble like a true mate get 10wickets in that Delhi test..his umpiring finger would go up in the same instant the ball would hit something.. include a mis hit too in this long category.

Rather than blaming umpires, look at where your batsmen actually stand.
You call Sachin the greatest batsmen around and just imagine, he has never stood out for INDIA in any 2nd innings. The Pontings, Kallis and Inzimam's have done it dozen times.
even in the 1st innings, he was taking single of the first ball and giving strike to tailenders to show their net prowess and
the list goes on and on..

you should admit that all this felt resurgence of indian cricket is nothing but a blown away hypothetical day dream.

p.s i'm not an aussie fan or paki + even with no umpires, you would lose heavily in perth.if you have any left character,show it

what has come out of this test is that australian cricket team is not as tough as it made out to be by its players. at first signs of fightback from opposition they begin to show their ugly side of the character. i think it is to do with fear of losing. when they are faced with situation of losing a game all the dirty tactics come out in name of playing game hard.
if you look at any real success in any walk of life, you inevitably find a great person/people behind it. but with this successful australian team, there are only bad people, and unashamed greed to win that even cheating is considered fair enough. that is the reason why such a successful team is been hated by its colleagues and patrons.

they are ill willed which is proved by the harbhajan saga. ricky pointing has ensured he will have a good series from perth by getting harbhajan banned.

i will make sure i will realise this australian team that they are cheater whenever i meet them.

in this neutral world of cricket we shoul advocate for neutral venues for test cricket too. after this test match i am fed up with the word neutral as the 'most biased' proving to be better neutral than the so called 'neutrals'.

We've seen one or two wrong decisions turning the match results (like India saving the test against england or Aus loosing the Ashes test). But to say that its same as having 6 or 7 decisions going against you and loosing the game is ridiculous. It brings back the memories of Pakistan tours where if the ball hit visiting pads, it was out and not out otherwise. BTW all the australian fans saying that you should not whine, I'd love to see them copping same number wrong decisions and then accepting the results as sportingly as indians managed to do.

ramya....u have it wrong.the aussies did go to town on billy bowden.they didnt want him to umpire any tests they played...get your facts right before u mouth off?the aussies should be ashame to play cricket like they did.the loser out off this will be cricket...who would want to pay money to go watch that...it is no longer a gentlemens game...aussies sux the kumara

Austrailians and England always moan about how bad the Asian umpires are? It nice for a change an English and West Indian umpires are at the centre of the some dubious decisions.

Austrailia are a very good team to beat, the last thing India needed was the Aussies getting a little extra help from the umpires. I thought the Indian behaved in a dignified way ( Bar Harbhajan) despite some blatant wrong calls on them. Buckner is usually a good umpire but I reckon Harbhajan "possible racial jibe" at Symonods might have irated the respected West Indian umpire.

Ramya, spot on - it's only a game.

Bloggers should note that in Mr Kesavan's bio it states that he writes "fiction " when he can ............

I don't remember you claiming that tours of England were losing credibility when Kasprowicz got a bad decision to end the Edgbaston test in 2005 (in an English victory). Or when Martin got two clangers in the same series: at Manchester on the last day when Australia had to show a damn sight more backbone that India did in Sydney to draw (and did, indeed, do the job), and at Trent Bridge when England won. Bad umpiring had a material impact on that series, but I don't remember too much whinging or whining going on.
Perhaps if you want to maintain your own credibility, you need to look at your own consistency--and not just complain when India lose.
There is no doubt that Dravid and Ganguly got shockers. And there is no doubt that because of the neutral umpires program, Tests in Australia routinely get the umpiring B Team. But India lost the Test because their over-hyped batting lineup could find the fortitude to bat for a little over two sessions.

those who says australia had also hard luck based on LBW's appeal to ST and Laxman , I think all would agree this error may have been evened out to the both teams? What about the catches, stumpings, not catches (at least seven / eight genuine chances nort awarded ti india)?

If australia were in india's position what they would have done? It's really a shame and I think it is the high time for the technology to bring some respect into this game. Don't listen to the anti - technology hypocrites who have some vested interest in this game at this age.

The actions of ICC we now tell the world if they want Cricket to be a gentleman's game. As the saying goes your actions speak.

Mr. Pointing's & Mr. Singh's (Harbajan) action have spoken and noticed by the world. In fact Mr. Singh has been given his verdict. The world now is waiting for the ICC, it is now a question do they want the game to be a gentleman's game or a rough game.

ICC decide your destiny .

Hmmm. "most infuriatingly, Sourav Ganguly given out, caught by Michael Clarke because the fielder said so." But this is something that Kumble agreed to before the test series. Now, first time that this agreement comes into effect, he's whinging about it. India were hard done by - make no mistake. But complain about the (neutral) umpires - not the opposition. And don't complain at all, about something agreed to before the series.

They are showing on Headlines Today that BCCI has asked Indian Team to stay at Sydney and not move to Canberra. I applaud BCCI decision if this is true.

It's high time that BCCI take some hard decision. I am sure other countries will also not like what they saw/heard at SCG.

Australians are not good sportsperson as Kumble said.

This was one disappointing Test I have seen with so many false decisions going against India. I don't know if anybody noticed, but Andrew Symonds patted Buckners back after he finished his over when he went to collect his cap. What does this prove. If it was an India player they would have complained about match fixing and what not. As Australian's don't like the poeple who play well against them.

They are showing on Headlines Today that BCCI has asked Indian Team to stay at Sydney and not move to Canberra. I applaud BCCI decision if this is true.

It's high time that BCCI take some hard decision. I am sure other countries will also not like what they saw/heard at SCG.

Australians are not good sportsperson as Kumble said.

The umpiring was discracful not only at the SCG but also at the MCG

I recall a stunt Micheal Holding did one season where he counted and recorded all decisions made and made note of errors made by the umpires

His findings where that Australia has about 75-80% of the 50/50 decisions and double the amount of dismissals or not outs that were given when clearly wrong

I have employeed this 'red book' idea and have had a running total of errors

In the first test Australia had 5 (Yuvraj caught behind, Kumble caught behing, Johnson caught at short leg and Hogg not given lbw twice) errors fall there way and India had 2 (harbhajan not given out lbw and Yuvraj not given out caught in close)

In the second test Australia where given 8* (Ponting caught behind Symonds stumped twice caught behind and lbw, Lee lbw Hussey lbw Dravid caught behind) but also the decision of ganguly could also be counted and India where given 3 (ponting lbw VVS lbw and Tendulkar lbw)
India 8 down after 2

It is truly a pity that appalling umpiring ruined what could have been a great test match. There is no doubt that India were umpired out of the game.
But why is it an issue only now? I never read any articles like this in the past when Australia or other touring teams were receiving the same treatment (ie being screwed over) from umpires on the sub continent. I guess not so much is made of it when other teams cop poor umpiring because most other teams do not bleat, whine, and threaten not to play when umpiring decisions go against them. If people want to talk about 'cheating', go analyse the Australian dismissals in India 2001 and check out unpire Venkat celebrating with the indian team. This issue gives an interesting insight into the mentality of many indian fans, where it seems bad umpiring does not matter, until it goes against them, and racism does matter, until an Indian is the perpetrator.

There's no need for half a dozen challenges per game. Two or three is plenty if you work on the basis that the challenge is only "used" if the replay confirms the original decision. (If the replay is inconclusive, the decision should stand but the challenge not be used up). This would mean challenges are used sparingly - essentially only when the team/player is certain they've been robbed by the original decision. I also belive this would cut down on frivolous appeals - no point appealing if you're going to be reversed on a challenge in the event that you do extract a bad call in the first instance.

On another note, I couldn't help but break into giggles at greg's suggestion (the 5th comment overall)that Phil Tufnell is the best umpire in the world. I guess that makes Simon Taufel the guy whose outfield escapades once led to an MCG construction site being designated as a Fielding Academy named in his honour!

Ramya:ut did we ridicule the same Steve Bucknor,when he gave not out to Sreesanth

well. everyone knows that one or at the most two bad decisions go against a team. It seems you were sleeping through most of the match and saw only two howlers.

Indians are a very fickle people and Mukul is the prime example.....I read nothing about the umpiring when Steve Bucknor handed India the series in England and now you want him dead.....Funny also how Indian players fought with the English and the South Africans now Australians....hmmmm could it be a worldwide conspiracy against India??? Wake up!.. the Sydney test was an umpiring disaster but you attack everyone and everything like the moaners we all know you are.....Oh just a few more examples....remember all of the riots over past years when India lose at home???....remember how you attack Dohni's home one minute and shower him with jewels the next???...I could go on for hours. NOBODY IS PERFECT...NOT EVEN INDIANS!!!

The issue is not whether India were at the receiving end or Australia. The case should be made of poor umpiring standards and remedying the same. Players have to accept a poor umpiring decision as a human error, just like the shot which gets the batsman out or the no-ball by the bowler. And by the same token, the umpires should be told that their future selection in test matches will depend upon their performances and too many bad decisions will mean they are out of the test arena. Performance based selection of umpires is the solution. At the end of every match there should be an evaluation of the umpires by both team's officials and the ICC.

Best thing to do is for Indian companies to tear up contract deals with Australian sportsmen. Then they'll change their behaviour.

I'm an Australian, and fair play doesn't come into this culture. Kumble was right, but no country plays in the right spirit of cricket. Look at golf, now there's a sport where even one unsubstantiated alleged piece of cheating taints a whole career.

As for Bucknor, no West Indian is going to give a man with dreads out. For most of his career, Bucknor was rated in the top 3 umps. Now he'll be remembered for the World Cup debacle, and Sydney Jan 08. A rather poor legacy.

Australian team are not good enough to be considered unbeatable. This match has proved that. Much than the umoiring, the supporting of it from Ponting, Mcgrath and Australian media underscores that the Mighty Australians can do anything for a win. These people started the art of sledgigng and when they get back, they complain that it is racist. I suggest Australian team to go and play with Indian under 19 and learn gamesmanship. Winning doesnt matter. But sportsmanship does. All the games and sports were started to improve harmony rather than proving who is mightier.

I suggest that BCCI should ban the australian players from IPL. It is only fair to do this when they can ban Indian players playing in ICL from the first class cricket.

What "vested" interests would people have against technology ? The reason for not introducing technology is
1) Replays can be mighty inconclusive often, and waste a lot of time.
2) Snicko and Hawk-eye are television gimmicks. Hawk-eye is not 100% accurate.
Technology has not reached a state where it can replace umpires. When it does, it should and will be introduced.
Time to stop the whining and get on with the game. India can do well in Perth, and make a statement with their performance, instead of all this whining.

Lots of offensive and borderline racist comments here will not be good for Indians who want to attend the Perth game and feel safe - everyone worth listening to wants the game played in the best spirit.

Would there have been as much controversy if India hadn't spectacularly collapsed in that last over? How weak the rear-guard was to allow Australia to win like that.

Don't cover up for your team's inadequacies by blaming the umpires or the opposition in public. Let your cricket speak for itself - we're all waiting and listening..

I'm Aussie and I did not like the way my team celebrated after they won the match, especially after all the bad decisions. But at the same time, I think it was the fault of the Great Indian Batting Lineup that they lost the match, especially the Great Yuvraj Singh. Anyway, it was a good match and a good nail-biting finish.

Because of the poor sprotsmanship of Ponting and his team mates and poor umpiring, this game was won by Australia. To add insult to injury, Harbajan was falsely accused, and slapped with a 3 match ban , just get a good bowler, and surprisingly good batsman out of the way. Team India, go home now! Millions of cricket lovers around the world will support you and the ICICI will finally take notice. If contracts have to be honored, let the BCCI send an India A team to play the Australians...they will get better match practise. This is why we all need to support the ICL...to have a real alternative which is free of this groveling to Aussies for just to keep the televison money

we should immediately abdnadon this test series unless this 2 nd test is made void.if it's a problem then,we should play with our second string eleven .(there is no point in in playing seniors in these sort of useless series).sachin,gangluy,dravid,laxman,kumble and bhajji should return home paving way for the juniors like gambjir,uthappa,murali.atleast they'll have some exposure and will get accustomed to the playing conditions in oz for the upcomig ODI series.and even ponting's own wife shouldn't have got the feeling that they've won.india didn'l lost the match,the spirit of the game has been defeated by the aussie playing 14!

While the traversties had a decisive say in the game, lets not overlook the lion-hearted performance of the Indian team that kep fighting inspite of getting the short end of the stick. Lesser teams would curl up and die once Australia escaped from 134/6 to 463 but this one kept going hard at them and that was a fantastic sight...More about it here:
http://outsideedge.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/in-search-of-excellence/

congrats mukul ,your article reflects the heart beat of India. ponting lashed out at an Indian jouranlist for questioning his integrity in claiming dhonis catch,should the Indian journo fell the same for his integrity being questioned by Australian captain for reporting an issue

Oh dry your eye's you whinging Indian princesses! Your useless side was rolled on great batting track by a couple of part time spinners. You had two overs to survive with three wickets in hand and collapsed in 5 balls. You lose because you don't have the inner strength or belief of your opponents.

I am more than happy to admit that Australia got the better of umpiring, which was not up to the standard we all hope for. But it was far from one sided with both Laxman and Tendulkar enjoying very very generous benefits of the doubt on plumb LBW decisions very early in their centuries.

Harden up you moaning girls. Your team's weaknesses were why you lost. I bet none of you cry babies were on here lamenting that Yuvraj wasn't given out when he clearly edged to bat pad in the first test were you? If he was half the player Symonds is and had turned his fortunate reprieve into a century rather than falling soon after due to his incompetence at this level would you be on this blog accusing him of being a cheat for not walking or calling the umpire a cheat? I think not.

Your pathetic moaning is symptomatic of why you will always be beaten by the best. You will always seek an excuse so you can absolve youself from working as hard as the Australians and becoming as good as they are. As has been pointed out above the Australians copped the rough end of the pineapple in England 05. Damien Martyn in particular must have felt victimised, but did the Aussies bitch 'we woz robbed' - no they went away and became a harder and better side that plotted a 5-0 revenge 18 months later. I fear Indian fans, media and cricketers will still be weeping over Sydney's split milk for a decade to come.

I'd love to see referrals, and more use of technology to help umpires make the correct decision more often. But I'd love even more for Indian cricket, it's fans and it's media to stop looking for excuses and scapegoats for it's continual failures and rather learn from Australia and demand the very highest from it's test team. Your fielding is pathetic, your batting relies on a few aging greats, and your bowling is incapable of taking wickets when conditions favour the batsmen. Australia doesn't suffer from these problems because our First Class competition would chew up pretenders like Yuvraj or force him to be the best long before he ever got near a test team. Only then will India be truly worthy challengers to the Australians domination at the highest level. I hope to see that day, but if the wailing here is any indication it will be a long wait.

Readers might find the poll carried out by the Sydney Morning Herald interesting. In the lead:

Australia has long used sledging. They can dish it out, but can't take it - 39%

Australia has long used sledging. They can dish it out, but can't take it - 39%

wonderful story by Nic Hopkins in the Australian about the incredible overreaction by India Media. I think we would have none of this ridiculous hyperbole if India had drawn. It is a result of having a safe draw torn from your fingers in 3 minutes and five balls.

Let me put the Aussie behavior in this test as following:
If Aussies could kill to win, Sachin Tendulkar's dead body would be lying on the pitch and Ponting walking over it.

I think everyone agrees that given the terrible umpiring decisions, that a fair result was a draw. But for fans and commentators to convert their frustration at poor umpiring to anger towards Australia for supposed unsportsmanlike conduct is appalling. A batsman is entitled to stand his ground until given out (even when he edges to slip!) and players are entitled to appeal. All teams around the world involved in such a close encounter on the fifth day of a test match will appeal all possibilities. The fact that the team appealed Dravid's dismissal is not surprising, however poor the decision might have been. And more importantly, it was not unsporting. Also, in the context of an off-field agreement to accept the fieldsman's word on catches, there was nothing unsporting about Ganguly's dismissal - again, it was the umpire who erred in failing to refer the matter, not the Australians.

Australia's conduct in this test was above board, and the team ought not bear the guilt of bad umps.

what a petulant, spoilt, brattish crowd we indians are. wake up india! what will we do? cry? feel dreadfully hurt because our privileged, pampered lazy cricketers were outplayed. we were not cheated ... we lost. sure the decisions were against us. but we were murdered in the first test, beaten and struggling for a draw in the second ans will be slaughtered in perth. as the aussies say, look at the scoreboard (and get on with it). as for harbajan, that bear of little brain, given his record, you wouldn't trust him on a desert island

Millions of people love this game, Australians may feel happy for the moment now. But one fine moment they themselves rank the worst sportsmanship in cricket feature #.1 (Ian Chappel - underarm bowling) #.2 Ricky Ponting (Convincing the umpire for a wrong decision and removing the bowler from the game who he cannot face with a baseless complaint) #.3 Mr.Andrew Symonds (he is MR. always so that he dosnt claim that I am also a racist) for standing the ground even after knowing he is clearly out and accepting the man og the match award for that non sense #.4 Clarke for standing the ground after knowing he is out and appealing for a catch which he has dropped again, #5. Hussy for standing his ground which he know he is out the list goes on...

I think this ranking has to be introduced by ICC in this year itself and also they do the same ranking for the umpires... I really dont know how come Mr.Bucknor and Mr.Benson eat and sleep after doing such a dishonor to a game, which thier living is

Agree with Mukul's comments. But there is more to this story. Australia won but also lost a few fans. India lost the match but Test cricket was the bigger loser. Very few of the people involved came out with their head held high. Umpires Benson and Bucknor lost control of the match on the very first day. Michael Clarke, Ponting and Symonds mocked the umpires and their worthy opponents. Harbhajan reached into his baser instincts. Kumble looked a dejected man on the fifth day and unable to make his colleagues fight. Winnning and losing happens in Test cricket, just as in real life. It's how we handle it that matters.

Most people react from a biased Nationalist angle as if winning in sport is seen as some sort of personal victory.However, even Waugh,Chappell and Jones have written that the umpiring was shocking( and we are talking edges and stumpings, not lbws).Secondly, people who have watched the game for long do believe that Australians in Australia are hard to beat as 50:50 decisons generally go in their favour(refer one Mr.Chanderpaul,Windies).Third, Australian cricketers should shed their hypocrisy of playing 'hard but fair'. It is hard, period, which is fine.A test of character is when you are under pressure.Gilchrist and Ponting's true character is probably a bit exposed now.Fourth,India should still have saved the match.Their record is not good enough in the fourth innings, with one SachinT having a real bad average.Next,when you choose non-specialists and overlook in form guys(Chopra) you are creating problems for yourself.Finally,as a cricket team,Australia is still far ahead of the pac

there are a couple of things that are pretty obvious here:
1) yes the aussies definitely got the rub of the green but
dont slam them 4 not walking b/c Yuvraj wouldnt of in Melb when he smashed it
2) the middle/lower order of india, namely Yuvraj and Dhoni have hardly made a run when they should b cashing in on Hogg and Symonds
3)Kumble and Ponting made a pre series agreement to ACCEPT the fielders word on catches and even if there was the challenge system there would have been NO EVIDENCE to change the call

India need to make three changes: Shewag and Karthik for Jaffer and Yuvraj and SOS Sreesanth 2 come in 4 harbhajan; RP Singh desperately needs some support

Also, im not going 2 say that harbhajan made a slur to Symonds but if he did Indian cricket should hang their heads in shame because the Aussies would never ever cross that line, no matter how aggressive they may come across

there are a couple of things that are pretty obvious here:
1) yes the aussies definitely got the rub of the green but
dont slam them 4 not walking b/c Yuvraj wouldnt of in Melb when he smashed it
2) the middle/lower order of india, namely Yuvraj and Dhoni have hardly made a run when they should b cashing in on Hogg and Symonds
3)Kumble and Ponting made a pre series agreement to ACCEPT the fielders word on catches and even if there was the challenge system there would have been NO EVIDENCE to change the call

India need to make three changes: Shewag and Karthik for Jaffer and Yuvraj and SOS Sreesanth 2 come in 4 harbhajan; RP Singh desperately needs some support

Also, im not going 2 say that harbhajan made a slur to Symonds but if he did Indian cricket should hang their heads in shame because the Aussies would never ever cross that line, no matter how aggressive they may come across

Dear ICLFan - you missed some of your calculations:

Symondes got out on 30 in first inning ( 30 - 162 = -132 runs Australia)
Ponting got out on 17 in first inning ( 17 -55 = -38 runs Australia).
Can you see the difference of 170 runs above?

Tendulkar plumb LBW on 18 (18-154=-136)
Laxman plumb LBW on about 70 (70-109=-39)

Take your 170 off Australia's score, take my 175 off India's score and Australia won even easier. Not to mention Lee's LBW missing the next couple of stumps - how many more runs there (that squares Dravid)?

Clarke took the catch, judged as per the pre-match agreement. Ponting's catch was cleanly held, and therefore completed, prior to it touching the ground. Gilly had no chance to see the bump ball, and appealed to ask whether it had bounced.

The only other real controversy (apart from Harbhajan's racism) was Clarkes poor judgement not to walk to the edge to slip, and that was something the Indian batsmen repeated themselves later in the innings.

Bucknor's brush against India started way back when India was playing against in South Africa in South Africa. The concept ofthird umpire to adjucate runouts was introduced for the first time in Test matches. I remember that South Africa was in dire straits and Jonty Rhodes was run out. Bucknor refused to call the third umpire to adjudicate. Replays showed that Rhodes was well short of his crease. In the same match (i think) Sachin became the first cricketer to be adjudicated out by a third umpire. Thus, Bucknor's streak of obstinacy in refusing to refer calls to the third umpire has an early history. Unfortunately, in most such cases, Indians seem to be at the receiving end.

I don't recall the outcry about the decline of umpiring standard when India saved a test in England last year on the last day thanks to an blatant umpiring error that would have cost them.

Nor was there any real uproar when Australia lost the Ashes on the back of umpiring errors in 2005. The Aussies simply got on with the job and came back stronger. One wonders if the Indians have the backbone and strength of character to do the same. Of course, they can all cry racism and blame the rest of the world instead. Seems to be the way to go...

With the way people speak its very clear everybody is frustrated with Australians (except australians and their media), there is nobody to tie the bell, India should do that even it affects India for a month or so, once done all teams will stand to correct things and make things better, it will help the game to be bigger than winning, afterall game is for goodwill

Why is everyone saying that Clarke lied about his catch? To me, from the replays given, it looked like he got his fingers well and truly under the ball, and it never touched the ground. But then again, what would I know? I'm just another Australian, and everyone knows we're all liars and cheaters.

There's no doubt that India were hard done by with the umpiring in this game. But I do think that the accusations of poor sportmanship of the Australian team are harsh and untrue. Every team around the world appeals when they think it is a close call - it is the umpire who decides whether it's out or not. In Dravid's case, the umpire got it wrong. As for Clarke being shocked when edging to slip - well, no different to Yuvraj in Melbourne. And this was the first time Clarke had made a duck in test cricket, and a golden duck, no less. Of course he was shocked.
Instead of complaining about the umpiring, the Indians should focus on what they can control - their own performances on the field.

It's easy to call Australian tours farcical because other teams get belted when they come here. What about the clearly doctored pitches the last time Australia toured India? Sure, Australia ended up flogging India anyway but the intent was there. Neck up.

Umpiring decisions - good, bad or indifferent - do not win or lose matches. Players win and lose matches. It is no good saying that India would have won the match if Australia had made 250 in the first innings. It is just as possible to speculate that India would then have been shot out for 180, as happened in Melbourne. The fact is that India could not hold out for 72 overs against a hostile but not unplayable Lee and two part-time spinners. It's time for introspection and not excuse-hunting.

spot on mukul! what happened in this test was merely an amplification of what happens to most teams that tour australia. the aussie team is clearly led by an arrogant, supercilious captain who has instilled the same dreadful qualities in his players who are desperate for a win no matter what the cost is.unfortunately they have now developed a trend where they will readily trade even that holy spirit of the game to achieve that hollow victory.
frankly the rest of the world should not have expected anything better from a team whose competitiveness has now become their albatross. this team is nothing but an eye sore now to the rest of the sports-loving public in the world. as for the umpiring, i have always maintained that bucknor was long past his days and its a pity that his incompetence was highlighted in such a terrible manner...

There's no two ways about it. The umpiring in the Sydney test has turned this tour into a farce (a tour d'farce), not dissimilar to 2003-04. Australia have brought the game into severe disrepute. The Australian defenders on this list should be ashamed to compare minor incidents of bad umpiring that went against them to the wholesale cheating that went on at Sydney. Also, I think the reason Clarke didn't walk is that he was genuinely surprised that Bucknor would give him out. Congratulations though to Australia for pulling off a tense win.

A great test match has been marred by two incompetent officials. The first innings of Australia where they were truly on the mat changed the complexion of the match. You can make one mistake or may be two but to have 5 full days of mistakes is plain ridiculous. LBWs even out but catches, stumpings when technology can help it should be used effectively.
Some people have written, couldnt you bat for 2 sessions, cricket is a game which can change when a couple of decisions can go against you. Dravid and Ganguly done in in second innings and Symonds not done in thrice in the first innings. So things can change dramatically.
As for Raja Pakistani pls try and make your comments when your country's team is involved in similar situation, let me see what you write.
For the Australians who think we are whineing, sorry blokes, the respect I had for Ponting, and Gilly(especially Gilly) dropped from 9 to 4 on a scale of 10.

The game already badly marred by poor decisions was ruined when Dravid was given out when clearly his bat was a mile away from the ball. This was not just a bad decision - it was diabolical! How was it possible for an umpire to give? Adam Gilchrist in recent years has earned a reputation for "walking" when batting, unlike all his other team mates. Is it possible that this reputation and the Dravid decision are related? In other words are Umpires influenced by their perception of who plays fairly and who does not? If so every team should encourage their wicket keeper to develop such a reputation as it is the wicketkeeper who is in the best position to take any such advantage.

Hold on. No one is disputing that the Indians batted badly. The vaunted batting line-up did not perform and more importantly the Australian Bowlers did a good job. Putting those aside, if a team, in a test match has to endure 10 really bad decisions, then:
1. questioning the batting line-up is no longer an issue
If decisions do go against the batsmen of a particular side as in this test match and in the same match, the other side batsmen do get benefits....please do expect that the aggrieved team has a right to complain. Not whine. I guess whining is a much abused term nowadays.
2. Moral chest-beating is not warranted at all.
Having Australia and its team issue statements that they are upholding the spirit of the game.
3. question the umpires competency:If this test match does stand out for anything, its stands out for the umps deciding who the winners would be. I am sorry, there is no other way to put this to Oz fans.

Continued from previous comments: I would be writing more comments of this incident over the course of the next few days. Please send them to the Indian team. If worst comes to worst, they should at least have the morale to fight hard during the remaining two tests.

I think its great that India is now considering going home after Harbhajan was found guilty of racial abuse. If an Australian had said what he said there would be hell to pay. Obviously India think they are above the law not only do they want to bat and bowl and umpire the game they now want to administer the game by flying in the face of the ban. The mentality of saying if the decision is not changed we are going to take our bats and balls and racist mouths home. I hope you do and I hope the ICC strip you of your test playing status. Then again with the age of your team in a couple of years time you may even be cannon fodder for Banglagesh. Pack your bags and get out!

I take you back to the Ashes series in England. Australia, after a massive fightback to get within 3 runs of victory, are robbed of the match and series by a dodgy umpiring decision - Kasprowicz given out caught down the leg side of a glove that was not holding the bat at the time.

I don't recall australia whinging for days afterwards. They just took their medicine and moved on.

Get over you whinging Indian supporters. You collapsed like a deck of cards at the end and lost the game. so be it.

I love how you say "i'm not talking about LBW decisions as they are judgement calls". No your leaving them out because Ponting got a shocker and Tendulker got let off on one against Clarke in the first innings then went on to make 150.

Yes the umpiring was poor, yes we should use more technology to get it it more correct, but no it wasn't biased and no it didn't cost you the game. you did that yourselves

There has to be something done about teams from the sub-continent and their boorish "stop pickin' on me!" mentality. Cricket is for adults, not three year olds. The ICC MUST not be intimidated by their immaturity.

Sometimes things go against you in sport. Cop it, just like Australia copped it when they lost the ashes 3 years ago and LBWs went ratio of almost 3-1 to England for all but the last test. Australia copped it, and came back where it counts - on the field (winning the next series 5-0). India should learn that things don't always go your way. Shut up and get on with it.

If you stopped all this whining you might actually see that Australia plays tough, but fair. You Indians are going to have to get a little tougher. Crying and whining will get you nowhere in international sport.

We waz robbed of a victory, but not a draw. We should have held on. A batting failure inspite of a few gritty failures. One must question Yuvraj, Dhoni, Jaffer and Ishant's roles in the team.

Btw this talk of umpiring decisions evening out eventually is ridiculous. Just keep your eyes open and you will see it as it really is.

"Spitting the dummy" is an apt aussie idiom for the behaviour of the indian team, media and, it appears, indian public. It refers to the behaviour of a child that spits our its pacifier in order to throw a tantrum. It is applied to hysterical over reactions, petulance and self importance

Utterly shameless, unsporty, wrongly self-righteous Australia have disgraced their own image and of cricket's. The least India can do now is abandon this tour, as staying on and playing is simply accepting injustice and insult.

I don't care who's a cheat and who's not. All I ask for is some consistency - if you've decided that you won't walk, then don't expect the umpire to take your word for anything! Or atleast that's how it should be. How in the world that buffon Benson got in his mind to ask Ponting whether the catch was clean or not?
Another issue which no one seems to have raised till now - Bhajji being banned for 3 test matches without any shred of evidence to prove what he did, except for the aussies word against him!! The same aussies who wait for the umpires decision after nicking a ball to slip. Who's the match referee? Mr. Mike Proctor - the man who had banned Rashid Latif in 2003 for 5 matches, yes 5, for wrongly claiming a catch that was grounded against Bangladesh. By that logic, he should've banned both Ponting and Clarke... especially Ponting (since his logic for the surprisingly strict ban against Latif was that he was the captain and should've know better)!! Talk about double standards!!

Oh dear, India are in for a real thrashing for the rest of this series, I suspect. It seems the whole nation lacks the mental toughness for test cricket, and to take "the slings and arrows" that tests sometimes deliver. Unless India do some soul searching and starts acknowledging the truth - that they lost a game by a reasonably big margin after Oz declared at 7 down and where a few unpiring decisions by neutral umpires went against them - this cricketing nation will continue to be an underperforming part of the international scene.

Do what Australia did two ashes series back. Get back to playing cricket even though you got the worst of the calls.

Glen --> Pls don't talk about umpiring in the sub continent - this is a fiction created by Aus-Eng cricket writers. The reality is that there are two versions of cricket history - one written by the Brits and Aussies, other by the sub continentals and till India became a major cricket force, the former was the only version going around. Sadly they never documented their own upmires mistakes in much the same way as colonial historians never talked about imperialist wrongs. Umpiring in Aus and Eng was just as awful, just that it was never written about. Itis only now that We get to see videos of tests of the 80s and Tony Crafter and his like would give Benson and Bucknor a run for their money. Don't forget Neutral umpires were introduced in the sub continent. With regards this match, I can't remember a single test match which was so blatantly one sided in the umpiring including the third umpire. How do we know there isn't something more than meets the eye?

Ponting reckon he plays hard and fair in the spirit of cricket and that anything that is uttered on the field stays on the field.

I question and challenge this! if thats true then why over the years including this match have the australian team (mainly under Ponting) been involved in on field incidents. And why do they throw their toys out of the pram when they are loosing by demonstrating massive on field histrionics. And why do they resort to claiming catches that were grounded. i.e. clark. Who also refused to walk when given out for a duck. He stared down at the umpire with alook that said "how dare you give me out"

I used to have so much respect for the australian team. You have gone down so much now.

I'm not australian or indian. So this makes me objective.

first of all to these comments here. Technology? did you see the over rates in that match? It was shocking. Secondly you are complaining about a bad decision for a third umpire, showing technology not doing it's job.
Now why blame the Australians for bad umpiring? besides you claim pontings catch? Just remember the obvious nick when he was sent packing 20 runs later. Hussey also clearly was hit on the thigh pad. Notice the deviation only occured after the leg? You are all so oblivious.
Hawk-eye can not possibly pick up swing, seam, spin and bounce all accurately on a ground such as Melbourne making it impossible to use due to it's low accuracy level.

I end with also saying I am a HUGE fan of Steve Waugh and was the critic calling for Ponting not to be captain at Waugh retirement and stand to say Ponting is a great player but one of the worse captains lucky to have a quality side with Gilchrist the one I called for skipper. I did not want ponting to equal the record!

The umpiring was pretty bad, but accusations of petulance and bad sportsmanship go both ways. India lost the test because they scored too slowly in the first innings (Dravid was cheered like a century maker for going from 18 to 19 runs on the second day) and then collapsed terribly in the last session of the 5th day. Kumble and the Indian heirachy need to admit this first before they go looking for scapegoats. Right now, they are looking fairly petulant and petty not to mention unsporting. Yes, India suffered some dodgy decisions, but teams touring the subcontinent get plenty of those too. It would have been great for Cricket if India could have mustered a win or held on for a draw, but they fell short because the tail couldn't bat when needed whereas the Australian tail did. Ultimately that was the entire difference in this test. If the Indian side wish to pretend otherwise, then they are a much lesser side than they pretend to be.

Even if we blame almost all of the contentious decisions as errors solely committed by the umpires without any undue pressure from the Australian players as some posters (Australians with their head in the sand !?) want to, still the fact is that Australians (Ponting and Clarke in particular) cheated by claiming catches that were clearly grounded. It clearly speaks of the culture in Australian team that Ponting is their captain and Clarke is potentially their future captain. Australians should be ashamed of their cricket leadership if these are the qualities that are valued.

2) To say that Andrew Symonds is a victim of racial abuse (in this affair) is to bring insult to all the black cricketers who played in an earlier era of cruel and blatant racism. Clive Lloyd's West Indies team held it as a matter of pride that their excellence in cricket was a strong demonstration against racism. The great spirit shown by those people of that bygone era has gone a long way to the fact that today bylaws have been enacted in various sports to prevent racial abuse. It would be a great insult to the memory of such large hearted players to allow Andrew Symonds to misuse this ICC rule against racism for the purpose of ingratiating himself with his team (making his position in the team secure).

i feel sad for the indian cricketers cause they should have won this test. when steve waugh was captain we had to put up with one or two whingers in his team, but now we have have a whole team of whingers to put up with. these guys are nothing but a bunch of miserable whingers and should not be allowed to play against gentlemen. as for "Benson & Bucknor", they should give up umpiring and start up their own tobacco company.

I propose a simple technology assisted appeal system.

* Each team gets two wrong decision overturn requests per day.
* A successful appeal is not deducted from the team's quota of two per day.
* The successful appeals are tracked in the umpires' record history - similar to how runs and wickets are tracked for players.
* The panel of umpires - now at a paltry 8 - should be expanded to about 24
* At the end of each year, the umpires who rank at the bottom third (8 of them) should be purged from the panel and replaced by more competent ones from the general pool. The purgees will have to wait a minimum of 3 years to be considered to the pool. If the same appeal system is extended to first class matches, the merit system for new entrant umpires could be built bottom up.
* Finally, the payscale for the international panel of umpires should be drastically revised upwards for more of the ex-players to aspire to be selected to the elite panel.

Do Australia really win ? ............no no no .The Australian cricket Team and the followers of them are the biggest losers.The world have seen how they play cricket.They play to win by hook or crook thats what they are talking about the hard fought playing cricket.we indians play with heart and belief in our prayers to god .how many of us from heart prayed to god last evening.you i certainly did and i know many millions of indians did .
i hope and pray that BCCI would take a strong action with this situation.I know cricket is a game.having crucified Harbhajan on the words of Symonds (is this the guy who stood there when he hit the ball and refused to walk and came out in the evening and said he did hit it). Also the same goes for Ponting ( who aslo nick the ball and satyed ) also Clarke ( who also stood after clearly out) and claimed the catch.
Do we Indians believe these guys ?
NEVER EVER WE SHOULD SELL OUR PLAYERS.
WE STAY TOGETHER LET US NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED AGAIN.
RINS

Why should a batsman walk after edging to first slip ? It could have been a noball for all he knew !

If Clarke had expressed displeasure when he was given out, then criticize him. He just waited for the umpire to give him out, and walked when the finger went up. Whats wrong with that behavior ?

Some points :

a) For the folks writing about whining, our captain said what an Aussie captain said years ago during Bodyline. Just following a best practice

b) Yes, umpires are fallible. But errors in double digits and 80-90% going against one team is amazing

c)Yes umpires are fallible, but at least they should follow due process and refer to the 3rd umpire instead of asking the opposition to adjudicate !

The two strongest signals that came out were sadly away from the game :

- the word of mouth of 3 aussie cricketers carried more weight for Mike Procter than that of 3 Indians (Harbhajan, Sachin and media manager), despite any corroborative evidence. Just word of mouth, like an old fashioned lynching (strong words, but Harbhajan's personal reputation has been lynched)

- the Aussie captain can suggest that an Asian journalist not be present in a press conference if tough questions are asked in an open forum.

Says a lot about their attitudes. Fair dinkum ?

The author writes fiction. His commentary proves it. Sure India got the rough end of the pineapple in decisions. But every team gets that at times. The great teams rise above it. This article reminds me of when I was twelve. My football heroes could do no wrong, they only lost because the opposition and umpires were cheats. Eventually I outgrew that and admitted my team was often out-played. Too many cricket supporters have not learned that lesson,

Firstly, PP (comments above), sledging and racist sledging are different. Very different! As different as 20/20 and Test cricket. People who think the Aussies "can dish it out, but can't take it" must be living with their heads in the sand. We have no problem with sledging, but when it gets racist (and calling someone with black/islander heritage a monkey is definitely racist), you've crossed a line.

To the rest of the readers here, the behaviour by Anil Kumble, the BCCI at the Press Conference, and many of the Indian supporters stink of sore losing. You claim the moral high ground, yet stand there making veiled threats of returning to India early, of sacking Bucknor and Benson, while your fans back home burn effigies of other human beings. You tar all Australians as cheats and "match-fixers", yet no one dares to blame your own players.

I honestly feel the pain of losing a close test when many decisions went against you. But sportsmanship involves gracious losing too.

Some bloggers have mentioned that Indians whine too much. Absolutely correct.

As correct as : Australians sledge too much, they cheat too much, they posture too much.

Uncle Tom and Cecil Rhodes passed away long back. Too bad they are re-incarnated in world cricket as Steve Bucknor/Ranjan Madugalle (he would have banned Bhajji for the full 4 Tests) and Mark Benson / Darrell Hair.

And the Indians have their own bimbo too - Mr. Dhoni who padded up most insanely to gift his wicket to Symonds. How about leaving him in the Australian outback for about 2-3 years. Maybe then he would get some sense up his thick head.

Though the umpiring standards were definitely woeful, fact remains that the mighty Indian batting line up failed to bat out the 70 odd overs on a fifth day pitch. Even if Dravid was given out to a dubious decision, what the hell were the others doing? This attitude of blaming everything but yourself is what restricts the Indian team for being one of the better ones around. All the best for the remaining test games.

well said INDIAN RAGE . :)

The truth comes out Harbhajan did admit at his hearing that he called Symonds a monkey and then wonders why hes been suspended. Personally I think he was lucky to get only a 3 match suspension, he knew the heat was going to be with all the ugliness that happened in 2007 with his and the Indian crowds less than savoury behavior. India now want to cancel the tour and perhaps they should, why would we want our children to see this child like behaviour and think that they can act like soiled brats if things dont go their way. Lots of comments about bad sportsmanship by the Aussies yet in the spirit of the game isnt the first rule of sportsmanship to accept the umpires decision regardless if its right or wrong? India seem to be a law to themselves with their attitude that if they dont like something then they will take their bat and ball and sook all the way home.

I agree with Dan on the Ashes series as well as Abhishek Mehrotra on Indian batting.

Dan : One mistake in the Ashes series can be condoned (that too after winning test # 1). I am sure you will agree that the entire Australian nation would have one huge epileptic fit if there was an epidemic - as unleashed by the firm of Bucknor and Benson.

Abhishek - I agree the Indian batting was woeful. Dhoni should be left in the wilderness (as was done to Damien Martyn for some time) for having played such an irresponsible shot (or for not having played one). He did it even against England in Mumbai.

Cheers guys...a great test match officiated by morons and played with superb intensity...the Aussies stared...and the Indians blinked.

A word for BCCI hot shots...talking big for most of the time...let us see if they deliver...or are they busy cutting deals for plum ICC decisions.

come to think of it, india could not last 72 overs, a couple of bad decisions notwithstanding...

It's just a game, get over it, whingers.

Right

So all this sounds like is a bunch of sour grapes to me. Face it, the better team won the match. We could sit here all day and say that umpiring was poor, but the fact of the matter is Australia won the test, its in the history books now, Australia wins. Indian supporters everywhere try to blame everyone else for the result, fact is, they lost. We all know about the standard of umpiring in the Sydney test, it was bad, wasn't up to test match standard but lets get on with it. Players and umpires make mistakes, we are human which adds to the beauty of the game. If robots were umpires then yes, maybe Australia would of been dismissed a lot cheaper in the first innings. But then whos to say that India would of batted as good as they did? No one will know. The game was a rollercoaster ride that went all the way down to the wire which was played at high intensity throughout that last day. India should focus on their own game and stop laying the blame for their loss.

To all you out there who don't want to respect the Australian players, so what?

Think they care? They are the best in the world and just because you don't respect them anymore won't change anything, it won't keep them up at night it won't make them play bad. They are the best because they play hard and fair.
A lot of people, (mainly indian supports) want to cry about the test, but face it, your team played badly

I think The Sceptic should be head of the Icc Panel of umpires

I have only two comments to make:
1)I am waiting for the day to dawn when ICC will award the "Baggy Greens" the "Spirit of Cricket" - because that will not be the joke of the century - but the biggest joke, the day since the earth evolved - and can go down as another record for the Aussies.

2)Dhoni sold the match to Aussies - he used his pad to a ball that he should have played with his bat - that was the turning point.

The general feeling this post gives me is that Indian supporters are not satisfied that they've had an even playing field this series.

I seem to remember the last time the Australian test team toured India there was a particular incident considered unsavoury and unsportsmalike. If I recall the series was on the line the next match was on a pitch with a lovely grass covering that had the Australian seamers excited. At Ganguly's request the groundsman shaved the pitch into another subcontinent dustbowl. Heaven forbid the touring team get friendly conditions, though Australia didn't alter the spin friendly conditions of the last two tests. When Andrew Symonds had monky noises directed against him, many cameras showing members of the crowd doing such, he kept quiet. CA didn't lodge an official complaint allowing the BCCI as the home commitee to act. The BCCI denied anything has occured and said Symonds had misunderstood.

So who has moral high ground about the Spirit of Cricket??

i completely disagree with Suky. australia never deserved to win this match. their performance was extremely poor. if india had got right decisions in the first innings, aus would have gone for 200 and india could easily have won the match by an innings wif they got the right decision. the indians are the moral victors of the match. i feel this match should be called unofficial. the indian team should also be recalled back to india by the BCCi

Can someone monitor the next several games the Australians play to determine if more bad decisions favour the Australians than the opposing team, and if so, by what margin? Would be an interesting stat. There appears to be a pattern of bad decisions going against the opposing team in Australia.

Next, expand this enquiry to include all other venues outside Australia to determine if more bad decisions favour the host team.

Compare the two stats and arrive at a conclusion.
My hunch is that a disproportionate number of bad decisions in Australia favour Australia.

Next question: why? I think it would be quite revealing.

The final phase of the enquiry must include all games that feature Australia anywhere in the world. Determine if more bad decisions favour Australia.

An investigation on these lines and a final report would be very revealing of the spirit in which the game is purported to be played.

Couldn't agree more that the Indians copped some howlers here. But what I can't understand is the hypocracy of Indians to question the aussie sportsmanship when no one on this site could even begin to name one Indian batsmen that walks. Yuvraj in Melbourne was out caught. The umpire didn't give him out, he didn't walk. he got out next over and had the lack of class to stand there even after the umpires finger had gone up. And he had hit it as well. At least Clarke walked when the umpire's finger went up. What about Gangully in Melbourne. He hit the ball was caught at bat pad. Stood up and shook his head claiming he didn't hit it. Where is the sportsmanship in that. I forgot, they are Indian therefore they are perfect and don't do anything wrong. All this whinging is quite unbelievable, particularly for Indians

The Australian cricket team has more than a little right be feel agrieved by this relentless demonisation of australian teams that is now so much a part of the culture of teams from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There was very little out to really comment on from Australia in that match. That's the reality. And to start claiming that Australia is somehow twisting neutral umpires in their favour is just sad - a sad reflection of the victim mentality that has beset these sub-continent teams and their supporters.

Couldn't agree more that the Indians copped some howlers here. But what I can't understand is the hypocracy of Indians to question the aussie sportsmanship when no one on this site could even begin to name one Indian batsmen that walks. Yuvraj in Melbourne was out caught. The umpire didn't give him out, he didn't walk. he got out next over and had the lack of class to stand there even after the umpires finger had gone up. And he had hit it as well. At least Clarke walked when the umpire's finger went up. What about Gangully in Melbourne. He hit the ball was caught at bat pad. Stood up and shook his head claiming he didn't hit it. Where is the sportsmanship in that. I forgot, they are Indian therefore they are perfect and don't do anything wrong. All this whinging is quite unbelievable

I can't recall such a pathetic response to a test result. The umpiring deserves critism, but take a good look at yourselves. Its everyones fault except the Indian team. And now the fans are claiming the Clarke catch was in fact not a catch. Where's the proof fellas? In the thrill of jumping on a bandwagon, you are re-writing history.

I can't believe there is no hand-held device that on-field umpires can use to check out replays. This will go a long way in improving the quality of cricket. I also find it ridiculous that Kumble agreed to have captain's call on a catch to be final. Ganguly's mode of dismissal is a direct violation of the spirit of the agreement. Cricket sadly is no more a gentleman's game.

I know it must be dissappointing for Indian fans and yes there were some terrible decisions by the Umpires for BOTH sides so now perhaps you know how the rest of the cricketing World felt when touring the subcontinent pre neutral Umpires. No chance, none whatsoever!! Decade after decade of ludicrous decisions by home Umpires terrified their houses would be burnt down if they dared allow a foreign Team to win on Indian soil! Because one of your players doesn't have the brains to know when not to vilify his opponents he is now out of the Series, and guess what? Indian supporters will be making pathetic excuses like "we was robbed"! How many times by how many teams visiting India do you think those words have been uttered. But I suppose it helps deflect attention from your real problems doesn't it? Australia is well respected by all Countries in all sports except cricket and India and petty name calling by idiots won't change that! Try not blaming everyone else for your shortcomings!

So India got some bad decisions, agreed and admitted by most observeres, in fact i thought it was shocking. However most home countries get the decisions go for them even with neutral umpires, its not right but it does happen even in India or where ever. But get on with it and stop sooking like two year olds. So Ponting thought he caught the ball and still does, as for Clark, you cant tell for certain wheather they did or didnt, it was to marginal to call thats why he and Kumble agreed to trust each others words on catches, but now India dont like that agreement. Didnt Ganguly do the same thing in a world cup final, only the Ganguly one bounced at least a half a metre in front of him before he claimed the catch, yet no one called him a cheat, hardly a word was mentioned. Must be that only India plays in the spirit of the game. Concentrate on Indias batting on the last day, as that was the biggest crime of the test and the reason they lost. But blame the umpires as it erases reality.

Why tinker with the rules. Let's get rid of the replay on the TV. All the technology in the world is not going to get rid of the human error factor. If umpires make mistakes then drop them for a number of games. Who decides which umpires go onto the elite panel. I find it hard to believe that there are only eight umpires good enough to umpire test cricket. As it stands now, the umpires make a bad call against a team from the sub-continent and there is an outcry with calls for them to be removed or sacked.
Indian cricket is built on TV revenue. How much are the BCCI giving back to the game. How much to develop juniors or indeed umpires. All the comments about Australians being cheats are not going to make India a better team. The only thing that will make them a better team is a bit of spine. There was no-one except Anil Kumble prepared to put his body on the line on the last day. It might be a good thing that they want to go home. I for one would like to see Lee and Tait let loose.

Dear mukul. as a staunch indian support I do feel the pain and anguish of losing a match because of poor umpiring. But I feel we are not taking this in the right spirit.A great team is one that can overcome this and still win. No one complains of the umpiring. I feel we should also look at it this way if we are to win. We lost a test we should have drawn, but let us not forget that we should have won this test. We let them back in with shoddy bowling at the begining of the second innings. If we had pressured hayden and phil it would have been a different story. What we need is anger and passion. We should not whine. We should go out for the third test and win. Only then can we truly be called the best in the world.

There were 3 catches that were not given, 2 stumpings that were not referred - all against India while they were bowling, then, there were three not outs of Indian batsmen that were given out. And, mind you all at crucial junctures in the match.

Given, the fact that the match was won by Australia with 7 balls to spare, it is evident that India lost the match, mostly because of the Umpiring errors that surrounded them.

What more can a cricketer do? Like Dravid, he was battling it out and Ganguly was in such a fine touch that God would have been proud of creating him, and both were given out - wrongly! When it is evident to all viewers that it was mistakes that cost the match, the match should be declared having No Result - else, it is an insult to the game. But, that wouldn't happen with a pathetic governing body! Instead of improving the standards of umpiring, the ICC wants to punish players for showing their dissent when given out wrongly

Without getting into the wider debate about cheating or poor umpiring or sportsmanship, I would just like to put forward a solution for the Indian board regarding this test series. India will not call off the tour thats for certain. So, BCCI should recall all the players in Australia right away and send India A/B/C team for the rest of the matches.

"But seriously, if competitive Test matches aren’t to be ruined and if, in particular, Australian tours are to remain credible, cricket’s authorities need to act now."

So, neutral umpires favour Australia in Australia, but they are neutral everywhere else?

The umpiring in this test was abysmal. The Indian media and Captain seem to be blaming the Australian team because they know they'd be fined and laughed at if they claimed neutral umpires were biased.

The umpiring was shit, but both teams had the same ones. Personally, I'd be happy for them to change both umpires, if for no other reason than to reduce the excuses possible for the result in Perth.

In all this drama – spare a thought for Ishant Sharma. Poor 19 yrs old kid – what will he take from this match? I am sure before the series started he must have had high regard for the Australian players. But after the masquerade at the SCG – all that he will take from this match is - to win a test match you have to cheat like hell and have umpires who are blind and deaf when you are bowling and while batting these very umpires have heightened faculties – they can hear snicks where none exist; can award a non existent catch; and give LBW even if the ball doesn’t threaten the stumps!!

Good to see that people still care about test cricket – can anyone actually remember who won a one day game recently?

In the reaction to this test from both media and fans alike there has been way too much ‘black and white’ interpretation. To ask Symonds if he hit the ball and then chastise him for telling the truth is hypocritical and reinforces the failure of contemporary media to perform professionally. Fans who can tell with certainty what Gilchrist, Ponting, Clarke, Ganguly or Harbijan did or thought are just fooling themselves. Did the Indian players only appeal for things they knew were out – or did they too appeal for anything they thought might be close (or close enough to give)?

This was tough cricket. No one gave an inch. No one was covered in glory (Kumble was probably closest of the main players – until he messed up at the after match press conference).

Personally, I can’t wait for the next test, and the next Aust-India series. Now THAT is cricket!

lol indians still crying and playing the blame game just like little babies......
do you people remember why a countries own umpires arent allowed to officiate their teams??? just look back to games in india and pakistan!!!
the idiots who carry on about officials in australia are just plain stupid!! all the top teams in any sport seem to get the lucky decisions, its part of being the top team. as they say you make your own luck!!
when the west indies were top they got the majority of the decisions their way as did south africa.

wouldnt it be a laugh if india refused to tour england, south africa and australia. they would drop to an even lower level than their great odi world cup.

this is in rersponse to suky...
well by your logic warne should be an average bowler as his in the subcontinent is abysmal.
and please do remember that australian umpires in the past were no angels themselves, if anything our players had the courtesy to accept the decisions given by the umpires and not make a scene on the field unlike some (guess who that could be).

P.S. I think Simone Taufel is the best umpire in the world at this time.

I think just about all Aussies feel for the Indian team at the moment. The standrad of umpiring in the series has been lamentable and there is no doubt that the Indian team has suffered greviously in both the Melbourne and Sydney tests.

It would have been better if the Sydney test had ended in a draw. Dravid looked totally on top of things when inexplicably given out.

I too wonder about the actions of Adam Gilchrist. He must have known that the ball hit Dravid's pad not his gloves. He must have known.

Most Australians feel very badly. Kumble's comments after the game were accurate and dignfied.

Ponting & his men lie & cheat to win matches... They are pathetic

"Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game" Well Mr Kumble, then get your act together & start playing with spirit of the game & get your team mates to follow your example. I know Australia do, & always will.

Talking about umpiring decisions, Not only Sachin's LBW which was given not out, but people tend to forget Laxman's when he was on 18. Lee trapped him plumb in front & vvs got away with a late New Year's gift. And anyone remember stinker that Lee got off Kumble. Lee was batting so well, he looked like getting to his 1st 100, before he was given a shocker. The ball hit him way outside the line of the stumps to a leg spinner. Snap out of it Indians & those anti-Aussies.

Indians talking about Aussies over appealing? Don't throw stones from inside a glass house. When Kumble stops appealing for LBWs when the ball hits the middle of the bat, then I might start to take notice of others over appealing.

Didn't like the aussies celebrating, did you now? Forgetting 2001?

Some questions for all those who've played cricket for any length of time;

1. How many times were you given out when you weren't?
2. How many times were you given not out when you were?
3. Did you always walk when you were out? WG Grace was famous for not walking - even when he'd been bowled!

Unfortunately, poor umpiring decisions happen and just as unfortunately, India had most of them go against them in this test. But that does not make Australians cheats.

How does anyone know that Ponting or Clarke knew that the catches were or weren't out? Nobody knows that except the players themselves and for anyone to say otherwise is simply ignorant. If you think it is out, you ask the question. Then the umpire makes the decision. Everyone accepts it and moves on.

I am Indian and I am hurt from what i saw for last 5 days. Here are the arguments
1. Umpiring was poor and had an impact in the match in favor of australia. From that angle, australia won no bragging rights after the match.
2. As the arguments stand, Ricky Ponting comes off as a person who has a split identity. As a batsman he winks at the law and would not walk and indeed praise his fellow batsmen when they follow him. But when he is fielding, he claims to be a saint and openly fumes at people questioning his integrity. Only logical conclusion I can make is that Indian and Australian definition of integrity differ from each other.
3. Whenever Aussies sledge they seem to say its how they play cricket, but when somebody gives it back they scream murder. Remember Symonds and Sreesanth in India? The whole argument of sledging-is-our-culture is flawed. If a cannibal came to Sydney and started eating padestrians would you condone him for following his culture?

I just dont get it!

Sunny Pradeep - in your litany of lament you forgot to mention Laxman and Tendulkar being given not out LBW in the first innings when the replays confirmed that they should have been (now THAT would have made for interesting use of the 'three challenges' rule!).

Also, all the aussies on this board, you guys have got a great team. I would give an arm and a leg to have such a team represent India. To be honest, it is India's fault that we couldnt defend 3 wickets for 2 overs. I agree.

We have lost before, and much worse than this. So we know what losing means. We are probably bad winners, but sore losers we arent. What is going on today is something special. As a collective, the Indian fan feels hurt. And if you cant see that, than there is no point in this debate after all.

Just one last thing on Harbhajan. I feel dismayed that Harbhajan (if true) said the M word. If proved, he deserves to be punished. I just hope that the justice was done on the basis of sound logic and law. Not just on an Indian's word versus Aussies. There are no winners in such arguments. If the decision has indeed been made on such logic than its fair to say that its a pride thing and we should do as any proud sovereign nation would. Return home!

I'd love to see referrals, and more use of technology to help umpires make the correct decision more often. But I'd love even more for Indian cricket, it's fans and it's media to stop looking for excuses and scapegoats for it's continual failures and rather learn from Australia and demand the very highest from it's test team. Your fielding is pathetic, your batting relies on a few aging greats, and your bowling is incapable of taking wickets when conditions favour the batsmen. Australia doesn't suffer from these problems because our First Class competition would chew up pretenders like Yuvraj or force him to be the best long before he ever got near a test team. Only then will India be truly worthy challengers to the Australians domination at the highest level. I hope to see that day, but if the wailing here is any indication it will be a long wait.

Sunny Pradeep - in your litany of lament you forgot to mention Laxman and Tendulkar being given not out LBW in the first innings when the replays confirmed that they should have been (now THAT would have made for interesting use of the 'three challenges' rule!).

Why do we have neutral international umpires - because of the issues in the sub continent decades ago. Unpires lived in fear of what would happen at the end of the day. Thank goodness Benton and Bucknor do not live in India.

No one has mentioned the plumb LBW to Tendulkar not given when he was on approz 50. Hawk-eye had it hitting middle stump 2 thhirds of the way up.

Austrlia lost the ashes becuase of clearly errant decisons in England (some by Bucknor). That series loss was the spur for the current run of victories.

Final word - accept the umpire decision or play games without umpires. I promise there will be more bad decisions - it's the nature of the game for over a 131 years. No conspiracy - just fact.

regarding chooka's comments about competence of indian batsmen,may be you are right.I think they should also be afforded three lives each to get things right like Andew did.EH!Even things out a bit.

So if Australia was against the spirit of the game what was the stalling by India on day 5? The monkey chants (don't try and tell me that monkey is not a racist taunt in this case)? The antics because of some bad decisions. Tendulkar make over 100 more runs than he by rights should have. Symonds did too. This is bloody cricket. Clarke clearly caught the ball. Ponting caught the ball. Ponting says when he doesn't catch the ball. The fielder's word on catches should be final. The umpires decision's final on all else.

Benson,bucknor and third umpire should be sacked. And India should call off the tour. Please don't worry about financial losses..BCCI!

Dear David Bruce,

I have purposefully omitted the LBW decisions given both for or against any team, because, LBW decisions are more guess work, rather than reality as a caught behind or a stumping.

I am sure that in every match there will be a dozen LBW going against a team, which should be given out if technology is used. But no one laments that fact.

So, instead of defending and beating the air, come to terms with reality my friend. I dont recall a test match where so many wrong decisions were made, not in the form of LBWs, but in the form of catches, which are more obvious.

i think the sydney test match was fixed. and who better to fix the result of the match than the umpires? it wasnt a case of incompetance or mistakes but a clear case of bias. how else can the third umpire go wrong when the stumping replays show that symonds foot is in the air? if an inquiry is initiated for match fixing , i think, the umpires will be in real trouble as they sure seem to be guilty.
in terms of use of technology for arriving at decisions - the maximum people raising a voice against are the australians, as they very well know that without the clear biased advantage they cannot win test matches or one dayers. they are not a side they are made out to be. they are very mediocre as their record suggests.
1st stint of 16 wins in a row - 9 were on home soil and with a lot of help from the umpires.(can one forget tendulkar ducking into a bouncer and being adjudged LBW)
2nd stint -11 matches are on home soil, 2 are against bangladesh and even these with umpires help.

mob mentality of a billion. facts dont matter.

A quick glance at the cricinfo home page should be enough to convince anyone with any intelligence who this website is written for. Cricinfo thinks nothing of having 10 articles on one side an issue with one on the other side as long as it brings in millions of page views from India.

The Indians are acting as if only they have lost a Test match to bad umpiring decisions. Why dont people award every series to India at the beginning so we're saved this constant complaining.

Umpires officiate cricket matches. They make mistakes. That is the game. Go play hockey if you dont like it. Chak de India!

P.S Mukul: Where is your angry denouncement of Harbajan that you promised if he was found guilty. Or is it impossible for an Indian to be guilty of anything on this website?

Decisions can never be correct and never will be in a game of cricket. Agreed and accepted, bad decision go both ways.

But the 2 decisions that anyone could pick out so easily turned the tide of the match. The catch of symonds and that of dravid in the 2nd innings. Surely you don't expect an umpire standing in his 120th test to make that mistake. There was a comment about the umpire not giving tendulkar out leg before. The same can be said about mike hussey when benson did not give him out in the 2nd innings and he went on to make a hundred.

It is not one decision that is being talked of here but a string of stupid decisions made during the entire of the match, which somehow all went against India. Explain that..

> It is not one decision that is being talked of here but a string of stupid decisions made during the entire of the match, which somehow all went against India. Explain that..

Coincidence ? Match fixing ? Umpires carrying a grudge ?

Bucknor definitely made decisions with some prejudice and they were absolutely one sided. If he umpires any future match...no point in watching it!...who knows one day he will tell us the real reasons in a book!

Lets be serious. How can you win a game when you are removed unfairly? or when the opposition will not be told to leave, even after being clearly out? bad decisions both sides? I wonder what game you guys were watching. Is is more like, you will win, you must win. How can one a win a game when the in form batsman are out or removed on purpose to disrrupt the scoring?

I believe India have the best team in the world, and maybe that is the problem.

Nothing says bad sportsmanship like blaming the umpire for your failures, badmouthing the character of the opposition, supporting racism, and generally trying to distract attention from the historical achievements of the winning team. I guess if people don't have the skills to actually be competitive then they have to find ways of lashing out.

I'm really surprised by come of the comments on this blog.I think everyone who saw the match would concur with the fact that Umpires faultered at the critical junctures inthis Test Match & that too against India.
Can someone justify the schoolboys like actions from the Australian Team on the field on 5th Day. They were asking questions for everything.
I'm also surprised at te ICC/Umpires/Match refrees ways & means. Just imagine the repercussions of Indians doing just the 50 percent of what Australian Team did. I still remember the South African Tour wherein six of our players were banned for six matches for excessive appealing. We all know what Ponting/Team did, also the excessive appealing/ antics of Ponting even when the whole world knows that he grounded the ball.
Can someone justify the arrongance Ponting had shown while raising his finger to Mark benson for dismissing the Ganguly.

U have done a commendable work to share the feelings of a common Cricket loving Indian. I wont term the umpiring as "BAISED" or "DISCRIMINATED" but as extreamly subpar, below standards and simply unacceptable even at club level. Getting 10 plumb descisions against literaly robs you of any opportunity to win the game. I think to ensure better Umpiring ICC shoul bring in an ammendment stating that all Obvious wrong decision which can be decided with the help of max 2 replays (by the time replayes are over the batsman would have not even reached the boundary or if he was given Notout wrongly the next ball would have been not bowled)be reverted back. Also ICC must keep a record of the decisions made by umpires and the percentage of grossly wrong decisions by each umpire. All people who give say more than 10% grossly wrong decisions they must be moved out of panel.Withdrawing from the sesies wont be good. Instead to retaliate we must call our existing team and send INDIA A to play them.

The umpires made a lot of bad mistakes in this match but it's just not true they all went Australia's way. Tendulkar was gifted another 154 runs after being absolutely plumb LBW, Ponting was given out LBW cheaply off a thick inside edge.

I reckon the erratic umpiring led to a lot of the bad blood. That said, I'm really struggling to see what the Aussies are supposed to have done wrong - no batsman (including Indian ones) walks these days, all teams appeal vociferously at the least excuse, and there's no reason at all to believe Clarke knew he'd grounded the ball (if in fact he did - the replays are pretty inconclusive).

The Indian team should, in their own interests, put all this rubbish behind them. "We wuz robbed" is a very poor mindset to enter a match with, especially against opponents as strong as these.

I fail to see the validity of those defending the umpiring in this test match. It was totally incompetent. As an optimist I would hope that the one sided nature of the decisions was purely coincidental. I feel, that Ricky Pointing, although not a cheater persay, (disregarding the bump ball he claimed) has not played in the spirit of the game. It isnt written at least to my knowledge that the batsman should walk if he edges it..but the tradition and the nature of cricket being a gentleman's' game should have prompted Pointing to walk. But at the end of the day the blame rest wholly with the umpires, who had the final say, said India despite their excellent performance will lose a game they deserved to win.

Those who complain that the Indian team lost coz they cudn't last 2 sessions shud realise that the same wud have applied to Australia in there first innings had Symonds been given out on 30. Symonds not out decision showed that one bad decision can change the course of the game. In the same vein, had Dravid not been given out in the 2nd innings, India cud well have lasted the required number of overs.

Why should Ricky Ponting not be banned, for a period of five Tests, for unfair practices that contravene the spirit of cricket?
Think back to September 2003, and the Pakistan-Bangladesh series. Then Pakistan captain Rashid Latif was docked for claiming a catch, when the ball had touched the ground. He was suspended for five games -- effectively missing the entire one day series between the two sides.
On that occasion, the match referee while handing out his sentence said: "As captain a lot of responsibility falls of Rashid Latif and he committed a serious offence by claiming that (unfair) catch which constitutes unfair play and a level-three offence of ICC code of conduct (offensive and penalties). Therefore, the Pakistani captain shall be banned for five one-day internationals."
The match referee was -- surprise, surprise -- Mike Procter no less; the same official currently in the hot seat in the India versus Australia series.

Guys please, it happens to everyone. But I agree that the umpiring was atrocious, and its not only the subcontinental teams that get really poor decisions. In the first test against the West indians south Africa were doing really well when Jacques Kallis was adjudicated to be out caught behind when the ball clearly missed his bat. By about 6 inches. South Africa then procceeded to crumble into oblivion and lose the test by 100 runs... I think that was a pivotal point. Anyway, credit to the West Indians who clearly outplayed the South Africans. The point is X happens. Get over it.

Been watching cricket for 5 decades & must say this test was a disaster just waiting to happen.
When you have such a huge gap between what technology shows to the followers of the game, as opposed to what the self important people,the officials, players and umpires perceive as upholding a tradition by saying human beings are superior to this technology, something has to give, and what gave in spades in this test match was credibility.
As long as cricket keeps kidding itself that umpires are as important now as they were in pretechnology days, this loss of credibility will continue and I doubt that a game that lasts 5 days will survive that.
The solution is simple, umpires must immediately be downgraded to be secondary to technology i.e if there is doubt technology wins. Talking about better umpires is a nonsense, no umpire is going to beat technology just as the most gifted autistic cannot beat a computer.
Also its a furphy errors even out in a match or a series, check your maths.

Get over it, Mukul. Kumble claimed his team were playing the game within its spirit, but everybody went up for Ponting's inside-edge LBW in the first innings. The ball moved several inches. Then Harbhajan ran around like he'd got the world record. There are very few saints playing international cricket, Mukul. The umpires did very badly by India, and I can handle that whinge, but this holier-than-thou stuff is too much. Test cricket is a game for hard men, and I find it inexplicible that somebody as tough as Kumble is crying quite so much. Being upset about the racism accusation is one thing, but this claim of being angels on the field is too much to stomach.

Till this match,I was of the opinion that a human element must remain in the game and every decision should not be referred to the TV umpires.But this match has changed my opinion.Not only have the umpires robbed India of the Test match they could have drawn,if not won,they have also managed to make this match,which was wonderful in its way,an absolute farce.I am sure most would agree that the umpiring has to be consistent.If a team gets a couple of bad calls against it,it wouldn't complain if it gets a couple of 50-50 decisions in its favour.Unfortunately,the Aussies got almost 10 decisions in their favour to India's one,and that too after Ponting had already been reprieved earlier.Moreover,the Aussies showed that to them,winning the game was more important than the game being played in true spirits.Ponting claimed a catch that never was,he probably forgot that these days there are enough cameras on the ground to spot just about anything.Its high time that someone takes note of this.

In cases of horrible umpiring, fans get emotional for a few days and then everything is forgotten. The record books don't say anything about the huge effect the decisions have on the result. Umpires have no accountability. And the bad decisions most often do *not* even out over time. The asterisk test should be used as an opportunity to bring about improvements in the system.
(1) Each side should be allowed three appeals per innings. A decision is overturned only if clear evidence can be found.
(2) Errors made by umpires should be part of the official record. The match referee should be look at each decision and when clear evidence is found to the contrary, it should be recorded as an "error" for that umpire (close/judgement calls not included). This is like the error statistic used in baseball. Every umpire will have a few errors against their name and this is ok. But bad, one-sided umpires will be found out quickly and this will not be swept under the rug as "part of the game".

Indians should learn a lesson from this test. I have seen them appealing excessively (specially Kumble) and putting pressure on umpires while playing at home. If they expect other teams to play with the right spirit they should do the same while playing at home. Most of the times appeals are made just to pressurize the umpires to get a decision in favor even the fielding teams knows it is not out.

I seem to see a lot of aussie fans commenting on the LBW decisions not going their way. If LBW's were counted there were numerous decisions which didn't go India's way.
In fact i would contend that if LBW appeals were allowed to be referred, kumble would have 100 more wickets by now and scores would not cross 300.

When an umpire erroneously gives a batsman out, the loss to the fielding team is hypothetical, because the batsman could have got out the next ball. However, when a batsman is not given out when he was, once can try to calculate the differential.

Ponting was on 17 when the appeal for the leg-side caught-behind was denied...he went on to score 55. Symonds was on 36 when the edge heard around the world was ignored by the progressively deaf and blind Bucknor...he went on to score 162.

That's 164 added by the two. If you subtract 164 from Australia's 1st inning total...You can do the math and come to your own conclusion about the result of this test.

Mukul has a point - tennis-like challenges are the way to modernize the game. And for the purists who hanker for the traditional game with all its sportsmanship, the nail in the coffin was driven in by Ponting, Clarke and co. You may also want to read Peter Roebuck's article in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mukul: I ask this question to simply clarify something that is troubling me. So, my apologies for people who are offended. Why do people assume that racial abuse is worse than grave personal slurs and vulgar comments on family members etc., The Aussies seem to agree that they use coarse language and slurs. Why is that any more acceptable than racial slurs?

Interesting. We have from the indian side, so many trouble makers, Harbhajan, Sreesanth etc. Agree that they need to be reined in. But Let's see the centre of attraction from the twenty-20 worldcup till now, in the Australian side. How come one name keeps popping up ? How come Andrew symonds is there in almost every controversy ? How come he is always the aggrieved party, whether it be how India celebrates its 20-20 victory, or how sreesanth clapped in his face or how bhajji did this... you get the picture.
In the latest incident, Symonds says he was trying to defend brett lee from harbhajan and he had a 'bit of crack' at Harbhajan (his own words quoted). So the instigator Symonds gets off scot free, while Bhajji gets banned ? I am all for banning bhajji with PROPER EVIDENCE, but why does symonds get nothing ? Oh right, I remember now, this is the Aussie style of hard and fair play.. Everything goes. Ludicrous to say the least.

I have a question for the Indian Board. We knew in advance that Steve Bucknoe would be the umpire for the 2nd and 3rd tests, why didnt the Board object then, keeping our fractitious history with Mr Bucknor in mind.

On this point i agree with the author. Test matches can turn on a single decision. Had Andrew Symonds been given out when he was 30, India might well have pushed for victory in this match, not even a draw. What happened on the last day was disgraceful which turned a draw into defeat.
It is obvious that with the aggressive "we play hard un-compromising cricket" body language,the Australians project a subliminal sense of total superiority and dominance over everyone else. There is no doubt that umpires are intimidated by this aura that they are confronted with on the field. It would appear that some even flinch as the first vibes reach them!
For any team to have a chance at beating this admittedly extremely talented and motivated team, they must have a good slice of luck glued on to their backs, not chopped away from them!
The fact that the umpires can be so complacent in the full view of modern technology also betrays a touch of arrogance, fostered no doubt by the stubborn ICC.

Maybe if India hadn't have persisted with a complete dud like Yuvraj and played Sehweg a tried and tested player in Aus conditions they might have gotten closer.

Bottom line India - lions at home. Lambs away. Same old story.

Mukul,
Your comments seem valid esecpecially in the face of current controversy. But once you take the Indian fan garb off, the statistical picture would be quite different - the errors would average out. I am with you on the dire necessity to use technology and the challenges method like most other sports do. Take a look at the NFL for instance, each team has limited number of time-outs per half and are penalized a time-out if the challenge does not uphold. Umpires are also human, and will err, possibly every game. Players are out there toiling hard and I personally think they should be given the right to challenge decisions. I have never understood why cricket is hypocritical in the use of technology, there is a third umpire for debatable decisions but at the same time this method stereotyped for run-outs and stumpings only. To top all this the discretion for referrals rests with umpires!Challenging decisions is the way to go. Umpires are not gods & their decision need'nt be final.

India has so many problems with its team, management etc. As some Australians believe, India might not even deserve a draw. But they are not justifications for the farce that was Sydney.

Ricky Ponting is a disgrace to cricket captaincy. Australians should be ashamed of having such a person at the helm of their Cricket team. As a player skills are important. But a captain is an ambassador of the team and the country as well. Well done Ricky. And shame on you.

in reply to a blind and a nationalist fan GLENN.
If you half a bit of brain left you would agree that steve bucknor, for reasons known to him only, has always had a poor track record against india. I am convinced its personal. All you aussies seem to,laughably and arrogantly, believe that you are the only one who know how to play cricket hard and fair. Well i got news for you. Hitting the cover of the ball and than standing your ground is neither fair nor hard its blatant dishonesty. Also claiming a catch when clearly in the process of completing that catch, grounding the ball,isn't playing fair and hard cricket. It is CHEATING. Please review your cricket teams past history and the benefits they have reaped from atrocious umpiring at crucial juncture of a game before you lash out at subcontinental umpiring in the past. Australia has produced many legends of the game and in recent times your team has excelled. I am sure all of it is due to the FAIR AND HARD CRICKET you boys play. LOL.

All this over aggressive attitude from this supposedly young Indian side is taking them nowhere. It did not serve them well playing Aussies in India and is not serving them here downunder either. You have to back up the aggression with good cricket which India are not doing.

India cannot blame the umpiring decisions for their defeat. If Symonds was out on 30 why was he allowed to make 162no. India gorget they allowed Hogg, Lee and Johnson to play so well. Its happended to India before where after a collapse they have let oppsiion batsmen get away with aggressive cricket. Remember Pakistan 6/26 in 1999 and 34/6 in Karachi 2006.

India bowled badly in the second innings. On a spinning track on the 4th day with two world calss spinners, they let Australia amass 401/7dec. Thats where they lost the game.

Umpires will make mistakes. Perhaps the Indian emory forgets when so many decisons went against visitors in India in days before neutral umpires.

With all the technology available why not have a device where the on-field umpire can review his decision. Devices like iphone or ipod touch... (too much technology is bad for the game... I DONT think so)

There is no doubt in the fact that umpiring standards have been below par and india have suffered.But lets no take the win from the Aussies. I personally think that kumble should be the last person complaining about the spirit of the game. Has kumble ever seen his own test match !! the way he appeals on every ball even if the ball hits the middle of the bat.
Has kumble ever seen the replays of his 10 wickets against pakistan in which almost 50% of them were wrong!!
Dravid is to be blamed for his decision because of the way he played. Why can't he play like a laxman or tendulkar who play in a way that opposition hardly get a chance to appeal.
India have completely forgotten how they lost 3 wickets in the penultimate over and have turned their attention to the umpiring decisions. The fact is that even with those decisions india could have saved the match but they lost. India should also look at the chances they gave which were not take and by no means were indians playing well!!

There is no doubt in the fact that umpiring standards have been below par and india have suffered.But lets no take the win from the Aussies. I personally think that kumble should be the last person complaining about the spirit of the game. Has kumble ever seen his own test match !! the way he appeals on every ball even if the ball hits the middle of the bat.
Has kumble ever seen the replays of his 10 wickets against pakistan in which almost 50% of them were wrong!!
Dravid is to be blamed for his decision because of the way he played. Why can't he play like a laxman or tendulkar who play in a way that opposition hardly get a chance to appeal.
India have completely forgotten how they lost 3 wickets in the penultimate over and have turned their attention to the umpiring decisions. The fact is that even with those decisions india could have saved the match but they lost. India should also look at the chances they gave which were not take and by no means were indians playing well!!

one of the poorest sportsmenship, austrailans have shown for which ricky ponting (and his likely successor michael clarke ) have been the ambassadors. What a bloke clarke must be to stand at the crease after edging the ball to dravid, shows much desperate they are to win the game by whatever means. If they australians really thought they played in the right spirit, they should probably come out in the open and answer the media questions.
World has captured the moments, australia might have won the match, but they lost their self respect from their fans. more than the umpiring, the attitude of the australians looked shabby. The best reply from here on is to square the series and and give a fitting reply to the aussies.

We are now in the realm of absurdity.

The BCCI are threatening to abandon the tour if Harbhajan's ban is not expunged. To put it another way: they don't like the decision & unless it's changed they're going to take their bat & ball & go home.

I wasn't on the field or in the hearing room, I don't know on what basis the charge was upheld. Procter says it was NOT just taking the Australian version over the Indian & I see no reason to disbelieve him.

If I were inclined to be flippant I would say it was obvious Procter is racist in favour of Indians because he cleared Yuvraj so Harbhajan MUST be guilty to earn a ban from him.

If Harbhajan is later cleared the ICC will be shown up as unable to enforce its own regulations & 3 senior Australian cricketers will be publicly labeled as liars. If that happens why would they feel that they have been any less slandered than Harbhajan? Why would the Australian players not get together & withdraw from the tour?

We are on the brink here.

One comment: If players are hauled before a hearing committee and calling them that they brought the game to "disrepute" why can't the ICC do the same to the umpires??

After a longtime I watched this match on TV and hence witnessed first hand the incompetence of the umpires & the arrogance & unsportsmanlike behavior of Ponting and his band. Reading Peter Roebuck's columns gives me hope that this pathetic Aussie cricket team is not a true representation of that country. If the Indian Cricket board has any shred of dignity and patriotic pride and spine to stand behind their players I would like to see them cancel the tour unless the ban is lifted off of Harbhajan & the incompetent umpires penalized. In the USA in the NFL a refree who made mistake which altered the game got his paycheck withdrawn & removed from the elite list.
Next I would like to see all Indian companies who have the Aussie cricket team on their advertise campaigns terminate those contracts & pull those commerecials. If they do not respect the country why let them sniff the Rupees? If they don't all Indians should boycott those products. ICL say no to McGrath who finds nothing wrong.

It is time for us all to step back & gain some perspective.

Let's look at the Oval, rather than accept an on-field ruling Pakistan turned it into an issue of personal honour & refused to play, then had the official responsible hounded from the game while the match referee & the other umpire still officiate. They turned a game into a vendetta that only ended when they got their way & ended the career of an umpire with an outstanding record for correct decisions (Gee, I wonder why there aren't as many good umpires around nowadays?).

India are preparing to go the same way.

It's a game! You get a decision you don't like you take it on the chin & keep going. Australia didn't pull out of the World Cup because of Warne's drug ban, nor did they abandon the 2001 series in India to protest poor decisions.

There's NO point in agreeing to regulations or appointing arbiters if you're never going to abide by their decisions.

That way anarchy lies.

Our game needs us to protect it.

I dont see India going and playing the next match with any interest. For me this series is over now. I know all the Aussie players are arrogant b******* but I had high regard for one player in Adam Gilchrist. But his appeal against Rahul Dravid has left me aghast. Good Luck to Aussie playing cricket because it seems like if they by their own skill dont win a match the officials make sure they do. What a sorry state of affairs!!! Hope all cricketing nations cancel their tours to Australia and make sure they are not spared this time.

The 14 man Australian team finished its record equalling formality in Sydney, Congratulation to them.
It is really nice to see the Indian team getting together in and off the field.
I have never seen a test with so many controvers. Ofcourse the Asian team has been caught like this in recent times (Sehwag ban in South Africa,Murali in Australia,Pakistan in England!!!! the list is big I hope I have forgotten lot of things).
What happened between Symonds and Harbajan is between them if Harbajan has really let a racisit comment then he has to be banned for Life, becuase it gives a wrong impression on our country. We don't want to fall into the lines of Australian cricketers who has been giving its country a bad shape (while it is such a beautiful country with such a polite culture).

Everything that has happened smacks of racial arrogance and it is amazing that they managed to pin the racist label on Harbhajan. If the BCCI contributes 70% of the cricket money may be it is time to take control of the game away so we do not have to play by their rules.

if the umpiring was as a result of a conspiracy - can someone please explain. Who want to see australia dominate so emphatically that a test series is over at the halfway point. Ltes see - cricket australia, hmm, im sure they would have preferred the indians to win the sydney test - the perth test then would heave been sold out.
Icc, well, at the moment the domination by australia is "killing test cricket", so Im pretty sure the icc would like to see australia go down.
the umpires - im sure they are sick of teh aussies as much as everyone else is and would like them to cop a serve...
so much for conspiracies.
the umpiring was bad, sorry woefull, but not premeditated as so many are calling it

While i agree that the umpiring was...well, ordinary at the least, I don't agree with the introduction of player appeals. The umpire is there for a reason and i think that some of the charm would be removed from the game if we became too americanised in our judications. It creates talking points such as this very one we are all arguing about, which in my opinion makes life much more interesting. I believe that in the long run, these blips on the radar iron themselves out anyway. For example, in the 4th ashes test in 2005 at trent bridge, the aussies had a lot of dodgy umpiring decisions. I bet that in the not too distant future, india will benefit from a few of these dodgy decisions.

Victory's nice but it isn't everything & it certainly isn't worth alienating people who should be friends.

The victory display at the end of the match was graceless. Ponting's comments haven't been directly inflammatory but certainly haven't been diplomatic. The Australian attitude to umpires & opponents on the last day was simply unacceptable.

Ponting's justified in claiming those catches if he was certain in his own mind. At the same time, he could at least understand the source of Indian skepticism & acknowledge that perhaps his interfering in the Ganguly decision was ill-advised.

Just as there's no game without umpires, there's no game without opposition. They deserve respect for their abundant talents, sympathy for their misfortunes, & acknowledgement of their outstanding achievements. None more so than the current Indian team.

Australians need to be aware of what it is we do that seems arrogant & abrasive to others & STOP IT! It upsets people & it's rude.

'What do they know cricket (or anything else) only know of cricket'. Perhaps this attitde is behind the win at all costs mentality that irredmeably tainted the Sydney test. Hayden is a prime example - extremely hostile abusive beligerent while blatantly peddling his religious convictions (only during televised tests). How ironic when it is the Indians, e.g. Bedi, who saved his test career. There is no saving this tour even if it goes on. It will forever leave an rancid taste in our mouths. We will not wax lyrical as we did with the last few constest. Sad, I was looking forward to some great and beautiful contests. But then again I had the great fortune of watching Laxman Tendulkar, Ganguly, Kumble, Harabajan and Singh. Pleasure or joy is not something I associate with the Australians however.

And Proctor does 'know' about the practice of racism -his silence & inaction as a highly privileged white South African during speaks volumes for his knowledge and current practice

The Pointing do you know what "GENTLEMAN" means. Then you should watch a game called Cricket. Ofcourse you might have heard about it somewhere.Just acting good on one (Rare) day won't make you a gentleman.
The Indian team should countinue the tour and ofcourse teach Australians what Cricket means. Just achievements might make your cupboards beautiful but the way it was achecived will be a poetry in the history.
It is suprising and good to see the Indians giving them a good show back in all ways (I strongly believe Harbajan could not have let a racial abuse). Rare for a team to do it against the Australians (Bold India take them with the bat and the ball too, 3 wickets in a over to a part time spinner is an ugly look to the teams superb performance ).

Ofcourse Im sure that we cannot win the Australians in the next 2 test (I really appriciate them, with 14 men in there team against 11 Indians is always hard for us), but 2-1 is possible and good for us.

The indignation, with which the Australians are defending the state of umpiring in Australia by pointing to the umpiring in Subcontinent prior to the era of neutral umpires, is rather laughable, because there has been conspicuously zero affect on the standards of umpiring in Australia to this day. While all other countries have moved on and have proved the value and importance of neutral umpires, the same is not true of matches played in Australia. Circumstance, local umpires or supposed neutral umpires with dodgy record converge to invariably work against the visiting teams in Australia. Pakistan was robbed of the Second test in Hobart on ‘99-’00 tour by a local umpire. A win in Hobart would have changed the dynamics of the series and may have even setup a first series win down under for Pakistanis.Rudi Keortzen in particular has ably served the Australian cause faithfully as their 13th men in black and white.That is why he was rather comically voted as the best umpire by Aussies.

Ponting is a SHAMELESS cricketer who has brought shame to the game of Cricket. He has the balls to say "It's disappointing and they are entitled to their opinion, but if you look back at the game I really can't see how we have done anything wrong by the spirit of the game".....when he ball in his hand touched the ground in front of him, and he was appealing after that!! HE SHOULD BE BANNED, just like Rashid Latif. Mice Procter is another A**hole because he had banned Latif for the same incident, but has no balls to ban Ponting.
What a shame these Aussies are to cricket! Even minnow like Kenya & Holland play cricket with more spirit than them...HAS ANYONE GOT THE GUTS TO PUNISH THEM AS A TEAM FOR THEIR CONDUCT?

Ponting is a SHAMELESS cricketer who has brought shame to the game of Cricket. He has the balls to say "It's disappointing and they are entitled to their opinion, but if you look back at the game I really can't see how we have done anything wrong by the spirit of the game".....when he ball in his hand touched the ground in front of him, and he was appealing after that!! HE SHOULD BE BANNED, just like Rashid Latif. Mice Procter is another A**hole because he had banned Latif for the same incident, but has no balls to ban Ponting.
What a shame these Aussies are to cricket! Even minnows like Kenya & Holland play cricket with more spirit than them...HAS ANYONE GOT THE GUTS TO PUNISH THEM AS A TEAM FOR THEIR CONDUCT?

Ponting is a SHAMELESS cricketer who has brought shame to the game of Cricket. He has the balls to say "It's disappointing and they are entitled to their opinion, but if you look back at the game I really can't see how we have done anything wrong by the spirit of the game".....when he ball in his hand touched the ground in front of him, and he was appealing after that!! HE SHOULD BE BANNED, just like Rashid Latif. Mice Procter is another A**hole because he had banned Latif for the same incident, but has no balls to ban Ponting.
What a shame these Aussies are to cricket! Even minnows like Kenya & Holland play cricket with more spirit than them...HAS ANYONE GOT THE GUTS TO PUNISH THEM AS A TEAM FOR THEIR CONDUCT?

Dear HariG and KrishP, Thanks for your comments. But, please note that getting emotional about the issue at this point in time does not really serve any purpose. Sacking Pawar or blaming the technology or blaming the Umpires (as all the major Indian dailies seem to have done) simply plays into the hands of the Australian media. The fact is that there is prima-facie evidence for match fixing by Ponting and Symonds, as has been pointed out in my previous comment, and in this hour of national importance,one must not let the Australian media divert the attention away from an investigation into this match fixing. Already some conciliatory suggestions are being made from the Australian media (e.g. Peter Roebuck) that Ponting should be sacked. But this again seems to be a ploy. After carefully considering the issue, I have come to the conclusion that the only appropriate response is to ban the entire Australian team for a year, for illegitimately trying the fix the outcome of a test match.

Ausralia won because they did not let any set backs get to them as much as the opposition. Thats what champion teams do, when something goes wrong they are annoyed but then shrug it off and get going again, this is what the indians didn't do. Yes they had a lot of bad decisions, the australians had some too albeit not as many and maybe not at crucial times. I have no problem with the way the teams played, and do believe that Australia had every right to appeal in those situations. I cannot see any valid arguement about Pontings catch on Dhoni, the replays showed the ball grazing the glove and with the dive ponting pulled off to catch it can anyone truly say that he did not believe he caught it cleanly in the heat of the moment. After seeing replays he might have something different to say now. I think everyone needs to grow up a bit and for india to work on there game instead of blaming others. Dravid scoring at such a slow rate din't help, neither were the other batting failures.

After carefully considering the issue, I have come to the conclusion that the only appropriate response is to ban the entire Australian team for a year, for illegitimately trying the fix the outcome of a test match (using unconventional methods like bringing untoward pressure on the umpires/match referee, exaggerated display of victimization through racial prejudice, etc). I understand that this is a huge proposal to ban the Australian team, but the evidence is overwhelming and I intend to make the case for it over the course of the next few days in my comments in various forums. Thank you.

Gilchrist is the biggest hypocrate to have played test cricket. He supposedly walks, though I am not sure if this is always the case, when he edges, but has no qualms about claiming edges that are literally a foot or two away from the bat and he has done it on a number of occasions.

I feel India should go home and send a strong message to Australians. If I was Kumble I would have walked off in during the 2nd match and give Aus the game and it would have had a question mark behind the win (16?)

Bogus green: That's what the pride of Australian cricket ought to be called given that Ponting turned this match into a bar brawl and shagged, mutilated, and ground into dust the baggy green. Maybe India ought to have a bouncer on field in Perth, just to throw out miscreants like him.

I admit if Harbhajan did it then he was wrong to call Symonds a monkey given his racial background. But don't you think it would be a great honor for Symonds if all monkeys all over the world were named Symonds? Hmmm, something to ponder over.

Firstly, to set the context, I am an Indian supporter and I have had a happy life so far (no childhood problems to speak of which would lead to extreme cynicism). However, in the background of all that has gone on with Bhajji and Bucknor co, there is one thing that I would like to point out - If you lose 3 wickets in 5 balls to a bowler of Michael Clarke's quality (or the lack, thereof), you really should'nt be complaining. If Clarke really is good enough to get his 6-9 at Mumbai (Ok, you give the benefit of doubt to the wicket there) or his 3 wickets here, no Aussie would be worried about the future of spin sans Warne. Yes, the umpiring decisions were horrendous and I hope something gets done about it, but Bhajji should'nt be playing the remaining test matches (ban or no ban), and seriously any test batsman - even a no. 11 - should hang himself in shame for getting out to Clarke when all you need to do is bat out 6 balls to save the game.

Captain has to set an example. If a captain tries to cheat he should be punished more because is misleading the team. Ponting tried to cheat once by claiming a catch when he grounded the ball and then cheated by saying Clarke caught the ball fairly. There was a similar event whic happened between in Sept 2003. The ICC match referee Mike Procter had banned Pakistani captain Rashid Latif for five one-day internationals by for unfair play during the third and final cricket Test against Bangladesh in Multan on Sept 2003. Latif claimed a catch on the third day of the third Test against Bangladesh in Multan but television replays showed he dropped the ball while tumbling on the ground. Procters comment ``As captain a lot of responsibility falls on Rashid Latif and he committed a serious offence by claiming that (unfair) catch which constitutes unfair play and a level-three offence of ICC code of conduct (offensive and penalties)".
Doesnt this hold good now for Ponting?

SK - you say that players given not out when they are out is easy to calculate. It's not, actually.

If Symonds had been given out on 30, then Hogg would have had a different mindset, as would have Lee, Johnson and Clark. They arrive at the wicket at different times, facing different bowlers with the ball in different condition. They have different opportunities to get set and go on. It's not as simple as you suggest. The only time it is truly that simple is a player incorrectly given not ot when a side is 9 wickets down.

India got the worst collection of umpires decisions I have seen in one match - but that is no reason to racially vilify Symonds. Nor is it reason to question the integrity of Ricky Ponting on some vague, trumped up and ultimately petty accusations.

Someone's lying that's for sure. But who? Nobody knows. Everyone in India thinks it's Symonds, everyone in Australia thinks it's Singh.

Let's give them both a polygraph test and charge the TV stations millions to air it.

What is the best course of action for India, fight the battle on the pitch, or surrender to calls to go home?

If the team comes home then they will always be suspected of fearing an unsuccessful outcome in Perth.

Furthermore the ICC may deal with India harshly by ostracising them from future events. If this occurs there may be a breakaway of Asian teams.

I think India should quell her emotions and show that they have integrity where they think the Australians have none.

To go home now would be to imitate the gutless sportsmanship they have decried, the kind they have labelled the Australians with.

The Indians feel like they are getting unfairly persecuted on the field and in the hearing room. But are not the Australians are getting persecuted in the media.

Someone's lying that's for sure. But who? Nobody knows. Everyone in India thinks it's Symonds, everyone in Australia thinks it's Singh.

Let's give them both a polygraph test and charge the TV stations millions to air it.

What is the best course of action for India, fight the battle on the pitch, or surrender to calls to go home?

If the team comes home then they will always be suspected of fearing an unsuccessful outcome in Perth.

Furthermore the ICC may deal with India harshly by ostracising them from future events. If this occurs there may be a breakaway of Asian teams.

I think India should quell her emotions and show that they have integrity where they think the Australians have none.

To go home now would be to imitate the gutless sportsmanship they have decried, the kind they have labelled the Australians with.

The Indians feel like they are getting unfairly persecuted on the field and in the hearing room. But are not the Australians are getting persecuted in the media?

This is to all those who are saying "India is just finding faults with umpiring decisions and trying to hide the fact that they are not a good enough team."

First, understand that our Indian team has not sent any statement for our loss. A loss is a loss, we accept it. But Kumble has said rightly, "Only one team played in the spirit of the game". This is the point, that needs to be discussed. Please do not divert the point. I strongly agree that India put up a better show in Sydney, and i am satisfied with it. Let the loss be the loss. No complaints !

But, Indian team has all the rights to complain about the spirit of the game and that is what Kumble did. Does anyone who says "India is not a good team and deserves to lose" has replies for this ?

Even Bangladesh beats Aussies in one fine day. So, don't blame India for Sydney match. Our team played well and I will support them.

My take is NFL style 3 incorrect challanges (is it what they do in tennis too?). It means if your challange was correct you don't get docked.

Basically people want to see a fair game. Unlike the past, these days tens of millions of TV viewers are watching a bad decision being made LIVE (feelings intensify at crucial junctures). Whereas on-field play just resumes with millions knowing a wrong decision was just made. It's a bit of farce. It makes the game less attractive.

other misc comments- 'trust but verify'- Ronald Reagan:). Nobody walks. Accept it's a professional sport, lets administer it like professionals. Indians shouldn't trust Aust. and vice versa. Lets have tech verification. It'll be a improvement.

Also I read these other comments about 'high-flying' and 'too much celebrating'. huh?? It's their right to express whichever way they want. If it offends you, ask yourself why does it bother me? (oh and then don't post it here :-))

It did not need a World class Professional umpire to give Symonds out caught behind with his score at 31 and Dravid given Not out when his bat was no where near the ball. Symonds was out first ball he faced with Kumble on hat trick. Buckner gave these against India. Beneficiary Symonds to the tune of 190 runs in 2 innings + Dravid's playing out 72 overs in the second. In fact if Symonds was given out to a clear caught behind, Australia would have been dismissed for less than 200 in the first and India may have won by an innings.Was Buckner Bias towards Symonds racially motivated? Most likely.
Actions required:
1. India call off the tour if Buckner is not sacked from Perth Test and Harbhajan ban is not lifted.
2. Sydney test results be annuled to make the series more meaningful.
3. Tennis type of 3 challenge rule be introduced
4. Each confirmed sledging should involve a fine of 10% match fee.
5. ICC take full blame for wrong Umpires selected

Captain has to set an example. If a captain tries to cheat he should be punished more because is misleading the team. Ponting tried to cheat once by claiming a catch when he grounded the ball and then cheated by saying Clarke caught the ball fairly. There was a similar event whic happened between in Sept 2003. The ICC match referee Mike Procter had banned Pakistani captain Rashid Latif for five one-day internationals by for unfair play during the third and final cricket Test against Bangladesh in Multan on Sept 2003. Latif claimed a catch on the third day of the third Test against Bangladesh in Multan but television replays showed he dropped the ball while tumbling on the ground. Procters comment ``As captain a lot of responsibility falls on Rashid Latif and he committed a serious offence by claiming that (unfair) catch which constitutes unfair play and a level-three offence of ICC code of conduct (offensive and penalties)".
Doesnt this hold good now for Ponting?

I am aghast that no one has explored the match fixing angle as of yet. ICC should have already started investigating this angle, considering the umpiring errors, which seem to be deliberate rather than in error. Even a schoolboy can make better judgements. Is it the standard of umpiring we expect in international matches and that too from so called anti-Indian neutral umpires?

What was the match referee/3rd umpire doing when all these obvious umpiring errors were being made again and again? Why can't they act like they did when Kevin Pieterson was wrongly adjudged out and then called back?

Who is more racist when all umpiring errors (99%) go against sub-continent teams; When all white players (mostly Australian) always escape punishment for their bad behaviours and non-whites are severely punished?

why has Symonds/Aussies not been pulled up for constant sledging (read abusing)? If racism is wrong, what makes sledging/abusing right?

The Australian cricket team has been cheating to win games since the infamous "underarm" ball against the Kiwi's years ago. Look at any other cricket match in the world where the Aussies aren't playing. Bowlers bowl a good line and length, Batsmen play shots, not just wave the bat at the ball, and low and behold, most cricketers can actually field, unless it's against Australia. Of course these 2 series are bent toward Australia winning and getting the new record, who would think otherwise? Ricky Ponting is a farce, Tait is a chucker, but his action isn't under review is it?, the rules were changed to "help" Shane Warne, the list goes on. My advice to the Indian team, guys your great players, I'd love the chance to see you play, but go home, go play a new series against a team that wants to play the game, win or loose, not an arrogant bunch of ***** who will lie, cheat and deceive to win. Best of luck Harbi,and Andrew Symonds does look like a monkey with that stupid sunscreen on.

In terms of a solution, ICC should remove the Sydney test records and ask BCCI and Cricket Australia to treat the series as 3-test. Given the farcical nature of the events, that game does not deserve the honour of a test match.

Well, I don't know where to start. I can't believe people are not agreeing with you on this. I'll explain the match. If it wasn't for the "Australian Cheating" on the last day, India could have drawn the test and if it wasn't the "umpiring BLUNDeRS" India might have even won this match. & It's unbelievable that ponting snapped at a journalist for pointing out the truth (and doing his job). Ricky stop finding excuses and start taking responsibility and may be learn to accept failure. I can't come to terms that for the best cricket team in the world, the leader is the biggest coward.

The real reason India got close to a draw was because Gilchrist had a shocker. Even though I don't believe in using technology, it will benefit the superior team, ie Australia.

Think about it, the better batsman gives away fewer opportunities and the better bowler creates more. Get them all 100% "right" and it moves Australia further ahead. Be careful what you wish for Indian fans.

Good teams take setbacks and use them to improve. Imagine if technology had allowed Australia to keep the ashes in 2005 by ruling Kasper not out? There would have been no 5-0 whitewash last year.

Will India go home and hire the best coaching talent, train singlemindedly, unite behind their team, get rid of the dead wood in the players.. and be ready to thrash Australia on a home pitch in 2 years?...... I'll leave that to the Indian supporters to imagine what will really happen.

And as to Ponting, grace is defeat is easy, grace in victory harder, not immediately shaking Kumble's hand was disgraceful.

It was great test match. India fought very well till the end, but they lost. It must have felt to the players that it was a contest between 15 Australians to 9 Indian players. Umpires helped,Sad but true. Win Streak should be 16*.
Australia is a very talented team, but time and again they have shown that they are very poor losers. No one likes to lose, but every time Australians are challenged they start acting like bunch of cry babies. Go back and check the history of every test match they were challenged in, and you will see tons of complaining done by Aussies in every one of them.
Regarding the Bhajji controversy, if he called Symonds a monkey it is shame on him. I remember last time India toured Australia, one of the Channel 9 commentator was calling Matthew Hayden a "Big Gorrilla". Surprisingly an Australian calling another Australian "Gorrilla", didn't bother anyone.
Ponting you are a very fine player, but after this Test Match I think you are a disgrace to the Game. No Ethics

hey india, pack your bags and get the hell out of this country. your disgusting attitude and conduct is not wanted here. you are hyproctical, weak-spined, whingeing and racist to name a few. you call into question how we played the game in the wrong spirit, ha, how about when harbajan got ponting out and nearly ran into the stands and tried to do 2 somersaults which were as pathetic as india's top order. and then when shanti came out to bat at the end he mistakenly brought out 2 left hand gloves, no doubt he was told to by a senior player. take a look at yourselves india, and stop relying on the big bad BCCI to bail you out ,just because they have a bit of money they think they run world cricket. i think not. i admit there were some very bad decisions but you are taught from a young age to accept officials decisions and get on with the game, and to call roy a monkey and try to get away with it, well that just opens up a free for all in perth and trust me, they wont be nice

@derrida derider

Oh stop this nonsense! Now I shall say that Hussey also was out lbw early in his innings (ball that stayed low and was going for leg stump) against Kumble (not a big turner). But hey, he scored a big century. Symmo should have been given out in Kumble's hat-trick ball (similar ball as the one to which RP Singh got out)

No matter how you cut it, umpiring was definitely not fair. And don't take the high ground here. God knows what the Aussie reaction would have been if the tables had been turned.

I agree with Shailendra - ICC should take a page out of the NFL's rule-book. Each team is allowed to challenge the on-field ruling a certain number of times. If the ruling is overturned, they get an extra appeal. If the ruling stands, the number of appeals available is deducted by 1. I would set the number of allowable appeals to 3 per innings.

More importantly, it is the support staff which should have the call because they have access to technology. A challenge has to be issued before the batsman exits the playing arena or before the next delivery is bowled.

Obivously, with limited appeals and the fact that decisions are made by support staff, this system cannot be abused by incessant on-field appealing.

On-field umpires would definitely be required for adjudicating no-balls, wides and absurdly obvious decisions. But as a cricket fan, I would prefer that the right decision be made by technology instead of protecting the umpires' role for the sake of past traditions. See next

you indians are a pack of cry babies

anil kumble should be sacked as captain for being such a cry baby, i dont care if india cry like babies and go home

what about the 1st test australia were denied 5 lbws

in this test ricky pointing was given out to a inside edge,brett lee was given out to a shocking decision and sachin tendulkar should have been out lbw twice in two overs when michael clarke was bowling when he was 40 odd in the first innings.

india buckled under pressure in the 4th innings and couldnt last 70 overs thats why they lost, they should accept they buckled under pressure instead of carrying on like cry babies.

boo hoo we was robbed,mukul your a cry baby.

india should be ashamed of its cricket team we got a one or two bad decisions so were going to act like cry babies, pack up our bat and ball and go home.

harbajahn should cop his ban on the chin,india should stop acting like cry babies and get back on the field so we can beat them 4-0.

To continue my previous post, the other issue I have is with the stump microphone.

I hear that TV channels are apprehensive of airing uncensored player interaction live (which in itself should tell you something about the quality of the conversations).

To avoid this, make a special feed of the microphone, available uncensored to the match referee. Since most of the sledging is around the stumps, at least the referee would have recourse to evidence on the spot.

Technology is the only answer to solve most of cricket's problems related to umpiring.

Mukul,I thought if the captains had agreed to play by the spirits of the game, Andrew Symonds should have walked rather than waiting for umpire to give the decision. There is no point being honest to the press afterwards and claiming ‘I was out’.

Just add to the sledging issue can anyone remember how Glenn Mcgrath got away without a scratch after calling Sanath Jayasuriya a 'black monkey'.

I am sure there are more than one rule book for ICC referees.

The thing is that Aussie arrogance makes them believe that they are too smart. By making the big deal out of non-issue of he said she said, they are burying the real issue, ie. that of bad/fixed umpiring and undoubted favoritism to Australia.
Bucknor (and 3rd umpire, remember the replays) needs to be investigated, as the decisions are too fishy to be called coincidences.
BTW, Bucknors eyes were perfectly fine in the first test when Aussies were winning conclusively. It started deteriorating when Australia was in trouble on 2nd test 1st day.

India can avoid a 4-0 whitewash by going home. Or it can show true grit & character by winning a remaining test against all odds. We know how history is likely to veiw both actions. C'mon India you have the chance to write history tomorrow. DONT RUN AWAY!

on
M Verghese,Queensland,says:I am writing after giving this issue much thought. I am a senior physician working in Australia. Having worked overseas for most of my career, most Indian professionals here are familiar with similar unfair tactics and 'mental disintegration'(to use Steve Waugh's favourite term) techniques in the face of honest competition. In other words, when the going gets tough, it appears the Aussies don't get going -- rather get desperate to denigrate outsiders. 1. There seems to be a distinct lack of respect towards the Indian board (BCCI) and players in the media of Australia and NZ. Only yesterday, it was asked 'should a game be controlled by subcontinental powers?' (obviously still an overhang of the colonial era) 2. I am surprised by the comments of Brett Lee against Harbajhan and he was on TV saying there should be a ban as there is no place for racism etc. The Australian Players Association has wholeheartedly suppported a ban for Harbhajan. The same players

a few things that need to be aired...

1. Bad umpiring is just that. Deal with the problem by asking for more training, better use of technology, a larger pool of umpires, etc but NEVER EVER QUESTION THE UMPIRES' INTEGRITY! Shame on you. Do you realise that by saying these two umpires are biased that you are accusing all umpires on the elite panel of the same - including those that India has provided?

2. Aus were not the only team to get beneficial decisions! Ok yes there may have been a few really bad ones... but rather than focus your collective minds on how hard done by your team is - look at the bigger picture and wonder if it is a worldwide lack of quality umpires or alternatively just a consistent human element in cricket (Kaspa in the 2005 Ashes springs to mind! as does sub-continent umpiring before neutral umpires was introduced)

Cry all you like and find excuses too.... but what will help is playing better and winning. Simple really.

why didnt you post my other post? cant handle the truth, ill summarise it again.

to whinge you were robbed, robs yourself of killer instinct and the right to win anything ever.

england 2007 the whole reason you won the series is cause of bucknor giving you a extremely bad desicion with sreesanth

did you whinge then? did england as much as this?

australia vs england 2005 - we lost the series because of a bad desicion against lee when we needed 2 runs to win.

did we whinge?

no, we said you had to be a tougher team than to let bad desicions alter you, we went away, fixed our shed and then broke england down to a 5-0 whitewash when they toured.

your whinging and only throwing up your hands at ill fair treatment when it happens to you and not admitting it goes for you as well (sreesanth england 2007) is utter hypocricy and why you will NEVER be champions (well untill you learn to take the good with the bad at least)

Writing as a neutral fan. Umpires were a scared of Aus and done their best that Aus dont loose the test. If that wasn't cheating than cheating doesn't exist. It's very easy to talk about past games and discuss when the 'odd ' decision changed the outcome of the match. In a five test series the amount of key decisions going against a team once series completed , some how happened in the SCG against India in one test. There a quality batsmen in both sides, if they are going to be allowed three innings in any test, than you expect a century from them i.e Symmomds. Aus batted poorly in both inning but managed very high scores, thanks to one way umpiring.

If these umpires were umpiring e.g India playing away in Bangladesh , they would be good umpires beacuse what they turned down that was so obvious , they would have given out. I watch so much cricket involving other series, honestly hand on my heart this puts me off watching this game.

Day light robbery thats what happend.

If we just consider the game, it was a good game of cricket. But if we talk about the other things that count .. it was a shame for the "gentlemen's game" ... To all the aussie's who have shouted loud here ... 6 (to say the least) decisions against India that too when they mattered the most, what are you Aussie's talking about guys? Moreover, Do Aussie's have anything called 'behavior'? World's number 1 team in not just the game of cricket, #1 in sledging, #1 is crying out loud when someone gives their own dose of medicine, #1 in spolisport. Pointing (an excellent batsman of the time) stands so low when he appeals for a catch which he has landed (all those who play cricket know whether the fielder would realize it or not). What an example set by Idiot Benson, he asks the Aussie captain (who wants to equal the record of Steve Waugh) whether Saurav is out or not? From now on let's have the Fielding Captain as thrid umpire. Excellent choice.

Trust these guys to make a mountain of every molehill. I guess its to cover up the fact that they are sure they'll lose and have their excuses ready. Recently in the SA-WI test Kallis was given out caught behind off his arm ( a la Sangakkara) but a big deal wasnt made off it. And if anyone forgets Australia lost the 2005 Ashes cus of a bad decision. India won the 2007 series in England cus of a bad decision. But a cpl of things go against India and the whiners come out. Now would be a great time to be an effigy salesman in India though. Would make millions. I would really appreciate it if this was posted. I see a lot of inflamatory Anti Aus comments and mine are hardly that provocative. Lastly, those saying that the "world" is out to get India...yeah right....the ICC wants to alienate and infuriate their largest fanbase (rolls eyes). makes as much sense as those saying that the NBA favors the spurs.

Congratulations to all of Indian Cricket - you have signed your death warrant. I would not want to be an opener for India in Perth a few days hence! Griping like this is the best way to ensure the Aussies will do you like a dinner! And just before you start - I am from NZ.

I am not sure whether I'm repeating what Roebuck has said. I also feel that CA should sack Ponting and suspend Clarke (a repeat offender only recently). This is to uphold the honour of the gentlemen's agreement between captains on claimed catches.

Complaints into Harbhajan and Hogg's alleged abuse have to be resolved correctly. If Harbhajan is absolved for whatever reason, Proctor should be sacked publically by M Speed.

Both boards should agree to adopt TV referrals for caught behinds. Bucknor should be replaced. Match fines should be given to those who don't walk (rather than wait for the umpire) when they have edged a catch.

ICC should ensure that umpiring is indeed fulfilling its functions and principles:
1) Rule of neutrality of umpiring, as shown by OUTCOMES.
2) Principles about avoiding gross harm to a player and team on grounds of race.
3) Reduce the scope of match-fixing via the umpires.

I am not sure whether I'm repeating what Roebuck has said. I also feel that CA should sack Ponting and suspend Clarke (a repeat offender only recently). This is to uphold the honour of the gentlemen's agreement between captains on claimed catches.

Complaints into Harbhajan and Hogg's alleged abuse have to be resolved correctly. If Harbhajan is absolved for whatever reason, Proctor should be sacked publically by M Speed.

Both boards should agree to adopt TV referrals for caught behinds. Bucknor should be replaced. Match fines should be given to those who don't walk (rather than wait for the umpire) when they have edged a catch.

ICC should ensure that umpiring is indeed fulfilling its functions and principles:
1) Rule of neutrality of umpiring, as shown by OUTCOMES.
2) Principles about avoiding gross harm to a player and team on grounds of race.
3) Reduce the scope of match-fixing via the umpires.

Why Indian Team is still in Australia and not back to India after this Ricky Ponting and 2 Jokers made the mockery out of Great game of Cricket at Sydney. I would rather be asking this question to BCCI and mainly to Sharad Pawar, if he doesn't have any dignity for India then he should be shacked. If you let other people walk over you, they will and they did.

Ricky Ponting is proving himself more and more disgrace to the game of Cricket, and young generation are learning from him on how to cheat and win.

If you say ponting was just acting as a captain should have.....and as did Greg Chappell(Under arm bowling).Then Harold Larwood should be crowned the greatest captain of all time.Was Chappell given a similar ban?Even in that match umpiring was faricial and biased.Aussies dont have Moral authority even if they ever did to tell Ponting was a Sport...

yes, they (Indians) were robbed by Aussie. I'm totally agreeing with Mukul. The same scenario happened when Sri lanka was here at Perth, where Aussies successfully appealed and forced umpire Rudi K. to raise his finger to get ridof Kumar Sangakara.

Hi Mukul,
Though I agree with you,
I notice that lately you are mixing two separate issues in one article and get people to fight which one was chicken and which one was egg sort of.
The reason india lost was both due to their lack of dedication and also potentially due to bad umpiring, but these two should be treated as separate issues. Any good team can screw up but the way India lost the game deserves a separate viewpoint on for instance your take on Yuvraj as a testplayer and reshuffling the whole order for him versus any good team could loose if faced with such a ludicrous level of umpiring.
Are you doing this just to get more traffic and heated arguments to your blog?
You are better than that :-)

Wel said Mukul, you Indians get our 100% support and we request Arjuna Ranathunga to rethink about upcoming tri nation series in Aus. if Indians called off their tour.

I hears ICC implementing new rules:1) Ricky Ponting – (THE TRULY GENUINE CRICKETER OF THE CRICKET ERA AND WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED ) should be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE. As per the new rules, FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken by any other umpires. ON-FIELD umpires can seek the assistance of RICKY PONTING even if he is not on the field. This rule is to be made, so that every team should understand the importance of the FOURTH UMPIRE .(2) While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed. Any decision for further clarification should be seeked from the FOURTH UMPIRE. This is made to ensure that the cricket is played with SPORTIVE SPIRIT by all the teams.(continue next post).

Some of the new rules planned by ICC. PUN intended

-Ricky Ponting (CRICKETER WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED) will be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE.FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken.

- While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed.

- While BATTING, AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat).

- All AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as it will spoil the spirit of the game. Any comments made are RACISM only.

-MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the aussie TEAM advice only. Player views from the other teams will not be considered for hearing

Some of the new rules planned by ICC. PUN intended

-Ricky Ponting (CRICKETER WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED) will be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE.FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken.

- While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed.

- While BATTING, AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat).

- All AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as it will spoil the spirit of the game. Any comments made are RACISM only.

-MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the aussie TEAM advice only. Player views from the other teams will not be considered for hearing

(3) While BATTING, AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat). Each AUSTRALIAN batsman has to be out FOUR TIMES (minimum) before he can return to the pavilion. In case of THE CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY, this can be higher.
(4) UMPIRES should consider a huge bonus if an AUSTRALIAN player scores a century. Any wrong decisions can be ignored as they will be paid huge bonus and will receive the backing of the AUSTRALIAN team and board.

(5) All AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as they will be spoiling the spirit of the AUSTRALIAN team. Any comments made in any other language are to be considered as RACIALISM only. (continue next post..3 more rules.)

last 3,(6) MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the AUSTRALIAN TEAM advices only. Player views from the other teams decisions will not be considered for hearing. MATCH REFREES are to be given huge bonus if this rule is implemented.(7) NO VISITING TEAM should plan to win in AUSTRALIA. This is to ensure that the sportive spirit of CRICKET is maintained.
(8) THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE : If any bowler gets RICKY PONTING - "THE UNDISPUTED CRICKETER WITH INTEGTIRY IN THE GAME OF CRICKET" more than twice in a series, he will be banned for the REST OF THE SERIES. This is to ensure that the best batsman/Captain will be played to break records and create history in the game of CRICKET.
These rules will clarify better to the all the teams VISITING AUSTRALIA .

SHAME on Ponting. Indians always felt Bill Lawry was worst captain ever to visit Indian shores (1969 tour),(We always refer him even today in our chat about him as Auzuguni Lawry in Tamil, means cribbing/unsporting Lawry)Ponting has put Lawry way behind. Lawry will redeem himself now in Indian hearts. Yes, we love Lawry's commentary, he is the best no doubt, loved on that here.
Karthik.

Mukul,
I think you are right! Australia has been one team that received the most favors from umpires than any other team. And ofcourse in the Sydney test, to see so many decisions go against a visiting team, the match has had the right ending - Australian win - instead of a draw if not an Indian win (which would be more likely had Symonds been given out). A single batsman given chance after chance, and scoring 160 partnering a total of 300+ for the last few wickets? 2 bad decisions in the last innings as well! How much more should a team try to compete? And on top of everything, Ponting who showed great character in Dravid's catch being unsure, turned it around completely by appealing Dhoni's catch even after he grounded the ball (please keep in mind he is blatantly saying it was a catch to the media and his integrity, sound). Add Clark's standing his ground after his golden duck edge and later claiming surety of Ganguly's catch. A win is a win not matter what but no one can d

Not too long ago India won all their home matches
with biased umpiring = which was probably why neutral umpires came into cricket. Ask Sunny Gavaskar, at least a half dozen of his centuries are a result of favourable decisions - walking of with the team is also a speciality to Gavaskar and imitated by Arjuna and Inzi so who are the spoilt sports - India are the biggest cry babies in cricket and like they are bullying their neighbours they are tring to bully the ICC - It is fashionable and lucrative to support India and many writers including the so called dirty ozies also support them - as for Baji he should join Yuvraj in bollywood - he called Symonds a monkey and Proctor knows it and imposed the ban - What India would ideally like is to have all umpires and match referees from India and they will be the top cricketing nation - Indian Umpire Sharma lifted the finger on Jadega in an ODI and when he stood his ground scratched his head and said he did not lift his finger -

As an Australian, I am embarrassed by Ponting's comments here. But there are several issues at stake, and it's important to separate them.
1) Very few batsmen walk in international cricket. Not walking is normal behaviour.
2) Harbhajan Singh's racist comment, if made, is not acceptable. The match referee is neutral.
3) The umpiring: a disgrace that robbed India of a draw. But not Australia's fault directly.
4) The catches claimed by Ponting off Dhoni and by Clarke off Ganguly: the real problem, allied to the win-at-all-costs attitude that made for ugly viewing. Unforgivable.

India can feel aggrieved at numbers 3 and 4. Australia need to correct the 4th; I agree with Peter Roebuck (the first time) that Ponting must be sacked. Burning effigies leaves me a little unoomfortable, but there are few greater problems in today's world than a Sydney Test match.

India looks in the mirror. Do you walk, no? Do your fans hold up racist signs and taint the game with racist behavior yes. The underlying question is did the turbinator say monkey to Simmons. If he did then he is a racist and should not only be banned from a few matches but the Indian team should drop him. Yes their were bad umpiring decisions and more decisions went in Australians favor but sooking and scrapping the next game is a soft way out. Why not tell ponting that you are unhappy and sort your problems out man to man instead of winging. Incidences like these show that India is still indeed a third world country with burning effigies and alike. You are the disgrace and if the match was a draw would the controversy continue no. It’s just a game. You lost this time but next time the umpires may give you the decisions you want. India play outside the spirit of the game too if you think appealing for clear not outs is concerned because look at some of the LBW shout

Have the Bookies latched onto the Umpires now ?

Trouble with this aussie team is that they are chasing their own shadows. They are good....aspiring for agreatness that they don't have....trying to have people give them the tag of the greatest team that played the game.....they think it is bt woinning non authoritatively that they get this. Being childish as they are with no perspective of history they are simply trying to win hook or by crook. Such a stark contrast to the West inidians under Llyod and Richards or the aussie team under steve waugh. This a rowdy group bringing down the game and whining how great they are!!! what a bunch of jokers!!!!

Ponting and his goons dont deserve any respect. Its shame that umpires and match referee find fault with Indian team member. Why do umpiring mistakes always cost India? WHy not Aussies get bad decisions?Well this looks like racial discrimination to me.
If there is any shame left in Indians, they should force the advertisers to pay millions to these Aussies and shame on you s***s who run behind Brett lee.

if the umpiring was as a result of a conspiracy - can someone please explain. Who want to see australia dominate so emphatically that a test series is over at the halfway point. Ltes see - cricket australia, hmm, im sure they would have preferred the indians to win the sydney test - the perth test then would heave been sold out.
Icc, well, at the moment the domination by australia is "killing test cricket", so Im pretty sure the icc would like to see australia go down.
the umpires - im sure they are sick of teh aussies as much as everyone else is and would like them to cop a serve...
so much for conspiracies.
the umpiring was bad, sorry woefull, but not premeditated as so many are calling it

India won this game on several counts. It was high time someone questioned the ethic, the moral and the integrity of these so called tough but childish blokes from down under.

It was time someone told them they were not as great as they thought they were.....that somehow great and class are inseperable.

It was time someone made Ponting introspect.....that they leave no legacy worth a sniff in the annals of cricket. A talented bunch, not great enough to be called great and, at the end of the day simply did not succeed in shoving that drivel down anyone's throat. it was their's to lick.....off their own soil.

Don't believe me...ask any Aussie worth his weight in gold.....he knows he lost his moral high ground....how does oiit feel to be fragile???

Toughness dear Ponting is not childish obsessiveness. In the end , it's I who the fan who places the astreisk or not against your legacy!

The Australian team is not responsible for the umpiring, so why are people blaming them for the umpires mistakes?

Yes. Those mistakes probably changed the result of the match. Just like mistakes by umpires in every country have done since the game was first played.

There is not a single cricket fan in India or Australia who is not aware that calling Symonds a monkey breaches the ICC Anti-Racism Code, so anyone who does so deserves to have the book thrown at them.

Yes. Australians are abusive on the field and I wish they weren't. I think they need to grow up. I'm actually surprised that "Bastard" was the worst epithet thrown at the Indians over the last week - that's practically a term of affection. Clearly that is not appropriate in the Indian cultural context, (although it does seem a bit tit-for-tat) and needs to be stamped out.

The best response that India could have is to come out and win the next Test. Spitting the dummy won't achieve anything.

(Face) Off
Indians and Australians had a taste of their own medicine. Indians by showing fake aggression and Australians by showing hideous face. May be, they should exchange their faces back.

Bad umpiring has yet again reined what could have been a great contest. I am especially perplexed by the decision of umpire Mark Benson to give Sourave Ganguly out by referring to Australian captain Ricky Ponting instead of the third umpire after Michael Clark took a questionable catch. This is just one example of what turned out the be a test match riddled by incompetent umpiring which has unfortunate become a recurring theme for visiting teams playing in Australia. Incompetent umpiring must be addressed by the ICC but is unlikely to occur due to the fact that Australia greats often make up the ICC such as Malcolm speed the CEO of the ICC and Richie Benaud who unfortunately can not help making decisions that favour the Australian side.

Cricket was a loser because of the aussie attitude. BCCI is known to be spineless and they will let the tour continue. If the Indian players really stand by Harbhajan they should throw away their wickets in the next two test matches and also in the one dayers. India should face only a total of 10 balls and they should lose all their 10 wickets. When they do bowl, they should not attempt to take any Aussie wickets. All Indian fielders can stand on the boundary line and give the aussies a free hit to the boundary and the indian fielders can just return the ball back to the bowlers. The indian bowlers should not be steaming in but rather just take a couple of steps and lob the ball towards the Aussie batsman. What better way to protest the injustice meted out than turn the game into a comical farce. BCCI will not lose millions by pulling out and Aussie cricket lovers will suffer for the arrogant attitude of their cricket team. Ofcourse Ponting and his men will still celebrate the Victory.

Ricky Ponting said he had taken MS Dhoni's catch cleanly in reply to Mr. Rajaram's question in press conference.
Apart from whatever else has happened in this test match, this is the biggest lie. I cannot belive a man takes a catch and does not know he had taken it cleanly or not
Mr. Ponting forget everything else this incident shows u dont have any shred of sportsmanship. If u made a mistake accept it fair and square.
They are the best team in the world,but that is not the case in fair play and sportsmanship. By claming a catch he had grounded he breached the agreement he had with AnilKumble and Mr. Ponting is now asking what the fuss is all about.
Gilchrist says eh walks everytime he thinks he is out but that does not apply when he is a wicketkeeper bcos he can appeal for a nonexistent catch of Dravid. I think as per australian captain and vice captain, sportmanship,fair play and honesty comes into play only when it suits them and is in their teams interest.

Having read this blog and most of these comments on it, I sat in stunned silence trying to digest something unpalatable. Apparently all umpirers when standing in Australian matches in Australia are placed under some Aboriginal hex. The result is that they are forced to deliver poor decisions bordering on them cheating to assist the Australian team to victory. India were without doubton the recieving end of some poor decisions from the umpires. On that point we agrees, but to streach it to the point of conspiracy is farcical. I feel that the laws of this game are very clear in stating that "if in the opinion of the umpire" or that players are required to accept the umpires decision. This term has even spilled over to evryday language. So why don't India accept that they got poor decisions and just move on. Most other countries do. Or does this country consider that the laws of the game not apply to them if they choose them not to. Toughen up or take your bat & go home.

I keep reading that Ricky Ponting's catch off Dhoni in the second innings was not a catch because, as this article puts it "the ball in his hand hit the ground as he completed his dive". Can someone explain to me which part of the law determines it was not a catch (Law 32 is for catches)? He caught the ball before it hit the ground and did not lose control of it upon hitting the ground making it a legitimate catch as I read the law.
Having said that even as an Australian supporter I was disappointed by the outcome of the test, it was not a fair result. The Indian cricketers deserved better and both umpires should be dropped with immediate effect for their performance.
I do object to all those who say this only happens in Australia though, how quickly we forget the 2005 Ashes or the series in India in 2001.
There is definitely a bit of Aussie bashing going on here.

India are the worst loosers only Austrailia comes close to them as bitter loosers.
It is funny to see the two most arrogant countries bash each other when we all Non-Indians and Non-Austrailias have seen both countries at there worst. Both countries have more racist people than all of the other cricket playing nations put together.
But one must say the way India always complains after loosing is pathetic. A certain India Vs Sri Lanka semifinal comes to mind!
Like Lehmann accepted his charge on racial abuse Vs Srl why cant Harbajan for once accept his mistake and apologize.
Is India the only country to loose due to bad umpiring? Do you know how many countries have lost in India inlcuding Sri Lanka due to bad umpiring by extremly biased Indian Umpires?
SrL lost the 2nd test in their last series against Aus by just 80 odd runs due to a really bad umpiring mistake against Sangakkara did we whine like you guys? It is a game get over it Indians move on! Be more graceful in defeat!

There was nothing wrong in umpire Mark Benson asking Aussie captain and close-in fielder, Ricky Ponting whether Michael Clarke caught the ball nicked by Sourav Ganguly cleanly. Things were less correct when Ricky Ponting gestured to the umpire that Ganguly was out, as the ball touched the ground as Clarke rolled over in the process of completing the catch, as is there for the world to see, thanks to the fly camera footage. Things were “absolutely not on”, as Sunil Gavaskar has commented, when Benson took Ponting’s verdict as sacrosanct, especially when there was the Third Umpire waiting to be helped by a technology-generated conclusive proof to rule in Ganguly’s favour. Had there been in any doubt, the decision had to be made in favour of the party against whom the appeal was made—in this case the batsman.

Only if the International Cricket Council can stop making a fool of itself before the entire cricketing fraternity, which is on the rise by every passing second.

Both teams have over reacted here. Yes the umpiring was a bit ordinary but consider the Aussie team going for 16 wins on the trot and the background to the last tour to India with the good hearted racism slur. Shake hands and move on. (And bat out both innings)

"Call this "MIND-LINE SERIES" - Send a ‘Second’ Indian Eleven

The turn of events in this crisis is unpredictable. If the situation so demands that a. India should continue with the tour, b. the eleven players who played in the Sydney test do not take any further part in test cricket coinciding with Bhajji’s ban; the BCCI may consider playing a second Indian Eleven for the reminder of this test series and one more test later to fill the gap due to Bhajji’s ban. May be India’s second eleven may prove to be a match to the Aussies on the field in a fair game of cricket!

Y G Sivaram, Hyderabad

Can't see, can't hear Bucknor has had a history of giving wrong decisions particularly against India. The Sydney test looks like a case of Official Match Fixing. When we look at the shockers the umpires handed out, there's really no other conclusion that can be drawn. Then there is the charge against Harbhajan. This test degenerated into a total farce. There is a case for this test's results being annulled. Because of official ineptness, one team lost. If ICC can penalise players, why let umpires who lose the confidence of players be allowed to go scot free? The sad part is that there is no consequence Bucknor or Benson have to face for being so incompetent.

Yep you were dudded.

Hopefully you will have two more opportunities to have a reply, if the childish emotions don't get out of hand.

Surely the ICC can afford to have more senior umpires so that if one or both have shockers they can be replaced. Or perhaps rotate them after each match.

I'd personally like to see CA also ask for Mr Bucknor to be replaced.

After the fiasco with the light issue at the WC I thought some should have been sacked.

ya sure ter's no need of staying ter anymore. We indians had self respect must never lose tat at any point of time. When Aussies started cheating their decline started.

It is happening when visiting teams play Australia. Umpire errors to the advantage of Australia. See statistics of 2007 alone,some umpires, specially the old rots are degenerating the game. Ricky Panting & his bunch disgraces even their ancestors in their graves. Picture of Panting giving out for whole world to see if not only to umpire Benson. What if it was any other captain, match referee must have reprimanded RP.These actions distort the umpires decision just as pressure appealing to impulse the decision of the field umpires. Sadly the aging umpires fall short of their nerve spoiling a good contest.

Aussies do not know the spirit of the game and the pleasure of sportsmanship and winning cleanly.

In cricket the bowler & batsman are penalised by some means. Batsman's is shut to appeal if the umpire ask him to go. It is time to introduce Referral System. And also to introduce penalty for keeper & fielders for pressurizing the umpires by free hits, warning or short leave from field

SPOT ON

Can Australia be as good as they are, if sledging is banned. Australian strength 50% (they are highly consistent) i do not say they are talented no match for lara, tendulkar, ........., 50% they hunt in packs by distracting opponents. I just remember Ricky's statement when Lara got 400

What is happening to good sportmanship? The umpire's decision is final and to be respected, and criticisms and complaints are to be dealt with by appropriate bodies within the ICC. Instead of showing respect for umpires, players and coaching staff are openly criticising them and blaming them for losing matches. This has stemmed from a poor public opinion of umpires, who base their opinion on umpiring decisions using slow motion cameras, sound and heat sensing cameras.

Bad sportsmanship based around umpiring decisions seems to be arising primarily from the subcontinent. I wonder how influenced the Indian are by the disgraceful childishness displayed by Pakistan in England at The Oval... Not only did Pakistan emerge largely undisciplined from that tour, but they single handedly ruined the career of an umpire they've never liked. Now India's tantrum has led to Steve Bucknor being pulled from the Perth test. Does it not seem wrong for a single team to destroy an umpire's career?

To all the Aussies who say that Australia cannot be blamed for umpiring decisions as they are neutral umpires, what do you have to say about the Oxenford let off for Symonds. With the benefit of replays no less. Is this not bias? To compare this test match to the Ashes test in which one Aussie batsman got a bad decision (Lee) to this one in which a whole bunch of bad decisions went against India is also ridiculous. Finally, for all those claiming Sachin and Laxman were out lbw, well so were Symonds in the first innings and Hussey in the second. If you include the lbw decisions it is still 9 bad decisions against India, 3 for Australia. Remove these and it is 7 for India and 1 for Australia. Remove the Ponting decisions (one for and one against) and it is 6 vs 0. Also the fact that two set batsman were given out in a close game when neither seemed to be out suggests that India would have saved the game. Australian players and the one umpire cheated to win this game.

the indian team are a pack of pampered primadonnas who have always had everything their own way! they get everything they want in india and are treated like gods- dont even pay tax- and when they dont get their way they run like a pack of crying girls- "take their bat and ball and go home"

Maybe the indians need to look at their team and wonder why they are constantly underachieving...

Mukul,
I do not deny that India got the worst of a shocking Umpiring display but I wish to propose a scenerio to you. Day 5 in test on turning wicket right hand bowler bowling over the wicket pitches outside off stump and spins back towards stumps and strikes the pad of right hand batsmen who is not playing a shot. Do you honestly expect me to believe there is an International cricketer out there that is not going to "ask the question" of the Umpire in this situation. Was it turning enough to hit the wicket? Well is not that what the umpire is there to decide? You and most of the posters here have jumped to the conclusion that Gilchrist was appealing for a catch because that is what was given but everything above accurately describes the Dravid incident. You cannot question Gilchrists' integrity if you are not 100% certain of his intent.

Umpiring errors, can u believe somebody to not walk in case of symonds or clarke (i would say thats not the behavior of a human), Let harbajan be punished but are aus ready to take the same

Go home then. Do you think we care? Just too gutless to turn up for another flogging, especially in Perth I guess. Don't want to be the 17th in a row losers? Fine we'll find someone else to beat the record. Hmmm, 2 forfeits still is a 4-0 loss, that'll do your ranking a lot of good. Losers.

the australian streaks are just like the Superhuman East Germans- fake, artificial and will be shamed in the future. touring teams should boycott playing australia - at least we'd be spared uncouth behaviour and get a genuine game of cricket

Batmans needn't walk ..ok accepted.
Umpiring is not aussie problem ok done.
Banter is an aussie way of life ... sure enough !
What annoys me most is ponting actually rising up trying to claim that catch of Dhoni all this after his continued bleating about honesty either he doesn't know what he is talking about or is lying either way his name is mud and word worth lesser than ... in anyones books. Will someone show him the video evidence please maybe then he will stop this diatribe about his integrity which i believe never existed.

I don't give damn what all the aussies cry about subcontinent umpiring Australian umpiring were bad as well. any visiting teams in australia were given horrible decisions by the australian umpires, always.

Couldn't agree more. Being an ardent Indian fan i was too distraught at India losing this test match. When Ganguly and Dravid were playing i thought that we were safe. But i dont know one thing, these Aussie cricketers are so arrogant and then they accuse Bhajji of racism. As Wasim Akram pointed out - How can sledger's claim to be saints. The umpires and ponting have truely robbed the Indian side and the world cricket of a good series. At 1-0 this series would have been very much alive. I personally think that the Aussie bowling attack is weak, and without help from Umpires they could not have won the Sydney test. This is very unfair as it zeroes the heroic knock of Laxman, his counter-attacking century. We need some sort of justice in the world. I am sure next time when Australia will visit India, our team will take out the vengeance in the best possible manner, with a crushing degeat of the cheaters in a more dignified and just manner. One thing is sure - Aussie are very poor losers.

The Sydney Test was a hard-fought, tense affair - tempers were lost & errors made. I am sure that both Anil Kumble & Ricky Ponting said things in the heat of the moment that they wish they hadn't . I'm sure players on both sides might act differently if they had the time over. I'm sure Steve Bucknor feels badly about some poor decisions he made. But the umpires have the final say for better or worse & players on both sides would do well to remember this. And this is TEST cricket - it is not a game for shrinking violets. So I say let Harbharjan play but advise him to consider his words more carefully. And advise Ricky to do likewise. And Anil likewise. Let's remember that we are all only human. Let's put all this crap behind us and enjoy the cricket! At least the Sydney Test was a CONTEST, unlike Melbourne. As an Aussie I love seeing my team win, but let's see a CONTEST. Let's hope India's batsmen provide more support for their bowlers in Perth (with apologies to VVS & Sachin!)

careful guys! a quick scan through the posts indicate that many are breaching the posting guidelines

There is angle of corruption to be investigated as well.This umpiring debacle was caused after taking money at the highest level.This is to enable a 16th consecutive win for australia .ICC should investigate this as well and BCCI should put there foot down for this.As Sidhu rightly said after 10 years this will be known,India lost sydney test by 122 runs.Never ever in cricketing history such an array of wrong decisions as taken place against one team.

Two new words added to English Dictionary
Bucknor: (n) (adj)
1. Temporary blindness leading to missing out on the obvious.
2. To be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
3. Situations leading to grave judgmental errors.
Usage: I feel bucknored by my boss; Life often throws a bucknor at you.

Benson: (n) (adj)
1. Something that legitimises a severe bucknor.
Usage: First they bucknored me and then they bensoned it! I am toast.
Also see bucknor

Seen Aussies comment in many blogs about poor Indian umpiring before neutral umpires... Maybe they should get the video tapes of the matches India played against Aus in Aus.

The reason, we have neutral umpires now, is because almost all countries had home favouring umpires (except probably for West Indies, who didn't need any favours... and England to an extent... Dickie Bird was awesome) in that time period.

No point digging up old dirt. Everyone has some on their backside.

But as we have seen neutral umpiring alone doesn't solve the problems. I was shocked to read an article by Len Pascoe who says there are only 6 umpires in the international panel. What are they thinking? These poor blokes have to umpire in so many matches? If players complain of fatigue, so can the umpires.

The Cricket management has got it all wrong... Way too many matches are creating all sorts of issues... Player fatigue, bad umpiring etc. They have to correct this. They can start by being less greedy!

I totally agree with you on this. Just not long ago Pakistan had 16 decisions going against them in Australia and lets not forget what had happened to Brian Charles Lara... every time he came out to bat the finger just went up.
Could somebody ask Glenn McGrath if he knows the rules, as he still thinks that there was nothing wrong with the catch Ponting tried to claim. So the new rule is that as long as you grab the ball even if it's touching the ground, its a catch ! Talk about spirit of the game, shame on you all.

Guyz dont you think Buckner & Benson should share trophy of the Man of the match award? After all they took 9 wickets in between them.

There have been some big mistakes made over the5 days of the test. While some have said that this is karma (remembering the similar stuff like this in the subcontinent in the 80s), one can't help feel a bit sorry for the Indian players and supporters. It is hard enough as it is against such a strong team in their home conditions. But to have the umpires giving the Aussies the bulk of the close decisions again (just like against the Sri Lankan and English teams on the previous two tours) really makes it tough for them.

They must have felt so bad to have been robbed like this, but full marks to them (with the possible exception of Harbajan) for being such good sports.

There was one more big mistake made a year or two before this test match. There was a vote giving players the right to refer the real obvious clangers to the third umpire, Needing 7 votes to pass, it was rejected 5 votes for, 5 votes against.

Does anyone know which 5 nations voted against trialling this idea?

Mukul, Do you not think the Indian team and Board deserve ANY blame? You conveniently ignore Youvraj's conduct in Melbourne, and the Board's public statement intending to complain about umpiring after Day 1. Laxman and Tendulkar benefited from abysmal LBW decisions when they had scored not very many. To suggest that 'We was robbed' is nonsense. The GAME was robbed by some poor decisions, but was nevertheless a great game. I have no wish to argue for the Australian team, but the Indian's clearly think they are special, from the moment they arrived in Australia complaining that their substantial earnings would be taxed. (Goodness knows India could use some redistribution of income!)m Unfortunately, the ICC, by bowing to this childishness, has simply issued an open invitation for more of the same. Don't like the umpire? We'll change him. A sad day for the game.

To the teams of those nations whose cricket boards voted against the prefectly sensible proposal to give players a limited right of appeal...

If you want the right to compain about terrible umpiring errors costing you matches and spoiling good series, get your bouard to do the right thing next time and vote for it.

To India, well done. You played well and got closer to anyone for a while to that elusive goal of drawing a test in Australia. Heck, if it wasn't for the Symonds 163 not out once (just out 2 or 3 times), you might even have won it.

Lets put it simply.. if the umpires make decisions against the sub-continental team then they are racist or incompetent. Sangakarra's example is laughable as an unpire can make a mistake. In the 2005 ashes bowden made an error and gave kasps out and which turned out to be a key decision in context of the series. But instead of moaning like cry babies the aussies fought it out till the end and then blanked england in the next series. Indians are moaning on the SCG loss, but what about the inept batting that also contributed to it? No one seems to care about it. Also, in the england series, when sreesanth was given not out in the Lords test when replays clearly showed that he was out, the indians were not questioning the umpiring standard. And when an umpire takes an action against pakistan for ball tampering he is targetted as a racist, but another umpire is let off the hook because he is a west indian and not an aussies. So what goes around comes around and it came back for india at SC

To all you indians who think india won, they could only manage 4 wickets in the second innings until australia went after them. who says everything else would have gone the same way if the decisions went india's way?
Whenever something doesn't go india's way, all you supporters cry conspiracy, as if the indian team has never had a decision go their way.

A wonderful article & genuine feelings of the Indian cricket lovers - but to what use? Can anyone of us think beyond writing here? Honestly speaking i have always worried about Aussie indulgence into each and every country's cricket board - be it as a coach or physio or trainer or psychologist or whatever - and what has happened now is a result of giving them undue credit, for which we can only blame our own thinking. What we write here wont change Ponting or the Aussie attitude - TEAM INDIA - learn from them, when you feel threatened Murali will overtake Warne, you create a media hype and media boycott out of nowhere. When you feel threatened by Kumble and Bhajji's doosra - you start calling them Racist - funny ways of managing 16-in-a-row!! Whoever it is and however it is, Ponting & Co., beware - cricketing nations will surely wake-up - better start being sportive or just keep away from a so-called Gentleman's game! You could beat Cronje on damaging the game - Team effort you see!!

I,m sick of having to hear and read all this rubbish about Ponting and clarke standing their ground and not walking,there are not to many batsman in any country that don,t wait for the umpires finger to go up.As far as claiming catchs is concerned Ponting said he took one but he also
told the umpire no to another one.Australia play it,s cricket tough, cricket is now a professional sport and unless all other countries start treating it like that,Australia will be up the top for a long while to come. India showed no respect to the Australian side by coming out and playing one lead up game and thinking they could win.Now it,s gone all gone pear shape and want to blame everyone bar themselves.

Why blame Ricky? What's wrong in playing to win? We appreciate that mentality don't we! The umpires did India in. Not Ricky. He's just playing to win. Asking him whether the catch was taken was the mistake. No player in cricket plays "honestly". Not Ricky. Not Kumble. It's a fact of of our times. Ricky and his team bat bowl and field well...If Ricky says he plays the game in the spirit of the game, we can have a laugh and say, don't bother about all that Ricky, don't teach the world morals...just concentrate on batting bowling fielding appealing sledging strategising...all of which are tools of the game. I for one don't expect high morals and fair play from modern sportsmen.If it comes along, fine, as a personal belief, but I don't expect it,nor should umpires rely on it.
Indians should expect hostility and not fair play from opponents. A win has the potential to change the mood of nations. It's not just a "game" then. Perception is reality.

Enough has been said about the poor umpiring but it is something that has been happening for the entire history of cricket, regardless of neutral umpires, etc. Nothing will change until the ICC improves the quality and quantity of umpires. As we saw not even the current wizzbang technology can ensure a correct decision could be given.
Given the poor decisions I don't understand how anybody can say that "India would have won". It is impossible to predict something that can't even happen as it is already history!
I posted in a previous Mukul blog that India couldn't play 5 days of hard but fair cricket. That observation was correct, India lost sight of the prize and lost the game because they played for the draw. (Since when do you put 8 players on the boundary anyway?)
Australia on the other hand were focussed on the win, regardless of all the other drama, which is what they got. Unfortunately it will be remembered for all of the wrong reasons...

What happened at the SCG was wrong, India were robbed.

Now, they're are using their sense of blind moral outrage to tear cricket to pieces.

Pocter, Bucknor, Benson & Australia (all of us) are racists, liars & conspirators.

No Indian, especially not Harbhajan, would ever do anything wrong (what happened to Azharuddin again?).

Umpires can be sacked if they offend sub-continental teams with their decisions.

If a referee gives a decision based on his best judgment that India don't like they're prepared to do whatever it takes to have it overturned 'regardless of the consequences'.

Ok, you know what go for it. International umpires can't be trusted. International referees can't be trusted. Australia & England can't be trusted.

Pakistan - there's a team you can trust (remember Bangladesh 1999 anyone? Who was captain then, Akram wasn't it? thanks for your comments mate, very helpful).

Dismantle the ICC & abandon test cricket.

At this stage - who would miss it?

Beat this up all you like but the fact remains that the test was lost by an over indulged group of players who are lauded for their talent but lack the appetite for hard work. Watching the Indian training session prior to the MCG test was laughable. Lets see these players respond on the ground instead of churlishly sitting on a bus while they decide if they will indulge their hosts by agreeing to play cricket. Show the world the spirit, the game of cricket is entitled to. All this is the result of media types scoring a few cheap shots. Let the cricketers sort this out on the field.
Who wouldn't want to watch the next test ! Instead we await the outcome of the BCCI's next decision after they have determined who will umpire. Tauffel,of Australia, who was voted No.1 umpire is available.
The achievement of winning 16 tests in a row puts this team up with the greats and when India capitulate on a fast wicket in Perth Ricky Ponting shall be acknowledged as a behemoth of the game.

Today's cricket is a highly competitive and professional sport with very high stakes involved. Therefore, it is imperative that technology is used more often to aid decision making by umpires even if it slows down the game and removes the human element.

Oh what a noble game and what noble people we have at the BCCI and the ICC that they are going to settle this issue amicably. Steve Bucknor out Billy Bowden in. Go India and play the third test now and Harbhajan can also play till the appeal is heard so don't call off the tour. To compensate India it is suggested to incriminate charges against Brad Hogg so that he can be suspended as well. So, one player from each side suspended, the law is not bent and the ICC ego is not hurt they are strict and will implement the ridiculously absurd rules on racism to show to the world that they are very noble and honourable people. What a shame the BCCI has agreed this deal to avoid paying the penalties and loosing revenue from the television companies. It goes to prove that the country's name honour and pride is not as important as money!

I keep hearing this:

Harbhajan didn't say 'monkey'.

But if he did he was provoked.

And it's not offensive in India anyway.

Weaving between excuses like that casts doubt over the entire issue. If he didn't say it he didn't say it, leave it at that and forget about the feeble justifications.

To me it seems like we have a case of three witness testifying they heard someone say something, several witnesses including Tendulkar saying they didn't hear it (which is DIFFERENT from saying it wasn't said) & the accused denying everything.

Unless Tendulkar can recite the exchange verbatim his tesimony is irrelevant & I don't see how he can be so adamant about Singh's innocence.

Three eye-witnesses is better than they do in a lot of court cases. The case isn't being decided on race, it's being decided on numbers.

And for those who see this as besmirching Indian honour, you're calling three Australians bare-faced liars & conspirators.

India has risen as one in defence of Harbhajan. How dare he be accused of racism & banned on the basis of 3 eye-witnesses! It's an outrage & they will stop at nothing until this slight on Indian honour wiped clean!

I find that curious.

Because not so long ago, Steve Bucknor was accused of racism with no supporting evidence at all beyond the say-so of Indian fans. But what need have we of evidence? Ha! He doesn't get an appeal. For that matter he doesn't get a hearing. So, I hear you ask, what does he get in return for his long-time service to the game performing an incredibly tough job at great personal cost so that the rest of us can sit back and enjoy test cricket?

Well I'll tell you what he gets: unceremoniously dumped so that he can slip quietly into retirement, sit back, relax & drink in the humiliation, degradation & personal insults.

But won't the ICC protect him? Won't HIS nation spring to the defense of his honour?

Apparently not, perhaps they're stunned by the hypocrisy.

Mukul .... India haven't lost 2 tests in a row simply because the umpires favoured Australia. India lost because they weren't the best team. On day three the test was evenly and poised India failed to gain the initiative, you can't blame it all on umpiring decisions. The BCCI might do better to look at the team of stars, who play like they've never met and field like they only bought one pairt of white trousers with them for the whole tour .....

After the test match, new rules need to be incorporated by ICC to give the other teams a perfect clarification

(1) Ricky Ponting – (THE TRULY GENUINE CRICKETER OF THE CRICKET ERA AND WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED ) should be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE. As per the new rules, FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken by any other umpires. ON-FIELD umpires can seek the assistance of RICKY PONTING even if he is not on the field. This rule is to be made, so that every team should understand the importance of the FOURTH UMPIRE .

(2) While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed. Any decision for further clarification should be seeked from the FOURTH UMPIRE . This is made to ensure that the cricket is played with SPORTIVE SPIRIT by all the teams.

(3) While BATTING, AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat). Each AUSTRALIAN batsman has to be out FOUR TIMES (minimum) before he can return to the pavilion. In case of THE CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY, this can be higher.

(4) UMPIRES should consider a huge bonus if an AUSTRALIAN player scores a century. Any wrong decisions can be ignored as they will be paid huge bonus and will receive the backing of the AUSTRALIAN team and board.

(5) All AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as they will be spoiling the spirit of the AUSTRALIAN team. Any comments made in any other language are to be considered as RACISM only.

(6) MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the AUSTRALIAN TEAM advice only. Player views from the other teams decisions will not be considered for hearing. MATCH REFREES are to be given huge bonus if this rule is implemented.

(7) NO VISITING TEAM should plan to win in AUSTRALIA. This is to ensure that the sportive spirit of CRICKET is maintained.

(8) THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE : If any bowler gets RICKY PONTING - "THE UNDISPUTED CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY IN THE GAME OF CRICKET" more than twice in a series, he will be banned for the REST OF THE SERIES. This is to ensure that the best batsman/Captain will play to break records and create history in the game of CRICKET.

These rules are for all the teams VISITING AUSTRALIA. There will be many more that will be added over the years as with the Australian cricket team, rules change any time.

After the test match, new rules need to be incorporated by ICC to give the other teams a perfect clarification

(1) Ricky Ponting – (THE TRULY GENUINE CRICKETER OF THE CRICKET ERA AND WHOSE INTEGRITY SHOULD NOT BE DOUBTED ) should be considered as the FOURTH UMPIRE. As per the new rules, FOURTH UMPIRE decision is final and will over ride any decisions taken by any other umpires. ON-FIELD umpires can seek the assistance of RICKY PONTING even if he is not on the field. This rule is to be made, so that every team should understand the importance of the FOURTH UMPIRE .

(2) While AUSTRALIAN TEAM is bowling, If the ball flies anywhere close to the AUSTRALIAN FIELDER(WITHIN 5 metre distance), the batsman is to be considered OUT irrelevant of whether the catch was taken cleanly or grassed. Any decision for further clarification should be seeked from the FOURTH UMPIRE . This is made to ensure that the cricket is played with SPORTIVE SPIRIT by all the teams.

(3) While BATTING, AUSTRALIAN players will wait for the ON-FIELD UMPIRE decisions only (even if the catch goes to the FIFTH SLIP as the ball might not have touched the bat). Each AUSTRALIAN batsman has to be out FOUR TIMES (minimum) before he can return to the pavilion. In case of THE CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY, this can be higher.

(4) UMPIRES should consider a huge bonus if an AUSTRALIAN player scores a century. Any wrong decisions can be ignored as they will be paid huge bonus and will receive the backing of the AUSTRALIAN team and board.

(5) All AUSTRALIAN players are eligible to keep commenting about all players on the field and the OPPONENT TEAM should never comment as they will be spoiling the spirit of the AUSTRALIAN team. Any comments made in any other language are to be considered as RACISM only.

(6) MATCH REFREE decisions will be taken purely on the AUSTRALIAN TEAM advice only. Player views from the other teams decisions will not be considered for hearing. MATCH REFREES are to be given huge bonus if this rule is implemented.

(7) NO VISITING TEAM should plan to win in AUSTRALIA. This is to ensure that the sportive spirit of CRICKET is maintained.

(8) THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE : If any bowler gets RICKY PONTING - "THE UNDISPUTED CRICKETER WITH INTEGRITY IN THE GAME OF CRICKET" more than twice in a series, he will be banned for the REST OF THE SERIES. This is to ensure that the best batsman/Captain will play to break records and create history in the game of CRICKET.

These rules are for all the teams VISITING AUSTRALIA. There will be many more that will be added over the years as with the Australian cricket team, rules change any time.

If anybody wants to watch high grade competitive cricket played in good spirit watch Australian domestic cricket. Tailenders can bat (a little at least), everybody can field, nobody, I repeat nobody walks. Everybody wants to win and tries there hardest to win (yet funnily enough nobody cheats or complains about overly aggressive bowling or fielding). The games are played in a variety different venues with different environments. This is the competition every Australian test player comes from and I have no doubt makes them test ready when they debut. I don't know what the Indian domestic competition is like but it seems obvious it must be lacking something. Bad umpiring, even terrible umpiring happens to every team at some stage. The good teams take it on board and overcome it.

Is Cricket a gentlemen’s game? Yes, not only in Sydney match, There have been many instances that Australian team has got lot of favors while making umpiring decisions in a crucial moments of the match. During this week one of the talking point of the game was whether the batsman has to walk when he feel he nick the ball. Famous Cricket experts and some big players insisted that this is unnecessary and they made mockery at it. It’s a player’s duty to assist umpire to make the right decision without pushing them to make a wrong judgment. In 2006 Tri series 2nd final between SL and Aus, Ponting was clearly caught by Mahela in a crucial point of the match but Ponting was standing on the crease even when Mahela and others claiming the catch and Umpire about to give out but called for third umpire and given not out as saying it wasn’t conclusive in video replay. The unbelievable truth in the Sydney test match was Ponting judgment was important than third umpire or Mark Benson. How on earth Aussies saying this is fair and they are innocent. This is not gambling where Punters can rob from the Banker whenever mistake happen. This is still a Gentlemen’s game where everyone should respect each others ability and honesty. No country has power to do whatever they want to do as they think they are the strongest on the field and in the offices.

Talking about Michael Clarke standing his ground to wait for the ump's decision after he'd nicked to first slip - do you Indians remember Harbhajan not walking after he was bowled by Kevin Petersen in a recent one-day match?

http://media.theage.com.au/?rid=34520

Funny that.

There goes Mr. Kesavan again! Surely disappointed that Harbhajan has not been 'banned forever' as he so aggresively lobbied for in this column.

During the test, and after it, a torrent of accusations poured on Steve Bucknor. Unsupported by any evidence or testimony, without any formal hearing or opportunity to face his accusers, Bucknor was labeled a racist.

And when the ICC stood him down, he was convicted. His accusers were vindicated & their suspicions confirmed.

Harbhajan is accused of uttering a comment in anger he may not have meant as racist. Suddenly this is an insult to all of India, suddenly the rule of law applies, & unless solid physical evidence can be provided there can be no justification in accepting the word of multiple witnesses over Harbhajan's. In fact, it now turns out Procter is racist too.

Harbhajan faces a 3 match ban, Bucknor's credibility was destroyed & his career effectively over.

Harbhajan has an appeal, Bucknor gets none.

Honour & respect are two-way streets. If people don't like one of their countrymen being charged with racism then perhaps they shouldn't be so quick to cast the first stone.

Somebody here says cricket is a beautiful game. Let us Indians not get carried away by the only sport we know how to play and add the word adjective "beautiful" to the only thing we have the ability to appreciate. Football is the beautiful game. Period

if india had won the cricket match the way Australia did, with 8 minutes to go, and after having decisions go its way, the likes of Mukul Kesavan would have been waing lyrical about the "glories of Test cricket". Let us please not be hypocritical

The problem with bad umpiring by Bucknor and Benson (BB) was that all the critical decisions went against India:

a) Ponting edged Ganguly to Dhoni when he was 17. Given not out. Eventually given wrongly out when he was 50 plus.

b) Symonds edged Sharma to Dhoni when he was 30. Given not out. Remained not out.

If these two decisions had been correctly called, Aussies would have folded for 200 or so.

These two decisions robbed India of a massive first innings lead and a possible victory.

Then in Aussie second innings, Hussey edged but was given not out. Again this allowed the Aussie total to swell.

In the Indian second innings when Dravid and Ganguly had a partnership going, the game looked headed for a draw. Suddenly both were given wrongly out, leading to an Indian defeat.

With so many decisions going against the Indians, it is a miracle that India managed to make a match out of this! I know Pakistanis are busy denouncing India. But perhaps they should think about Oval 2006.

Many Aussies are pointing out that Tendulkar should have been declared LBW by the umpire early on. Perhaps so. But Tendulkar had taken a long stride forward and was well out of the crease. So that may have created a doubt in umpire's mind. But in the second innings, Hussey was on the backfoot to Kumble with hardly 6 inches between the pads and the stumps. And he was also given not out. Both Chappell and Slater (who were the commentators) said that he should have been given out. But let's not talk about LBWs because there were so many valid shouts by Indians which were not upheld. The fact is that clear edges were denied to Indians, while they were given to Aussies when bat was nowhere near the ball. And let's keep the story of grounded catches for some other day.

In my opinion India should go home, the ICC should be disbanded, & test cricket discontinued. The ICC is clearly unable to resist Indian disapproval. There is no association to protect umpires from summary dismissal & no process by which they can appeal it. The same is true of match referees. All of which undermines their ability to make fair & balanced judgments. It turns out that most referees/umpires aren't even capable of being fair or balanced because they have neglected a central axiom of cricket adjudication:: every decision that goes against a sub-continental team is racist and/or an unacceptable slur on the nation. That wondrous institution the BCCI should be running world cricket (with perhaps a little help from the PCB) & they should invite only players & officials who are unbiased & incapable of racism. Conveniently, the overwhelming majority of such people actually live in India.

As an Indian and a follower of Indian cricket for a long time , the one thing I am absolutely positive about is that if it were Austalia needing 300 odd runs in the last 2 sessions, they would have not just saved the match, but would have made a gallant effort to win. No matter what happened in the 4 and a half days before. That is what I call professionalism and that is what is missing sadly in our Indian cricketers. Well done Australia, at least there's one Indian who appreciates your skill and attitude.

oh oh oh poor India they were robbed what a fars when India played Pakistan quite recently for all those light headed want to be's, the [wall] mr.Dravid then the recipient of such a dreaded decision went on to get a ton an win the game no one complained then so there were celebration, the shoe is on the other foot now the cry babies are showing up to the party what goes around comes around which of the test playing countries did not benifited or lost from these HUMAN ERRORS, so now we sledge, cry on decision, sack umpires because of what, what next? video games.i guess that is why INDIA/PAKISTAN two teams that should be two of the top three are only strong on paper no fight on the field of play anymore now as they say a whole new ball game.

Not so long ago, Kesavan and his ilk were waxing lyrical about how umpiring imperfection adds to the game's "charm". Here he is, bitter about another defeat. What happened now Kesavan, is it only charming when India gets the decisions in its favour.

I still love cricket i love all the teams and i've learn to accept the umpire's decision with respect hence why i can say i love this game, i personally have been on both sides of that call that is why it's a game of uncertainty glorious i might add so who are you out there to want to change anything about the actual aspect of the game if you want to change, change your ideaoligy see it for what it is learn to take the good with the not so good after all the animals do for example the monkies and the cobras or are you saying ther are more civilias than you humans because they live by their rules and standers, can you say the same you superiour beings.with your hate an anamosity for humans just as yourself.who the cap fit...........

The argument that India definitely would not have lost the match if all decisions in the test were correct is seriously flawed. Suppose Symonds & Ponting are given & Australia are restricted to 250 or so. Suppose India get their original score (for some reason the decisions regarding Tendulkar & Laxman weren't bad). India now have a big lead. But they didn't dismiss Australia in the second innings, Australia declared after losing quick wickets going for a slog (very unselfish play by Gilchrist btw, his average would be significantly higher if he weren't such a team player). Suppose Hogg & Gilchrist come out & bat sanely, Australia might still have posted a big lead & won. Getting out early in the first innings gives them more time to do this. This is pure speculation but I don't see that India had the game in the bag even with the decisions going for them. But it happened the way it happened & now we'll never know.

If Symmonds was out and Australia were 7 for 130 so what - the Aussies would have still scored 380+ against a ordinary Indian bowling and woeful fielding.

Facts: Australia (2) India (0). Harbhajan has been proven to be a racist and has a complete absence of grey matter up top. Indian players waste time and can't determine which glove is for which hand...Indian cricket and the BCCI is an embarrassment. I hope that the fishing is good Symmo...

I hope Bucknor told them to shove it for good. Been the best umpire in the world for 20 years. Sacrificed to Indian politics. At least Bowden's looked good recently. Maybe we can get on with the cricket. From here 3-0 will be a good result for India.

I think the result of the match is more reliably put down to 3 Indian batsman playing with no pride or honour in the second to last over of the match, while the Australians pushed and never gave up. Despite any mistakes by umpires or comments made and reactions during the game, it all came down to a simple fact that India's tail only had to bat out 12 more balls with 3 wickets left - and failed. To then go and blame bad umpires and cheating Australians is ridiculous. A test match lasts a long time and there are many incidents which have big impacts but most of the time you go into the final day of a test match with both sides able to get a result - albeit a draw for India - but that would still have kept the series alive. However, they failed, those last 3 batsmen got out to a part time spinner when the finish line was well and truly in sight and they should hangt their heads in shame, not the umpires or Australians.

Bucknor: (n) (adj)
1. Temporary blindness leading to missing out on the obvious.
2. To be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
3. Situations leading to grave judgmental errors.
Usage: I feel bucknored by my boss; Life often throws a bucknor at you.

Benson: (n) (adj)
1. Something that legitimizes a severe bucknor.
Usage: First they bucknored me and then they bensoned it! I am toast.

Glenn. The fact that you think laughably one sided decisions were made by "subcontinental" umpires only reflects your propensity for bracketing people racially. While your opinion is part of aussie folklore it has no actual basis in fact, it just reflects the uninformed narrow minded ocker mentality that plagues australia - never mind that there are plenty of australians who are not prone to the same. I know because I'm of Indian origin and live in Sydney. As a matter of fact you would do well to review the disturbingly one sided decisions that aussie umpires were prone to especially from '99 till neutral umpires were instated - the instances are plentiful and disheartening. As for Bucknor, the quality of his decision making takes a strange downturn when he officiates a match involving India. Most dramatically his officiating was the reason that australia was able to save the Sydney test and the 2004 series Vs India. The rocker on your high horse is creaking under your jingoism

i think the biggest issue here is not whether harbajan called symonds a monkey or if hogg used the word bastard. its actually the power the bcci have over the game. since when did a board have the right to cancel a tour purely on the basis of a player being banned? to say that it is unacceptable for ones players to be accused of racism is laughable, has the bcci forgotten the behaviour of the indian crowds during the one day series last year? i'm quite ashamed at the way the aussies celebrated after winning the 2nd test, but win they did, whatever the circumstances. instead of throwing a tantrum and deciding that they might not play, perhaps the indians should play with the same intensity they did the last time they were down under and prove themselves on the field.

The entire universe conspired against India at the SCG to hand it, its first ever defeat in Test Cricket. Never before in its history had India lost a game of cricket. They havent drawn any game either. Every single game that India has participated in has been won by India........The utopic bubble of the Indian cricket fan.

Dedicated to all those who are posting comments like “india sulks ‘coz they lost”, “A loser is a loser is a loser” etc etc etc……. Agreed India lost, agreed our so called Batting powerhouse failed miserably, agreed we are under performers overseas, but and a big BUT If all of you Aussies try and take a peek inside your own country’s “national sports” team, then all you will find is “Big Bloated egos, self praising big heads, enormously talented yet terrible losers, and Shamless bullies”. What would a touring team do if the Opposing captain doesn’t adhere to the pre series decided rules about not claiming a bogus catch. Remember this is the same Big/Bully head Ponting who shouted publicly in the 4th Ashes test after being Runout by the sub fielder, why coz Aussies were being beaten to death in ASHES, why ‘coz Aussies were getting their nose slaughtered by Freddie and co., ‘coz their big egos were taking a horrendous beating from their old rivals whom they jokingly refer to as POMS,

‘coz they had no answer to a terrific unit which played the game in the right spirit, ………

And another reason why Aussies lost that Ashes was……’coz there was superb umpiring unit on Display, remember the confidant and clear headed Aleem dar who Didn’t gave in to the constant appealing of warne and co for non existent LBW decisions which made Aussies furious,
There was the light hearted Billy Bowden who simply didn’t allow the Aussies the leeway that they have so enjoyed before, there was the ever so sharp Rudi koertzen who didn’t got challenged by the aussies threatening appeals and spoke his mind when ever a Hayden or Ponting tried to take the “sledging route”…….

Grow up OZ, it’s about time……u all are certified winners but not dignified winners or a humble losers…….

May the better senses prevail…Amen!!!!!!

I was wondering if the tantrum throwing indian supporters/heirachy/players were going to post any comments on India's win today. In particular, the numerous dubious/incorrect decisions that were made in favour of the Indian team that cost Australia a chance of victory. For those with their eyes shut i will point out the dismissals in the last innings.
1) Ponting out when the bowler committed a front foot no-ball.
2) Hussey given out LBW on a ball clearly missing the stumps by close to a foot.
3) Symonds given out Bat before wicket
In my opinion, 80% of the close/bad calls went in India's favour in this match.
I notice that rather than throw a hissy fit, the Australian players have accepted the mistakes as a part of cricket, realised that they too were to blame for their loss, and got on with it.

To all the people who said that Indians don't know how to play ..and they will be steamrolled by australia in Perth .. IN YOUR FACE suckers

Dear Phil,
Let me bring some mre such "dubious" decisions from that PERTH ;) test,
-Temdulkar, given out LBW when he was jumping on his toes and ball missing the stumps by a inch more than close to a foot
-Same hussey reprieved for a plumb LBW when he was playing back to Kumble

I had no plans to write this after the perth victory 'coz the Indians are not big headed dumba**es like the Aussie are, they play the game as fair as any international team would and they expect the same back and so does the viewers and the cricket fans......
The mere fact that you came back with this petty point goes on to show what "Aussie spirits" are we talking about.
Nobody came back to this forum and posted anything post PERTH simply coz Indians don't make big boasts and make a big ruccus of the things, India won 'coz they were better!,
Now sleep well my friend,
Cheerz,

Whatever Phil, the percentages don't tell you anything. The 20 % of close/bad calls that went in favour of Australia were the important ones. The 80 % that were in favour of India were more or less irrelevant decisions. Not to mention your statistics are rather made up until you point out your database source. What was that statistic about 99.9 % of statistics are just made up on the spot? Or did I make that statistic up? Go figure Phil.

its funny the Aussies are still in denial. Some of them actually believe that the Sydney Test was won fair and square. Kinda like Ponting who had absolutely no clue what the fuss was all about after the match. They keep believing that India is making a big deal coz it lost the match. India has lost many many test matches. We lost the Merlbourne Test too didn't we? There is no reason to be apologetic anymore in saying that the Aussies won the test on everything buy their own merit. I like the way Mukul starts the article: India lost the Sydney Test because the umpiring was one-sidedly awful. Right on! No need to say politically correct stuff anymore like "oh but there was also some good cricket played". No need for frivolous lies anymore. Its strange every time a team has gotten close to beating the Aussies, a mysterious sequence of events turns things around the Aussies. There is no doubt the Indians screwed up in the last 1 hour of the test match.

I swear guys whenever I read news related to India and Aussie, I just lose my temper. I dont understand that why we Indians always keep quite against unjustice and boost about our culture. Our Geeta says that to do unjustice against unjustice is not bad. I'm just asking to fight like braves and not cowards. BCCI is hopeless, busy minting money and doesnt care for players. Players are worried for their position in the team. Even sports minister looks like an idiot in front of BCCI. Long Live India

History repeats....
I remember when Billy McDermott was given out in Adelaide 3 runs short of AB's side beating the Windies in a series and ending their 20 year reign as cricket's best.
And I remember Steve Waugh and Glenn McGrath standing toe to toe with the Windies best in the Caribbean when they did finally bag a series.
Funny, the similarities between those 'ugly' Aussies and the heir apparent's the 'ugly' Indians.
I'm an Aussie and proud of the fact that we play it hard on the field; I don't know when the match came off the field (somewhere in India I suspect) ?
I enjoyed being pushed in the test series just gone... So what; the umps made bad decisions, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."