First, while it might be almost impossible to judge the veracity of the charge against Harbhajan Singh--is one man's word better than the other's?--calling a fellow cricketer a "monkey" goes way beyond sledging. It is a racist term and cannot be excused. I'm afraid that South Asians are as likely to be as racist as any another population group. It is a sad fact and we must accept it and condemn it. My sincere hope is that Harbhajan was misheard. An appeal seems a fair resolution at this stage.

Second, removing Steve Bucknor from the Perth Test is a crushing defeat for the ICC. Umpires make mistakes. If we strive for perfection then all decisions should be deferred to and made in consultation with the third umpire. If we value the unpredictability of human error in cricket then we must point out but tolerate Bucknor's errors. Either way, Bucknor did not force a Test match to be abandoned--Hair's failing--he is the latest in a long line of umpires to have inadvertently encouraged a result. Either way, ICC has set a worrying precedent by bowing to Indian pressure.

The process of South Asian, and especially Indian, rule in international cricket has taken some time to reach a conclusion but it has today. Just as the days of English and Australian governance of cricket called out for some balancing power, the dominance of the South Asians requires a similar counterweight.

This week's events are lamentable for any overtones of racism, just as they are lamentable for any overtones of corporate bullying. My greatest regret, however, is that the ICC has failed to develop systems of governance that prevent the hegemonic rule of one or two powers. In this the ICC is replicating the failings of almost every known international organisation. It is a giant stride towards irrelevance.

Brilliant post, Kamran. Just read Suresh Menon's feature on Cricinfo, and now this, and am glad some sanity and foresight is beginning to emerge in the coverage of this crisis, and you make an important point that needs to be heeded.

It would be nice if the Australian journalists and the majority of the Indian coverage could match your and Menon's standards.

Too many incidents have confused the whole issue. Aussies being arrogant and un-sportsman-like is nothing new. Their sledging is nothing new. Their intimidating ways in appealing is not new and umpires making mistakes is not new either. Whats all the fuss about?

You are absolutely right . . . What happened in India when Australia visited there was completely unacceptable crowd behavior and now if the allegations are true then Harbhajan must accept the outcome and try to avert such onfield comments in future. Few weeks ago, I was talking with my 12 year-old son about the ambassadors and I said that cricketers are also ambassadors - they represent their whole nation and bring the notion of peace, friendship and sportsmanship. I dont see that here at all in this series.

Umpiring issue is sad - as much as we agree that the standards were poor and that might have cost India the game, Steve Bucknor should not have been removed. Although, I do believe that ICC must have evaluation system for umpires and must opt for younger Umpires with well tested eye sight and hearing abilities. Maybe Geoff 'Henry' Lawson can assist ICC in the role of consultant Optometrist to check the eye sights of the ICC umpires.

Very important point and very well said.
Bucknor should not have been removed under indian pressure. Now all umpires will be under pressure when they officiate and this cannot b a good thing for the game. Our team and board should
have shown more maturity and not fallen prey to absurd public opinions. "It is just a game" and this is something that our fans and media need to be reminded of.
On the racist comment charge I can understand the team standing by one of their own but it is not a national tragedy. They have appealed against it and now they should wait for the appropriate processes to take place.
Indian team should continue the tour. The australian people deserve to see the cricket they were promised. It is not their fault that umpires
made errors or that playrs exchanged pleasentries. Infact crowd behaviour has been exemplary and we can learn something from the aussies in this regard.
Hoping to see some good cricket....

AOA, Mr. Abbassi I rarely agree with you on almost all issues. But on this one I have to agree with you completly.
It is an Indian triupmh but its has set up a bad precedent for the cricket.
Dominated with concern of money more then the love of game, I am afraid the years to come will not be happy one. '
Here rest cricket.RIP

Kamran, I agree with you about the essentially nominal edifice that the ICC has become. I was certain, even as night brought blessed closure to that eventful final day of the 2nd test, that BCCI's demand to oust Bucknor would be supinely acceded to by the ICC. Bucknor the umpire has been on a steady decline for the past few years, and, while retirement was overdue, he deserved something better than the impersonal boot. Still, as an umpire, you _have_ to recognize signs of declining skills: Jumbotrons are implacably unforgiving, letting an umpire see the error of his ways even before he has finished congratulating himself on having made great call, under tough circs. People who weild the power to--even if unwittingly--wreck careers should have the humility to comprehend the enormity of their responsibility. The ICC should have given SB a ceremonial sendoff, replete with cuckoo clock, 4 years ago. All this unpleasantness might have been avoided if they had.
I really enjoy your posts.

Thank God someone from the subcontinent is making sense. Good points made in tandem with Suresh Menon's article. This whole notion of "pride" between India and Pakistan is ridiculous. If they truly had any pride, then the last three batsmen would have steeled themselves against collapsing in the span of 5 balls when all they had to do was block out 2 overs. A team with true pride would not have crumbled so meekly in their moment of truth.

Your comments are appropriate only in a Utopian world. The replacement of Bucknor is not a question of dominance of one Board over another. Indeed it is only human to err. However wat really annoys the passionate fan is the farcical way in which the errors were generously sprinkled throughout the Test match and surprisingly in favor of only team.
If you are talking about professionalism from Indians in taking the decisions in their stride, then going by the same professionalism Bucknor should also realise its high time bid adieu to the job. At this age, he would have retired from a govt job in India but for some inexplicable reason he is a part of the ICC elite panel.
Only medieval dynasties and politicians stick to their jobs long after their time has goneby. It would be nothing but unfortunate to view this ongoing debate as a Subcontinent vs Rest of World slug fest. The feeling of injustice would have been same among the Caribbeans or the Black Caps if either of them would have got those atrocious decisions.
The point is not whether crying foul over umpiring decisions is right or wrong. Neither is it abt whether subcontinent teams are eternal crybabies. The moot point is to recognise that people watch cricket because batters bat, bowlers bowl, fielders take spectacular catches not because some guy in white coat creates mayhem by getting things all wrong... consistently.
And of course with all the talk about technology, it has to be said that even technology suffers in the hands of incompetent people and I say no more. Period. However to take away the right of appealing from the victims will be the ultimate fallacy of a judicial system.
In the interest of cricket I hope that cricket is the only thing that gathers the headlines. I am looking forward to lot of cricket but somewhere down the line the SCG fiasci will always leave a bad taste and few heartburns for a cricket lover. Subcontinental or not !!!!!!

This is a balanced post. Disregarding the gratituous applause of some Aussies, it highlights major issues of governance in ICC :

-how does ICC ensure that teams have a right to appeal umpire's decisions, specially when due process,eg referring to 3rd/square leg umpire, is not followed. ICC must have a defined policy of being able to drop an umpire, AT ITS OWN JUDGEMENT, on the basis of abysmal performance, one common point at the SCG that everyone agrees on

-in matters as contentious as racism, the ICC must rethink its process so that folks are convinced on the skills of a match referee to adjudicate a quasi-legal issue that goes beyond cricketing ability or competence.

-in issues where it is one group's word against another, with no clear evidence, the ICC should require the match referree to elucidate why such a judgement was arrived at instead of a blanket statement that one side was lying

Trasparent communication would help in reducing the sense of blatant injustice

Well, i think u guys have got it all wrong. Umpires do make mistakes, even bowlers and batsmen make mistakes by bowling bad deliveries and playing false stokes.The issue is regarding the number of decisions that went against the Indians. The total was a big 9. 1 bad decision went against Aussies and 9 against Indians. Ponting was given not out when on 3 in the 1st innings when he had clearly edged and was out, but no one said anything bcaz everyone knew that it happens(He went on to make a half century). Then the same Ponting was given out in the 1st innings when he just crossed his 50 whereas he was not out, again no one said bcaz everyone knew that it happens, lets carry on. But then it went on piling. Andrew Symonds was given not out twice and one of his stumping wasn't referred to third umpire when he was out(He went on to make 160+, the defining moment of the match). And finally by the end of the match a total of TEN DECISIONS were wrong. 1 for Aussie and 9 for the Indians.

Hail Kamran the king - you got it just right - the ozies got sledged by the Indian team and crowds in India and this is where the Monkey term was born - Ponting must be feted for pointing out the racism by Baji and not decapitated as done by some washed out pommy writers who leave their counties and live in Australia but want to run down the ozies at every turn - The ozies are not saints but now a days most teams sledge and play the game hard like the ozies do - Walking away from a tour and having officials sacked is pure
bullying and like you say guided by filty lucre. Enter Bollyline is absolutely correct too.

ICC may have overreacted in removing Steve Bucknor. It was more to placate BCCI than because of his mistakes especially after Harbhajan incident. But the real issue is overlooked. For long Ind,Pak and SL players feel they are imposed hefty punishments by referees compared to the white players. What has the ICC done for that? Have Aussie players behaved properly so that no charge is on them? Even you have accepted Harbhajan may not have said the word, "Monkey". Recently in the Indo - Pak series, Pak players had problems neither with the crowd nor with the players. Then why Aus players are complaining? It only says Aussies have problems. Unless ICC considers the greivances of all the parties, it will be forced to make unpleasant decisions due to auxiliary reasons like BCCI clout etc.

Well, everyone forgets the fact that the last "batsmen" are really bowlers and only the "rabid nationalists" would expect them to fend off even a single ball. When Rahul Dravid was given out by mistake (SURE !!!), the slow death umpire was really fast in raising the finger. The Aussies wanted to win at any cost and did so by getting Bucknor on their side. Even if there is sense in what Kamran has said, more investigation has to be done into the umpiring fiascos. Players can be (rather are) punished for their mistakes so why can't the umpires be done the same? In any case, the balance of power does shift from one place to other and may be then some other country will wield power. It's very similar to what the US is doing to the UN - is it not? The Aussies should be happy that they won and get on with the sledging (remember McGrath vs. Sarwan which was in extremely bad taste but nothing happened to McGrath).

The entire premise of your article is incorrect.
Since when is "Monkey" a racist slur?
In India and Pakistan people tease each other daily using the word Monkey "Bandar / Bholo". The Indians worship a monkey god. The whole equating monkey with racism is media sensationalism and an easy way for the Australian's to create an issue out of nothing. You are a part of the "media" and this current article will get more attention simply because you yourself are calling Harbajan a racist if he said "monkey".
Symonds simply hasn't been able to handle the sledging he himself frequently dishes out.

Kamran, cant you see that Bucknor was sacked for incompetence. Would you keep an employee who is not performing? Bucknor is past his prime & the ICC must select competent umpires to officiate neutral or not. Also having only 9 umpires on the panel is ridiculous. There are many good umpires all over the world. Why is the ICC not having a program to train & develop them?
Secondly, the term "monkey" is definitely not racist. Insulting -- yes, racist -- no. Stop being so politically correct.

Interestingly hefty punishments are given to sub-continent players only when they play white teams. Not in Ind-Pak or Pak-SL series. So do Asian players offend only whites and whites are too good? Is Proctor right when he said one party lied? Six yrs ago we had Denness incident in SA. Has ICC changed? Someone remarked when Latif claimed a grounded catch he was banned for 5 ODIs. What about Ponting now? The punishments must be equitable and ICC must look into these issues. Otherwise it will go into bigger mess.

Good article Kamram. The BCCI might be a cashed up monster with considerable clout right now but see how much TV will pay for broadcast rights if the only series are played against a declining Sri Lanka, an erratic Pakistan and a dreadful Bangladesh (I suppose the West Indies and Zim would be available). It is possible to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. There would be an impact on other cricket playing countries if an exclusive Asian bloc was formed but cricket is not the religious experience in these countries as it is in the sub continent and have plenty of other sports to fill the respective sporting lexicons.

You are entitled to your opinion just as the Indian and Australian fans are. However as you are a journalist and are paid to write pieces (I presume)you have a responsibility to at least back up your assertions with some evidence or evidentiary logic. You fail to do so. On what basis do you consider sledging to be different from racist remarks? In the cricket context a racist remark is merely one kind of sledging..that is ..a remark designed to unsettle distract etc someone. Tell me why a racist remark is any different to bespoiling someone's family lineage or besmirching someone's parents or female relatives?
On the Bucknor point I would welcome a much more considerate let down than what has occured but Bucknor also had a responsibility to recognise (like every fading sporting star) when he could no longer make the grade. Asking Bucknor to umpire in Perth would have been the unkindest cut of all. As for Asian v "Western' dominance pshaw!

Agree with the Peter, in the end don't matter how much Indian howled fact remain their batting line crumbled.
It has now been revealed by Kumble that he has offered and apology to Ponting for any offense caused by the remarks. So the position is we called him monkey but it wasn't racially motivated? Gimme a break. All subcontinent people should condemn racism or stop crying abt racism. Double standard thy name is subcontinent.

If I were Harbhajan Singh, I would not have said a monkey or something, that just doesnt seem to make sense..I would have probably used words starting with "Teri Maa ki.."
and chances are, symonds could have heard MONKEY.
Jokes aside, either ways, sledging can only make things worse both ways. Should be banned.

So it's okay for the Indian team to accept a guilty verdict on one of their own,on the basis of the statements from opposition players.The match referee has the cheek to say "Only one side was telling the truth".

If India wanted full control of International Cricket it wouldn't have to threaten to do it. The Indian Team is only asking for a fair hearing, and it didn't get one in Procter's office.

As an Australian there is a lot about this article I can agree with but the simple fact is Steve Bucknors umpiring was and has been terrible for some time. I can't see how the ICC could've done anything else in the situation. How could any player taking the field in Perth (Australian or Indian) have confidence in his decisions.

It's amazing that people like Suresh Memon, and now you, Mr. Abbassi, fail to address the most fundamental issue - when will the so called neutral umpires stop making prejudiced decisions against subcontinental teams?

Why did Mike Proctor ban the Bangladeshi player for claiming a grounded catch, but blithely ignore Ponting claiming a grounded catch? Why did Proctor call in Yuvraj for standing his ground, but ignore Clarke doing the same? Why did Proctor ignore "a person is innocent until proven guilty" and ban Harbhajan based on the Aussie statements? Why did Benson ask Ponting if the catch had been taken while there was a square leg umpire around whose job is to make decisions on such things? Why is it that year after year, close decisions (line-balls, as Woolmer called them) go in favor of Australia and against the subcontinental teams?

Rather than whining about India's attitude and BCCI's power, how about making sure that everyone gets treated equally first?

Kamran, people like you are exactly why the sub-continent was colonized for 200 years. Tell me, what does it feel like to be Ponting's house pet? Also let me just say this: edging to first slip and then not walking is absurd. To then claim the moral high ground as these cheating scum bags are trying to do simply exacerbates that. And, I suggest you look at some of the pictures of the catch that Ponting claimed he had caught cleanly off Dhoni to see that the Australians have relinquished all right to be treated as members of the human race. "Monkey" would be a compliment for this lot.

Though i agree with you on the 'bad precedent being set up' i think there's still a lot of introspection needed to the 'racism' issue.I think the match refree just got to beileve australians and forgot Sachin's word which i think is undoubtedly best ambassador for circket in the current time.
This i think was a bigger racism being shown by the refree himself. I must also add thet the onfield umpires B&B (Bucknor & Benson)are being very honest to say that they didn't hear what harbhajan said, in fact they must add that they didn't heard and saw anything properly in the entire match.

Having been an umpire myself for 9 years I feel pressure from players also contributes to umpires mistakes especially in Oz. International ump once told me neutral umps are under just as much pressure in Oz as hair, Taufel etc. retired players (commentators) are quick to critisize but why don't they umpire? Well known ex SA bowler once told me it was a crappy job.

Can someone please explain to me why "monkey" is a racist slur? If anything, it is an insult to our far away cousins in the animal kingdom. Come to think of it, is it allright to call someone an idiot, a clown, a giraffe? Racism is bad, indeed, but a personal comment can only be racist if the person also means that all people of that race are equally ... If Andrew Symonds had called Harbhajan a Sikh, what is the "racism" in that - it's simply true - or it's not, but it confers no sign of prejudice against people of that religion. I believe there is a bit too much of political correctness here.

What the hell are you guys talking about? This guy is saying they set a dangerous precedent. ICC should have fired Bucknor/Benson even without any pressure from the BCCI. You are supporting two officials, a third umpire & a match referee who were clearly incompetent & seem to have abandoned all sense of fair-play. If this were to happen in any sport in the USA these umpires would have been hard-pressed to find another job. Shame you guys for sticking to the same old ways of sticking by the bad guys. What a joke!

I completly disagree with the author .The ICC officials have always been unfair to Asians we have hordes of evidences when India Pakistan and Sri Lankan players have been penalised by ICC refrees for small offences whereas Australia England and other players rough behaviour has been overlooked how come mike procter is still in ICC panel of Refrees after the Oval Fiasco when w e talk of Fairness Impartiality and Neutral apporach the Officials Appointed By ICC should exhibit the same integrity and Impartaility why do match officials like Ranjan Madugalle or Aleem dar not been centres of contraversy because the people of the sub continent do not indulge in bias .Those people who are supporting Bucknor should understand that Bucknor officiated the sydney test as though he was a member of the Australian squad so whatever has happened is bad but defending Australia and Umpires like Bucknor is doing more harm to the gane

Mr Abbassi, I am surprised that you have tried to pose here as a fair minded guy which you really are not. You are same as the other south asians who you claim to be biased. You have drawn a comparison between Hair and Bucknor and had justified sacking of Hair while crying out against SB. But if you remember Hair held on to the letter of law when he declared the forfeiture. While SB refused to refer to the third umpire where he could and have been getting decisions wrong consistently. Of the two, Hair is more competent than SB. I know what your views would have been if the team involved was Pakistan instead of India. Now that there is nothing for you to lose, you have tried to gain some kudos from the Aussie and Indian Hate Brigade. Looking forward to the mails that are gonna flow from India Bashers with the holier than thou attitude.. Good work dude, Keep it up.

i think cricket has gone down a dangerous path, the precident has been set,what happens next time india dont get thier way can we expect the same thing to happen.
india are ruining cricket and i think cricket at the moment would be better off without them playing if this is how they are going to react to a few bad decisions.
i carnt believe the fuss put over the australian teams behavior they play cricket the same way as every team i have ever been involved in.
playing sport is about two things having fun with your team mates and winning.
i and every team i have ever played appeal excessivly,claim catches were uncertain of and sledge the opposition thiers nothing wrong with it.
the object of bowling and fielding is to take 10 wickets for as little runs as possible, taking 1 or 2 wickets from bad decisions and sledging helps.
i and my team mates have often sledged the opposition with hurtful remarks usually its the first thing that enters your head that you say,harbajahn did this

While I agree with you on the lamentable governance (in general) on the part of ICC, I differ on two counts. First - if Harbhajan Singh can be proven guilty, he should be banned for three tests and given lessons in effective communications. But the evidence against him is the same as the evidence for him. Word of a player. Umpires didn't hear what he said, and microphones didn't pick it up. He cannot be convicted in the face of such weak evidence as he is innocent until proven guilty.

I differ on one more point - which incidentally is the central idea of you article. South Asia is a force in world cricket. It is a fact that should be accepted and not resented, because no othe region on the face of the earth can boast of such passion for the game, supported by such demographic and economic characteristics. While we all love the game, saying that everyone involved in the sport is there for the love is closing our eyes to the obvious. The truth is that ICC needs money to run the game.

I totally disagree with your views. It is about justice, not world domination.

My questions Mr. Abbasi:
If a judge is biased, incompetent and indifferent, should he be left with impunity because of his elevated status. Mr. Bucknor was on an unchecked spree, robing indians and more importantly cricket lovers from true and fair competition. He must have his own personal reasons for doing that. But had ICC or BCC taken strong actions in 2003-2004, one of the saddest episode in Cricket history would have been avoided. I will say the same for Mr. Procter. I am a Pakistani and sadly finding that most of the Pkistanis are taking the samed biased view of these incidents like yourself. Pakistanis should not forget that it was BCCI's unbiased support towards them that let the cricket got rid of another tyrant.

Kamran those are the sanest comments I have yet read on this issue. I am glad Pakistan and India are so incredibly enthusiastic about cricket, it ensures crickets continuing prominence. Yes Australia need to hold up a mirror to there general 'competitiveness' ie aggressive sledging. AN issue for some years now. But Harbajan's probable comment of monkey is reprehensible and if siad, should be dealt with appropriately. Ponting was right to report it. The dropping of Bucknor is a disgrace, even more so than that of Hair. Last year Pakistan team acting in a wounded pride/infantile manner. India unfortunately have done the same with quite hysterical reaction from some. It is time to grow up and in the sober light of day both teams (Australia and India) need to do some seriopus soul searching.

This is directed at peter.

Cricket is not always about winning or losing. Maybe you havent learnt anything from all this.
More reading needs to be done by you.

Well, Darrell Hair did everything by the rulebook and got kicked out. Bucknor is out since he was simply incompetent. That he is still around after the World Cup fiasco is beyond comprehension.

It is not about India exercising its power because of its commercial power. One needs to understand the silly colonial rules of the game which require revamp. If calling Symonds is racial what about sledging? If players are accountable why not umpires. An umpire is to seek a clarification from the third umpire and not from a captain (like Benson did). If we are able to see clearly the goof-ups on TV why cant the umpire use it. Why cant the ICC draw up clear cut regulation and ensure they are applied consitently by Match Referees? It is time that someboby else leeds ICC and not SLOW SPEED.There is no point ICC trying to defend Buckner rather they apply their resources to find new talent that is readily available. If ICC does not change it is a matter of time that the sub continent countries pull out and form World Cricket Council.

Firstly, typecasting a "monkey" comment as racist is just plain rubbish. Let us, still, take Symonds' argument at face value. How, then, is it ok for a hulking giant to cry at a "monkey" taunt while it is juvenile for a grown man to lose his temper when his wife's and mother's integrities are questioned with alarming regularity?

Second, Bucknor's problem is not isolated. In basketball, it is known that stars get star treatment. That doesn't mean it is right. Four years ago, teams employed 4 people to give 24 fouls on Shaquille O'Neal. Now, the guy often fouls out of games himself, because his own stature has fallen. We cannot have umpires who subconsciously get bullied by or are in awe of the team with the better record. Bucknor's sacking is correct because it sends the message to the rest of the umpires. Grow a spine or get out. Honestly, I would much rather have Simon Taufel, because you can see that he controls a game when he is standing. His are honest mistakes, not Bucknor's.

An aussue player ( Darren Lehman ) called SANATH JAJASURIYA a BLACK MONKEY but despite clear proof and evidence , no action was taken .There is a clear case of double standards by the aussies . So , where's the ' beef '!

My question to Mr. Abbasi and all the respected supporters for retaining Mr. Bucknor by his employer: What then in the world does accountability, job competence, merit, justice account for. Should i be expecting to go on enjoing the rewards and perks of my job without standing upto its demands and requirements. The question becomes even graver if i am a judge or in a capacity where my incompetence has time and again robed hardworking individuals of their reward and brought sleepless nights on scores of people, to say the least. If a right decision is taken due to a (so called) wrong influence, it is probaly because this matter was not checked earlier objectively. People who are talking about the financial clout etc. etc.of BCCI are in fact trying to create a smoke screen for the whole wold to miss the sheer and obvious slackness, lethargy and indifference of all the officials involved. No one should be trumpeting for pious forgiveness on the suffering of someone else.

Kamran In my opinion the BCCI did the right thing. The Indian Team were treated rather shabily by the match referee, umpires and "Ricky and his gang". You have to give the Indians credit for sticking together (unlike the Pakistanis) and hopefully will give back to the Aussies what they got from them, ten fold. Go Kumble and Team India.

has any south asian team or indivijual been fairly treated by any white official. the answer is no.why o why are aussie words more powerful than indian?would you respect indians if you were persecuted in india just because you are not indian?

I completely disagree with u Mr. Kamran. The umpiring was bad and i think indians have all the rights to ask for a change. But the biggest issue in my view is sledging and Ponting's behaviour. First of all the sledging should be banned, especially the way Aussies were using it. After all its a gentlemen's game and should be played the same way.
I think Ponting should also be punished and so should Symonds, cuz they are the one who started all this and they always get away with this. If ICC wants the laws be implemented, they should be the same for every one. And if it doesn't happen soon, i m sure these sort of things will keep happenning.

Errr... I think you got all wrong about Bucknor. He should not have been umpiring in this test in the first place. His sacking is too little too late for the game of Cricket. Remember... India has already been declared a losing side due his incompetence and favouritism. Forget his mistakes, he even refused to call in the third umpire for a stumping appeal - this not a mistake, this is bias. And imagine Benson asking Ponting about the catch... what a joke... as if Ponting is a shining beacon of honesty. And if you think BCCI's demands were mean - then you haven't seen nothin' yet. Luckily I am not in BCCI - else I would have strangled ICC until they declared this match as a draw and fired Benson as well. And who knows... Ponting too could have a stick or two. Got it?

On the racist issue, the whole Bhajji issue was handled poorly. First Ponting should have kept the issue from going so far and shd have accepted Kumble's conciliatory gestures at the end of play and before the hearing. By going to the match referee, Ponting showed that the Aussie can dish it out but can't take a bit of rough talk themselves. There is a small line between sledging and racism. Procter cocked it up further by failing to reconcile the teams. He is an experienced player himself. Why did Procter accept an ICC lawyer to be present at the hearing. Other countries should fear the subcontinent's money less and the lawyers like Malcolm Speed more. If the appeal commissioner finds Bhajji innocent, then no one would come out looking clean. More importantly, when the Aussies go touring, other teams will not be able to know if they will get knocked out under false code 3.3 offences.

The game is definitely bigger than individuals.

And I am very happy reading the views of Mr Abbasi and Mr Menon.

As most South Asian fans, my initial reaction was that of shock, horror, conspiracy theories, colonism etc. I regret that now.

The 2 umpires simply had a bad test match. The distractions were too many and were compounded by the wild-dog behavior of belligerent Aussies. The good news is that this rabid behavior has drawn severe criticism from all ranks and leaves the cricketers to do some soul searching.

However, it is a matter of serious concern if Bucknor's performance as a test match umpire has remained south bound from the time the whispers became loud noises.

Kumble's very recent statements indicate that the team has moved on and hopefully the SCG happenings would have fired them up for the perth battle.

Very nice article.

Regarding Steve Bucknor's removal, I don't think it's wrong

Steve Bucknor's umpiring quality has been unacceptable for a long time and it touched its nadir in the Sydney test when he erred on at least 6 occasions leaving India with no fair chance to win. India's patience, simmering until the Sydney test, boiled over after this last test. Ganguly had already given his negative rating about Bucknor to ICC after the last series in Australia. What action did ICC take on this feedback ? ICC just sat on this report as a pregnant ostrich.What do you expect us to do, wait for ever till we die of old age, sustaining this overwhelming incompetence?

To those people who have asked why the term "monkey" is a racist slur.

Historically, it has been used against people of African descent to imply they are less evolved.

In Europe soccer hooligans throw bananas and make monkey noises at the black players.

Because of cultural differences it is quite possible that Harbhajan didn't know monkey was offensive to Symonds - the first time he used the term.

That was back in October when Australia toured India. Following the disgraceful crowd scenes where the BCCI tried to deny that the crowd were making monkey noises until they had video evidence, Harbhajan agreed not to use the term monkey again, recognising that although he wasn't meaning it to be racist, Symonds found the term offensive for the reason stated above.

Before Indian fans rush to claim that H is as pure as the driven snow, I ask them to type "Harbhajan Singh vs Kevin Pietersen" into You Tube. Marvel at both his sportsmanship and eloquent use of the F word.

Good points there, the ICC isn't too worried about the running of the game, just how much money they make. It seems that they will do almost anything to keep the BCCI happy and ensure their (The ICC's) cut of the Indian T.V. money.

It was totally biased article in favor of Australia or ICC.dont u see there is a simple unfairness in ICC governess. for claiming a fake catch if Rashid latif can be punished why not ponting and clark was punished by the same match referee proctor? I mean these arrogant aussies has right to say anything in the name of Hard and tough cricket but no other team should say anything in return...what the hell is this.another point whenever any bowler from asia bowl good he will be tagged with the name chucker whether it may be shoaib akhter, murli, malinga, bhajji, rajesh chauhan, sabbir ahamad, saqlan, shoaib malik and many more names,could you add any name from white ppl like brett lee, tait. I am sure u cant. and last point is If BCCI is providing almost 80% money to ICC then they should not show their muscle power when things are going wrong. I agree ppl overreacted to the whole matter but they spent their night to watch matches and if its not fair then they get understandably angree..

Mr Abbassi , unfortunately you have got it all wrong. Dont insult the intelligence of millions. The real point is that the cricket world is still in the administrative hand of the whites and they cannot swallow the changes taking place. If you cannot see this I can only pity you and all those like you. You are not only being naive but giving a rooftop demonstration of you naivette. It is a well known fact that asians are at the receiving end of these white match referees. Procter shud have handed down bans on ponting and clarke and even Gilly for their incorrect / blatantly unfair appeals . An asian would have been in the docs by now. Dont fool yourself and others through your blog.Get kudos from guys like Andrew. You must be feeling high on them.Wow

Superbly written it's great to not every1 from the subcontinent is so 1 eyed, i cannot credibly say that bucknor's umpiring was superb , it was simply atrocious however this happens in cricket remember THIS IS JUST A GAME & as for this hysterical conspiracy about bucknor colluding with the australians is simply unbelievable why would bucknor at the end of his career risk it all so australia of all nations( remember he's west indian) to win a test match? As for harbhajan comment what & Indians sayin he meant nothin by it and that in India monkeys are a god is just so one-eyed its unbelievable..why we he call symonds something nice 2 him after symonds obviously insulted him? I dont think he should banned however dont condone his racist remark i mean cultural differences i couldn't slaughter a cow in India because it's sacred yet here in Australia beef is the most common meat..As for ponting he's not a true sportsmen and needs 2 look at himself & so does the entire australian team...END

About Bhajji: Have Kamran or anyone else commenting here got any proof of Bhajji's remarks? I would like to see it please. Any more comments after that.

About SB: What ICC did now it should have done more gracefully to this respected gentleman long back. Question is if ICC politely forced him to continue or did SB did not realize his time's up.

Kamran this is the most sensible article you've written.

Thank you and Sambit Bal, and Suresh Menon for showing perspective in these dark times.

No one looks good after this. Ponting, Bucknor, ICC, BCCI but without doubt the ones coming out the worst are the Indian cricketing public and their media. On one hand they take Bhaji's suspension as a personal affront to their national psyche which is apparently based on racial tolerance and ghandi's principles. On the other hand they burn Australian flags and effiges of officals in violant displays. To rub salt into this wound which already bleeds of barbarity, they have the height to claim that Bhaji was singling Symonds out (Australia's one dark skinned player) as a monkey only to liken him to a Monkey God. Ignorance or arrogance? Probably a mixture.

In any case fortunately Kumble is a class act. And class is spelt with a capital C in his case. If only some of his countrymen could follow suit.

The point about the term 'monkey' being non-racist is false. How come it is only used for black cricketers? This used to happen to the WI players too. But now, the ICC has made racism a serious offense. The crowd problems in Vadodara should have told Harbhajan that 'monkey' is now considered racist. He still allegedly used it. If proven, he should be punished. Racism has no place in cricket or any other walks of life.

The term is like the N-word. If used by blacks on blacks it is not racist. But if a white were to use the N-word that is racism. It all depends on who says the word to whom, and the context.

"Peter" posted a comment here in this blog.

"A team with true pride would not have crumbled so meekly in their moment of truth."

Could you explain why/how team pride is related with the collapse of Indian tail-enders. Your immaturity is beyond senses. They are just bowlers and we don't expect they should do well in such pressure situation.

"

I tend to agree with you Kamran, this is not the first time indians players and board have tried to benefit from their financial strength, stardom and media. There are many instances in past but to go overboard like that is very unusual and sign of things to come. I would loke to recall the one incident on the comments made by Indian Captain Anil Kumble that " Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game" and he went on quoting his example. The incident happened to be in Indo Pak matach in 1999 where Anil got 10 wicket haul. He persevered couple of session from the end where neutral umpire was officiating with no reward and justfully so. But once he switched end to his local umpire he got all the ten wickets. The first wicket he got in my opinion i have never seen as bad a decision given by umpire when he gave Afridi caught behind. The balls was miles away from the bat yet the indian went up in unisome and got the result. That clip in itself a big doubt on Kumbles integrity.

Well said Kamran. Your comments, along with Menons make for some sane discussion of some difficult issues. As an Australian, married to a South American,like my brother, regrettably but a reality of life, is that racist attitudes exist in all countries, as is demonstrated ironically by the many arrogant and ignorant and very insular comments made in postings here by persons from the subcontinent. I love the game of cricket first and foremost and want to see it grow, and I like many Aussies won't be burning effigies and carrying on like 'fruit cakes' if our team loses the next match, or the last test match in Adelaide. There were some bad umpiring decisions made, and yes many went against the Indians in this match, but that happpens in cricket at all levels, as I know as a Sydney district cricketer. It would have been good if Simmons, etc would walk when they know they are out, but as any objective cricket observer knows, this occurs with teams at all levels across all countries.

Mr. Kamran Abbassi you sound like a Pakistani Mukul. First your blog was stalled for over a month and now you come up with something you consider will attract the Indian supporters? You are writing just for the heck of it only to get praise from a few Indian supporters. I am Indian but, I don't like to be biased and one sided. In my opinion Suresh Menon has written a very unbiased article and he criticized the media, TV channels, especially Navajot Sidhu for being so immature and biased. Leave aside whether or not Harbhajan said anything to Symonds. I don't agree with you that calling someone a monkey is racism. You are also flowing with the flow or with the rising tide and saying,'it is a racist term and cannot be excused' from which dictionary or book that you have derived it as a racist comment? Is it Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution? I suggest you better do some homework on this subject before writing a blog on the subject of racism.

Before you talk about

Dude!...WOW!!! look comes out of hiding!..where were you all this time??? Its been a month almost and I pretty much ave up on the idea of you contributing to this blog ever again. :P

who is the governing body of world cricket? Is it ICC or BCCI

I strongly disagree with yours & Menon's view.This is totally not about Sub-continental Dominance at all.This should be taken in the right sense as "Justice for All".How can a Man of Bucknor's Stature err consistently towards one Team.If he would have given atleast 30% in favour of the Indian Team then with no doubt this Match would 've been won by the Indians.Would u disagree on that???Also,you 've to take the Aussie Team's reaction on the field esp. for Arrogance,False Appealing,Over Reaction,Sledging,etc into account.See the attitude of Clarke, he clearly nicks the ball to the first slip & he's waiting for the umpire to rule him out.Is tat real Sportsmanship 4m No-1 Team???This test is surely one of the BITTER-Test's i 've ever seen.It's high time some South Asian Board has to make an uproar on the constant injustice that has been thrusted upon them.U can take a examples like Muralitharan's,Rashid Latif's,Harbhajan's,etc...This is the right time to make hay while the Sun Shines!!!

Good work Kamran, Its just a case of sour grapes, All indians who are yelling about the injustice just tell me few things, Why did Kumble sledged Yousuf in the last series which cost yousuf his wicket, why when gambhir and afridi had an exchange of abuses in the match and afterwards afridi appologized but gambhir didnt, why wasnt it a case of bad umpiring when kumble got 4 wrong decisions in his favour and went on to take 10 wickets against pakistan, why was Mike Dennis sacked on banning sehwag for a match,

Please don't be a hypocrite.

Firstly harbhjan is innocent until proven guilty. Punishing him just on the basis of a statement made by known dishonest people is horrifying.

Secondly for god's sake insulting people in anyway is bad. That's not gamesmanship but its just plain bad. I just can't understand why its alright to insult people using every four letter word known to man but just not a few words considered racist by the white man or western sensibilities. A truly racist insult would be something like "All ---(fill in race) are monkeys". The media and people have built up a culture where its perfectly alright to cuss using words like f**k c**t (terms of endearment according to aussies) etc. but not anything else considered racist by western sensibilities.

Thirdly its not about world domination. World domination is when australia and england dominated ICC until just a few years ago. This is a fight for fair practices in cricket no more no less. Reforming the system is not world domination!

I strongly disagree with yours & Menon's view.This is totally not about Sub-continental Dominance at all.This should be taken in the right sense as "Justice for All".How can a Man of Bucknor's Stature err consistently towards one Team.If he would have given atleast 30% in favour of the Indian Team then with no doubt this Match would 've been won by the Indians.Would u disagree on that???Also,you 've to take the Aussie Team's reaction on the field esp. for Arrogance,False Appealing,Over Reaction,Sledging,etc into account.See the attitude of Clarke, he clearly nicks the ball to the first slip & he's waiting for the umpire to rule him out.Is tat real Sportsmanship 4m No-1 Team???This test is surely one of the BITTER-Test's i 've ever seen.It's high time some South Asian Board has to make an uproar on the constant injustice that has been thrusted upon them.U can take a examples like Muralitharan's,Rashid Latif's,Harbhajan's,etc...This is the right time to make hay while the Sun Shines!!!

The Point for raising the racism issue is to cover for the umpiring decisions and unfair practice of R Ponting and co. This was being organized by Oz only to divert public attention from the very fact that second test must be scrapped and no records to be entered in the record book.

PAK SPIN BLOGGERS ARE ALWAYS SEEM TO BE JEALOUS OF INDIA'S DOMINANCE IN ICC . Get used to fact that BCCI contributes 80% of ICC revenue and they will dictate terms . Bucknor is now 61 yr OLD and can't function like young umpires. It would've been foolish to keep him any longer. Why should India even continue to play with 3rd grade umpires when so much is at stake ? All they asked for is neutral fair umpires . On second thought BCCI should just withdraw from ICC and setup its own Cricket council. I am sure you all and this Blog will soon become irrelevant then . LOL Peace Out !!

Sacking of Steve Bucknor was incorrect. If ICC truly believed that Bucknor had erred they should have just allowed him to continue for the Perth test and not considered Bucknor for any future tests.
Regarding the Racist comments, the game has always been played that way. With Ponting now having opened the Pandora's box, Team Australia will now be under the scrutiny of every umpire and cricketing nation in the world. Ponting by preferring to complain has brought in the Aussie downfall. The Aussie domination in cricket has been a combination of Cricket and Mental disintegration of the opponents. This is a sure shot formula for domination. With the current complaint, the Aussie team has lost one of its main ingredients for Cricketing domination. From here on the world will see the Aussie cricket domination going downhill.
Regarding the Dissent showed by some Aussie players and Mike Proctor's views on it the less said about it the better as Aussies are'nt Asians.

EVEN lord hanuman is a monkey ! big deal he just called symonds a monkey whats so racist about it? get over it kids.... monkeys are just animals, totally different from the n-word.... we worship the animal monkey and he called symonds one , is he racist for calling the monkey symonds or calling symonds a monkey, can we clear that out first?

Dear kamran,
I completely agree with you on your first part of the article (on Habajan Singh), but I don't on Steve Buckner. Let me bring into the notice of the readers and to Kamran himself that Steve has soft corner for Andrew Symonds, those who were watching the match closely, can make out it. First of all Steve gave Symonds twice not out and on the both occassions, he was clearly out, even a child could say after watching Symonds nick that he is out. It didn't stop there, he delebrately gave Dravid out and the bowler? Symonds again. And if someone watches the clips carefully, Symonds pats Steve on his shoulder after finishing an over as if saying 'thank you sir'. So, there's nothing wrong with BCCI in asking to drop Steve Buckner from umpiring in the remeining series atleast until the wounds of cheating heals. As an Indian, I know and I'm sure that we Indians will forget and forgive Steve Buckner later. Atleast he should feel the burn for his mistakes.

Bucknor and Hair's cases are totally different. And India has even called Aleem Dar racist. What I don't understand - other than India's overreacting - is how is monkey a racist term?
Bucknor is an excellent umpire, one of the best. It is sad he is axed.

Cannot understand why Symonds is insulted at being called a monkey - actually the one who looks more like a monkey is Baji himself he should take at look at himself in a mirror - In fact he is the only one out of all the players in both teams that looks like an old monkey and as it is not an insult in India he should state it on the back of his shirt !!!

People seem to ignore or forget the fact that Bucknor had to go not only for the present match but for his cumulative past failures. it is better this happened this way than him being given extended retirement by the ICC due to lack of elite umpires.
With regards to sledging may I draw attention to the fact that no one seems to mention about Hogg's use of 'Bastard'. Remember one man's raciscm maybe other man's sledgeing and vice-versa.
I have a feeling that Perth is going to be a letdown in terms of cricket after all this.

well said!
As far as i know bhajji has got some serious attitude problem and Indian team is standing for him only because they have lost the test match and they want to avoid further humiliation by bringing non-cricketing issues in the game. As far as Australia goes they always have been same arrogant, they have done nothing extra-ordinary to spark this fire, its just that India couldn't bear the loss.
And before criticizing the umpires India specially KUMBLE should have gone back to February 1999
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/79492.html
where Mr. Jayparakash helped India and Kumble a great deal to win that test match in Delhi by claiming 10 wickets.
I am afraid why Pakistan didn't do anything like India are doing right now.

Can understand very well why the West Indian Board is upset about the sacking of Bucknor - it is a kick up their backside - just picture if the the ozies wanted our Umpire Manuel taken off a test match becos of mistakes he made ?? all hell would have broken lose - Arjuna would have asked for the blood of Ponting for breakfast (he is now chairman of the Interim comittee). Different strokes for different folks - as for Baji he is the most obnoxious player in the Indian team and is rude to even his own mates on the field if they misfield or drop catches off his bowling - he must be corrected and not glorified - honour is one thing but blind honour is a sure sign of acute stupidity.

Why should Kumble appeal to Ponting to drop the charges against Baji if he did not actually say anything - Why is calling another fellow human a monkey not degratory now ?? something for the Kiwi Judge to think about during the hearing of the appeal.

Your article is just stupid Mr Kamran. you wrote it on what ground?
what about all the blogers who says its wrong to drop Bucknor and BCCI using its power.
How can you take a word of a player(ponting) who stand his ground although he knows he was out and take his word over a third umpire,So what is the Third umpire is for?
Ok i agree umpires do mistakes but what about making the same mistake against one team for like 4-5 times.how come he barely make a mistake agaisnt the Aus.
Anyone who the match live they can feel what indians are feeling if they really love the game of cricket.
most blame the last 3 batsman for not lasting for even 1 over.Tell me whats going on the mind of no 9,10,11 batsmen knowing that the umpires gave there best 2 batsmen out who were notout. you expect him to last for more that 1 delivery?How can he trsut the umpires
You bring shame to SubContinent by writing this Crap

"The umpires are human too" is one of the most common cliches used to defend umpiring errors. Well if so why not every human be eligible to umprire in test matches. Umpiring is a profession with special skills such as knowledge of rules of the game and keen senses and attention paid to the game in progress. We all know the extent of knowledge of rules of Bucknor (World cup final Fiasco), in addition, his senses seem to have deteriorated faster than Brett lee's yorker. I do not know who selects the elite-panel and what are their criteria, I am sure if ICC tried they can find competant umpires. Hopefully this incident will root out Steve Bucknoe, Rudi Koertzen, Billy Bowden, Mark Benson and some of the so called elite upmires who can seem to see or hear.

I think the monkey chant was misheard, may be Harbhajan was speaking Punjabi and saying Maan ki---- which was understood as monkey by Symonds.
Kamran you were too lenient on the Aussies, May be you didnt even bothered to watch the game and just wrote this article. You intentionally took a leftist position on this article so that you can get more responses.
How many more incidents like Hair do you want, why the error of judgement went always in Australia's favor and in England/Pak series it went in Englands favor, is it just a coincidence or it is a trend anybody with a bit of common sense can easily tell it is a trend.
You made a deliberate attempt to focus on racism and India's new found influence in the game and left the main topic untouched which was exteremely biased umpiring which determined the fate of the match.I think not only the Indians but the cricket fans all over the world should feel agitated as they were robbed by ICC umpires of a thrilling match.

Kamran, just a few things.
1. if BCCI wanted to "run" cricket, they have had plenty of opportunity over the years to exercise their muscle. ex: Simon Taufel giving Sachin and Saurav out when they were not against England during the recent tour. Sachin being repeated given out falsely by SB. ex: Against pakistan, the famour abdur razzak incident, the shoaib akhtar run out incident when sachin had made his grounds easily and shoaib knocked him out of the crease by running into him, the lbw on shoulder against australia. i can keep giving you such examples over and over again.
2. double standards. case: gilchrist Vs latif.gilchrist accused latif of calling him a white c**t.no evidence, latif exonerated.why was bhajji charged?
3. sportsmanship:ricky "fair play" ponting likes using big words on how people should play in the true spirit of the game. and i think according to him, what HE and the aussies do should be the benchmark of true sportsmanship.claiming grounded catches.cont

"Brilliant post, Kamran. Just read Suresh Menon's feature on Cricinfo, and now this, and am glad some sanity and foresight is beginning to emerge in the coverage of this crisis, and you make an important point that needs to be heeded.

It would be nice if the Australian journalists and the majority of the Indian coverage could match your and Menon's standards.
"

-could not agree more. thank you kamran

I think white players will acknowlegde that they have got away with murder in the past. As Sri Lankan i remember Mcgrath calling Jayasuriya a Black Monkey in the 95/96 series in Australia...and yet McGrath didnt get fined or even get banned from any matches....funny now its the aussies who are suffering the good sledge...and i bet it hurts even more when a asian player does all the sledging......after years of (racial) abuse and injustice to asian players....we r givin it sum of the trash talk back to u convicts......javed miandad, arjuna rantunga and ganguly knew how to make their teams aggressive and through that asian teamns have been a force to reckon with....i hope the indians as well as the pakistanis and sri lankans give plenty of heat when the aussies tour asia again...

contd.
That arrogant quack went up to the umpire and argued with him for a WIDE BALL! for which he was reprimanded for dissent.A WIDE BALL!so whatever he does should be considered true sportsmanship.please man, spare me.
4. Given Mr. Procter does not have a judicial background, but even a high school going child would know "Innocent until proven guilty".
5.Symonds said he saw bhajji hit lee on the backside,and he thinks it's not on and decides to stand up for his team mate.fine.but when the indian team stands up united for bhajji,they are overreacting.what's with this blatant hypocrisy?bhajji's gesture logically might have been what they call "friendly banter" which happens in many sports (the hitting the rear rend part), american football, basketball, baseball football.
5.also,what is up with all the cry babying?what happened to what happens on the field stays on the field?when they do it,they want it to stay on the field but when someone fights back they feel abused.and please CONTD.

Oh this argument is fabulous! If PCB gets umpire Hair fired from his job, it is all very nice and wonderful. But if India dares to do something similar, ICC is being pushed into irrelevance! OK Mr. Abbasi, please tell us what is new!

don't tell me about "racist remarks are not on" because a simple google search of australia's sledging history will give you enough examples to fill up this comment box ten times over.so if you want to say something,grow some testicles and be ready to hear some too.if not shut it.
6.agreed the crowd in india during the one-dayers was boorish.but is it necessary for me to remind everyone of the murali, ntini, hall, nell etc incidents?
6.rashid latif gets banned for 5 games for claiming a grounded catch,by Mr. Procter.however,he turns a blind eye to ponting.again double standards.

I can keep going on and on all day with this.India has lost a gajillion tests over the years, nothing new.i am not upset that they lost.neither am i upset for bad umpiring, fine.the guy is blind and deaf.what can we expect.the question is the hypocrisy,the double standards STILL being employed against the sub-continent teams, the lying and cheating.

Kamran : Good to see you come out of your sabbatical. ICC is now much like the UN with veto power of South Asia. It is indeed a crying shame .
Much like the germanism of PCB. The german veto power of Pakistan cricket. Way to go!

Let us not forget that , when it comes to racism , south asians might be the worst..without actually accepting it. Look at Pakistan , the PCB and the like of comments by Raja and Waqar ..they are inherently racist ..but no one dare say it or fear the german reprisals.

Regards

Mike

Ha ha the authors bias clearly shows despite the struggle to sound neutral and concerned about the precedence etc. If this is the type of dishonest journalism Pakistanis have to suffer then they shouldn't complain about the Hairs and tampering and all. Please do speak your mind more clearly and honestly instead of sitting on the fence. By the way it is BCCI that is exercising its power not "south asia".

I am very sorry to read your comments Kamran. I dont know what is the problem we Pakistani against India. We have seen the behavior of Australian before in the field and outside the field. Did you forget how Lillee kicked Miandad. Istill remember how Ponting put down BD and fight with onfield umpire to change the decision of third umpire in chittacong.Woolmer was constantly complaining against the tactics of Aussies on umpires to get decision in there favour. Did you forget how they get decision against Sanghakara in Hobart when he was close to win. there so many incidences of there behavior against teams visit there. this is not only Indian complaint but each team visit Australia complaint against there attitude toward umpiring decisions in favour of Australia because aggressive tactics. About Harbajan case, how come Mike Procter listen only Ponting but not Indian story from Sachin,who is much more respectable than Ponting. Dont forget it was Procter at Ovalwhogaveverdictagainstinzi

I dont quite agree that the power has shifted. The Australians still manage to get away with a lot of on field tactics, while the Asians tend to get banned even for showing their bat to indicate they hit the ball! Its only now that the Asian teams are objecting to such biased rules. I guess the ways used are not correct - but then there are no other ways. I think things can only improve if -a. The role of the 3rd umpire is made stronger and b. The match referees are less biased in their verdicts

IT is clear to see that these sporting events has now become a dollar and cent business when you win at any cost more money comes into the bank.can anyone prove to me that during the years not one of those said players involve did not benifited from said bad call as it were,i can name quite a few and went on to win both test and series make record and break record also,to me the I.C.C has taken a thrend now where by i can boldly say they have now become a pawn and has now stem the flow where good sence. fair play etc etc can no longer prevaile.......what next? maby the country with the largest support-income should rule.what say ye...

Why is removing an incompetent umpire such a taboo in Cricket. Football world cup 2006. Austarlia vs Croatia. Referee Graham Poll had a very poor game. He was suspended from refreeing further in the WC and sent home soon aferwards. Everybody was sympathetic to Poll but nobody argued that it wasn't the right thing to do. Why can't the same happen in Cricket? Maybe because as far as the ICC is concerned, its not what you know but who you know. Bucknor certainly seems to know the right kind of people inside the ICC. I cannot think of any other sport where a referee/umpire would have been allowed to continue his career after causing the sport's showpiece event's final degrade into a farce( Cricket WC 2007)

Mr. Abbasi, it was a disgrace reading your article. I am a Pakistani fan and was expecting better from you. You are supporting the officials of Sydney test..... how in the world can you do that??? removing Hair was right, but removing Bucknor is not.... How????? And what to say of Proctor.... his bias against sub-continent teams are not hidden from anyone (many examples are listed in this and other blogs, should not be too difficult for anyone to find).... and above all Aussies talking of morality, please read comments by Aussies Hall of Fame president and others (its posted on this website for your convenience, no hardwork required)..... do some research before writing and if its too much to ask of you, then please.... Cricinfo will be better off without your opinions. Kudos Anil Kumble and your remarks of "only one team playing in the right spirit" sums it up.
Note: Shankar, we Pakistani's fully support BCCI and Indian team (ya we do Abbasi, we do).

Mike Procter's extremely poor performance is a constant factor in this issue and the Ovalgate issue. His judgement is now rightly being questioned: he failed to intervene at the Oval, he failed to censure Yuvraj for dissent in the first test and now he appears to have taken Ponting's word over all others.

The BCCI is greedy and the Australians are arrogant so I have no favourites here: both need and deserve bringing to earth with a hard bump.

I have little time for the ICC either. This issue shows why the ICC needs to be replaced and revamped by a professional, independent organisation free from political wrangling. The ICC's processes for handling umpires haven't been clear and transparent. First Darrell Hair got shafted, now Steve Bucknor. No board should have the right to dictate who can and cannot umpire tests involving their side. Match referees have been poor as well.

The ICC and officials need an overhaul too. Cricket doesn't win here.

Indians are sore losers, if only they could keep their last 3 wickets this would'nt be as bad.

Cricket is sliding inexorably towards schism with the ICC presiding grandly over it. The ICC should have made it loud and clear that Bucknor was being sacked for incompetence. They could easily have said that he was given a second chance after the World Cup final fiasco and that the let everyone down. And that would have been completely true. Now in trying to be too clever by half and trying to walk an impossoble tightrope, the ICC looks the emasculated body that it clearly is. As far as the racism charge goes, they should have played it down stating that there was insufficient evidence. The ICC should also have stated that the behavious of BOTH teams violated the spirit of the game. My Indian countrymen will take serious umbrage, but during this very test didnt Captain Kumble make the most ludicrous LBW appeal of all-time even as Brad Hogg spaked him thru the covers for two!!! And as far as appealing on bump ball is concerned, Dhhoni is the original inventor of this deplorable tactic.

there is no doubt in my mind that certain match referees have strong bias against South Asians (Mike proctor has a history of that). Therefore, some of the grievances are fair about double standards. If Aussies sledge or appeal aggressively, they say it's good for the game as it brings in excitement but when South Asians do it they get banned (the whole team gets banned). What a shame!

Steve Bucknor removal was bad timing. Should have been done a couple years ago, but now was the worst time. Also amongst the solutions that had the best affect in the short term and worst impact in the long term.

Also for all that is being said of South Asia becoming powerhouses - that is true, only to an extent. England & Australia boards have conceeded
power, but individually officials do met out disproportionate sentences to South Asian cricketers. Virender Sehwag in South Africa, Pakistan's guilty verdict before the case was heard and now Harbhajan's verdict in a trail that is being *percieved* as unfair. So while the power centers are shifting, attitudes remain biased. Until these are fixed, muscles will flex. And money will never stop to talk - capitalism comes at a price.

Mr Abassi,

You have got it ALL wrong, yet again!! India did not ask for Benson's removal though he made a few wrong decisions against India. But with Bucknor, it's been a different case altogether. He seems to have made his personal goal to make sure the Indian team does not win any match that he officiates. He has a long history and if you think that any team should take these continual incompetence, bordering on some kind of personal vendetta is bringing the game of cricket into disrepute and burying your head in the sand, which is what ICC is good at. Secondly, with Ponting still talking about the moral high ground even after watching videos of him clearly cheating, is ridiculous. How comes he gets away with nothing for the millionth time, while Latif for the exact same incident was banned for 5 matches, by none other than Mike Proctor?

I was appalled at reading your article to the point of calling you an nationalistic rabid imbecile fan who should not have a pen in his hand to write such idiotic opinion only to appease the white POWER. It was due to cowards like you that the asian cricketers do not matter in the same vein as aussies, english and the SA's. removing hair was ok but bucknor was not. ARE U BLIND SIR. Subcontinental teams have suffered biased and poor decisions in the time of neutral umps. which is an unforgivable sin. We are forced to accept those decisions as part of the human element of the game. CRAP. Howcome the brits and Ozs & SA's suffer once in a bluemoon while the asian teams seem to suffer every time they are about to challenge them. It is cheating when u hit the cover off the ball & not walk and appeal when the opposing batsman's pad hits the ball. But i guess until we have "impartial" journalists like u amongst us they can get away with such cheating under the disguise of FAIR & HARD CRICKET.

Harbhajan says he didnt say it,why did Procter believe Hayden and Symonds? Its a stand of principle. The BCCI stood behind the PCB when Pakistans honor was dragged through dirt, worse without any proof. Extra ordinary circumstances will alwas exist, this was one of them.
Procter is a fool, listen to Rashid Latif articulate that when he was summoned Procter had similarly made up his decision beforehand as if Latif couldnt be trusted inherently.
Finally Bucknor the man is a disgrace, he makes a mockery of the cricket and yet should stand for more mock attempts. HE should have been cited for bringing the game to disrepute.
Lastly where is the fairness when Ponting wasnt cited for anything when Asian players have been banned/fined/admonished for far lesser.

dudes - all chill out! This will blow over - all the persepctives here are tainted from who you are supporting. All teams stretch the rules, all teams sledge, all umpires stuff up, all teams sometimes benefit and sometimes loose. The key to character is what happens next - do you sook like a girl and ask your daddy to help you or get out on the pitch and let your performance do the talking - can't wait until Perth and look forward to Tait trying to knock a few batmen's heads off , plenty of hook shots and loads of sledgeing between both teams - this is great - BRING IT ON!

Look at the outcome. Harbhajan, Bucknor