The colour of cricket

Ponting suffered from amnesia when he warned Sreesanth of a backlash from
Oz fans; Aussie crowd behaviour has been among the worst

By Norris Pritam

I am sure that at different times Sreesanth and a few of the guys will cop a hard time from the Australian fans,’’ warned Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting on returning home after series with India. “That will generally happen at some stage to most teams that tour here, but I just hope – I will keep my fingers crossed – that no racial stuff comes up through the summer,’’ Ponting pontificated further.

Ponting’s utterances come as a veiled threat from a man whose team went no end to make a mountain out of mole-hill over an alleged racist slur against all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
During the seventh and final one-dayer in Mumbai, a section of the crowd was alleged to have made monkey growl and obscene gestures towards Symonds. Even though Symonds never made an official complaint but the Australians are said to have protested against the crowd behaviour. The Mumbai police turned pro-active and arrested four spectators. The police found spectators’ behaviour offensive under the Mumbai Police Act.

But one wonders what the Australians would say to the offensive remarks that Sri Lankans and South Africans have faced on the Australian tour? The track record of Australian spectators is the worst when it comes to rude and racist behaviour. From Andre Nell to Monty Panesar and Muralitharn – all have faced the ire of the Australian spectators. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had appointed India’s Solicitor General Goolam Vahanvati to investigate the matter.
Now that the Sri Lankans are set to tour Australia, their former skipper Ranatunga has advised Muralitharan to skip the tour. Ranatunga fears the hostile Australian crowd would be at its worst as Muttiah Muralitharan prepares to overtake Shane Warne as the highest Test wicket-taker.
Muralitharan has had a soured relation with the Australians where the crowd greeted him with catcalls and boos and Ranatunga fears it might get worse this time. “I told him I wished he wasn't touring Australia because of the amount of trouble he has had,’’ Ranatunga was quoted as saying.
Not just in Australia, at other venues also both players and media have suffered. In a recent interview to BBC’s Hindi Service, well-known cricket writer Vijay Lokapally narrated the shocking incident of racist behaviour by fans in New Zealand.

“In Christ Church, one day I was going up to the media box when a Kiwi fan blocked my way and abused me,’’ revealed Lokapally.

“The man looked violent and said all kinds of things like you bloody black Indian go back home,’’ Lokapally added. Several other Indian players and media persons have endured a similar experience in England and other place. So why single out India?

Before you try to find the solution to the problem you have to find reasons for the racist attitude of spectators. Among several reasons, one that stands out largely is the sledging or spat among the rival players shown by television channels live. It is all in public domain how Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh were entangled with Andrew Symonds. Unfortunately, this non-cricketing action was brought into the drawing rooms of general public. Courtesy stump microphones, even swear words by players echoed loud and clear in the ears of the public. The spectators, then on the basis of this, form opinion against some players. And when these players are near the fence, spectators make gestures against the players.

At times, players also use crowded stadiums to their advantage by giving vent to their political agenda. Can we forget the ‘Black Salute’ raised by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968? On the victory podium the two legendary athletes wore black socks on their wrists and raised them when the U.S. flag was being raised. It was an act of defiance by the athletes against the American political system. What could be a better place than a jam-packed packed Olympic Stadium in Mexico to catch attention? Besides, millions of people around the world watched them on their TV screens.

Sometimes the agenda of a particular player may not be so apparent. For instance, as narrated by Vijay Lokapally, “Vivian Richards, while batting, used to be extra aggressive against the white bowlers. It was his act of rebel against the white players. He was never so harsh on Indians or Pakistani bowlers.”

The question remains how to curb racism in sport? There are many who feel that it can not be. But former India Test player Syed Kirmani feels acts of racism in sport “should be ignored.’’
Perhaps one will get a solution when Sri Lanka and India are in Australia for the forthcoming
series.