Whatever the outcome
of this India-Australia Test series might be; there is one thing that it
will certainly be remembered for… the revival of the sporting spirit. This
was something legendary in the good old cricketing days and there is a
threat of it disappearing altogether in the wanting to win at any cost
environment of the 21st century.
The Aussies who are known for their aggressive brand of cricket have
strangely been the ones to set the standards in this series. The first guy
to be credited with the revival of this gentlemanly brand of cricket is
Jason Gillespie. During the first test match in Bangalore, Gillespie
started walking even as umpire, Steve Bucknor, was shaking his head
denying the appeal from the Indians. All eyes were on Bucknor who changed
his decision only after registering Jason’s sporting action. Most papers
gave it worthy mention the following day.
Gillespie’s compatriots have continued the tradition in the second test
match that is being played at Chennai presently. Three of them walked on
Day 1, even before the umpire’s finger went up and Yuvraj Singh taking the
cue from the sporty rivals, did the same. It must have been a form of the
ripple effect, and a very good thing for the game of cricket or for any
other game for that matter.
There are many cricketing greats known for their sporting attitude toward
the game. Gundappa Vishwanath was one such- legendary for his sense of
fair- play. Whilst captaining India in the Centenary Test against England
in 1980, Vishy recalled Bob Taylor, who had been wrongly given out. The
funny thing that happened was that Taylor went on to make a century,
helping England clinch the test! On another occasion, when Vishy had been
caught low down in the slips (India versus England in 1979), he asked the
fielder in question whether he had taken a clear catch because the umpires
were unable to arrive at a verdict. On the fielder replying in the
affirmative, Gundappa started walking. These are just a few of the
instances when this great cricketer conveyed a lesson about the spirit of
the game to his teammates and the cricket-crazy Indian public.
As much as the Aussies have set a good example by displaying sportsmanship
in this series, there are times when they have displayed infamous
behavior, particularly with regard to sledging. One such instance was
that of Glen McGrath’s relentless verbal onslaught against Sarwan of the
West Indies. After staying silent for a while, Sarwan started giving back
as good as he got even going down to the level of mentioning McGrath’s
wife, who is suffering from cancer. Glen could not handle that remark and
millions of TV viewers across the world became witness to a sordid drama
on the field, which completely took away from the spirit of the game.
There is another interesting sporting tale about West Indian bowler,
Courtney Walsh, refusing to stump Pakistani cricketer, Abdul Quadir, who
had moved out of the crease at the non-striker’s end. Pakistan won this
1988 World Cup match against the West Indians but it was Walsh who became
the toast of Pakistan.
The game of cricket is replete with many such sporting incidents, which
have been compiled for viewing in a series titled Golden Moments. The fact
that such incidents bear the title of Golden indicates the inherent sense
of fairness in human beings that values such moments. Perhaps the need to publicize them, stems from the fact that they are not so commonplace.
At a time when sport is threatened by unhealthy competition resulting in
doping and other unfair practices, it is hoped that such golden moments
will inspire present and future generations of sportspersons. There is the
sportsman’s prayer that says: When the Great Scorer comes to write, He
will not write whether you won or lost, but how you played the game.
Perhaps there is a lesson in this for the game of life as well.
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Whatever the outcome
of this India-Australia Test series might be; there is one thing that it
will certainly be remembered for… the revival of the sporting spirit. This
was something legendary in the good old cricketing days and there is a
threat of it disappearing altogether in the wanting to win at any cost
environment of the 21st century.