ICC and Aussies – spoilsports to the core
What’s it with the ICC and Aussies? Each seem keen to steal the mantle of spoilsports and sore losers from the other. The ICC probably felt it wasn’t getting attention from anyone so off it went and put together a list of top 20 batsmen and bowlers, ever.
Nothing wrong with putting up a list, but the real howlers were the exclusions in each of these lists rather than the “worthies” who made it.
Imagine a Top 20 batsmen list without Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh or a top 20 bowlers list without atleast three members of the famed West Indies quartet or the fact that South African Dale Steyn is ranked higher than Dennis Lillee, Wasim Akram or Allan Donald !!
Pig-headed to the core, if you ask me ! The only purpose seems to have been to muck up a controversy and get itself in the news. Though the ICC tried to explain how these rankings were arrived at, nobody’s buying their story. It’s probably their way of getting back at what they perceive as an Asian domination of the world body !
The Aussies are no less, and if India has been at the receiving end the past year, it was the turn of the South Africans to get the treatment, and in a pretty unique way during the second T20 match which the Aussies won.
Someone in the crowd flashed a green laser light at Wayne Parnell causing him to drop a catch offered by Mike Hussey, who then made an unbeaten 53 and led Australia to victory.
Cricket Australia of course apologised and said it would never happen again, but I wonder… Maybe they’ll come up with something even more innovative the next time given their tag of being sore losers !!
