The Surfer

A small crowd was given a rare treat, something to savour long after the final curtain has fallen.

No tears need be shed for the gloveman. Rather, let us celebrate a happy ending. Gilchrist is going on his own terms, and in style.

And yet, unwittingly, Hayden may have done us a favour for he has surely taken the game closer to the “zero-tolerance” on sledging that the ICC so happily endorsed last week. It can no longer remain on the agenda, it can no longer require another meeting to endorse. It must be done today. Cricket is on the path to hatred and the ICC needs to pull it back now.

In the press box, the Kenyans were willed on by a new set of fans — greenhorns and veteran scribes. At the pavilion end, a group of Kenyan students joined the build-up to one of cricket’s biggest upsets. The organisers had thrown open the gates for the second half of the match.

These two cricketing nations must find a way to live together and play against each other without creating these foolish disturbances. A choice must be made. There are only two viable positions: either everything goes or nothing goes.

There was no earthly reason for a smart, experienced player like Hayden to make obnoxious comments on public radio about an Indian player or make fun of another. If you hear the show, you’ll hear him trying to mimic Ishant Sharma’s accent and manner of speaking and given the current atmosphere, that isn’t fun and games, it’s racial. Period.

It is striking behaviour from a man who talks regularly about himself as a committed Christian; presumably more fundamentalist than pacifist. He has just won an award as Australia's best one-day player of the year. His outburst has received predictable approval from many Australian sports fans on web forums.

It was a mundane party in the middle of another nondescript one-day series, and the conversation was inanity itself. A young man who had played for India for a couple of seasons was part of our group, and speaking shyly about his chances of playing in the final that weekend. Out of nowhere, his agent stepped in and caught his eye. "I've got two girls arranged at an apartment," he said, oblivious of the fact that there were at least four others listening in. The player's face went pale, and he was quiet for a good few seconds. "Come on, let's go," said the agent. The player was hardly the picture of enthusiasm, and pointing to his India blazer, he said: "I can't come wearing this."

Superstars aren't shown the door; time waits for them to call it quits, however belated that might be. To go against the grain, therefore, and insist on the blooding of youth at the expense of some of the biggest names to have graced the cricket firmament called for not just immense conviction, but also great courage. To the cynical several, Dhoni’s successful push for the infusion of young blood was a pointer to his rapidly growing clout within the establishment.

The players are annoyed that Cricket Australia continues to kowtow to a constantly threatening and whining Board of Control for Cricket in India despite India maintaining its reputation as the worst behaved team in the world.