Ashes abuse hasn't happened yet

If there is racial abuse, it will, of course, be Australia's undying shame. But it hasn't happened yet. The judgement on Australian sports fans is not just pre-emptive, but runs counter to indications. Panesar already has developed a cult status here, before setting foot on Australian soil. The fascination is redoubled by the fact that he is from the old school of tailenders, incompetent in all the game's disciplines except that one at which he is a master. As such, he is bound to be the butt of many jokes. But the fun that is made of his cricketing competence will, or ought not be, of itself racist. To the extent that a man can laugh at himself, surely so can others.

Unlike in Australia, its migrant communities arrived as ready-made, even fanatical, cricket players and fans. But it has taken generations for them to emerge in the Test team. Now, suddenly, they are cherished. As much as history bears on this issue, England has one, too. I was in the outer at the MCG when Bay 13 bombarded Gladstone Small with fruit and monkey chants. But it was 1986. Around then, Ian Botham declared Pakistan a place fit only to send a mother-in-law. There was no suggestion of sanction then, either for racism or for tired humour.