National honour at stake
In The Daily Telegraph , Andrew Baker states that the reaction had the ball-tampering accusations been made against an English player would have been far less dramatic.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
In The Daily Telegraph, Andrew Baker states that the reaction had the ball-tampering accusations been made against an English player would have been far less dramatic.
“Let us imagine that Sunday's alleged offence had been committed by an England player. This is not beyond the realms of possibility, as any Australian player from last summer's Ashes series might attest, and as the chortling former bowlers in the BBC's commentary box would confirm. Andrew Strauss would most likely have accepted the five-run penalty with a shrug and told his fielders to get on with it. Tony Blair would not have been contacted by mobile phone on his Caribbean holiday, images of Darrell Hair would not have burned on the streets of Stockwell, and ambassadors would have slept untroubled. Nobody, frankly, would have cared very much.”
Baker adds that the Pakistanis’ reaction is, nevertheless, understandable.
“It follows that for a Pakistani player to be accused of cheating, or condoning cheating, is not just a serious slur but a wearisomely familiar one. The response is passionate because it rejects the lazy lumping together of one people under one characteristic.”
In his article, Baker also refers to an editorial earlier this year in the Karachi-based News newspaper which is sure to ruffle many feathers. In it, broadcaster and foreign correspondent I Hassan, talking about a local festival, offers the following opinion:
"Regrettably, one has to say that our people cheat at every step in every walk of life. The concept of fair sport does not exist - be it getting a big contract or just a licence. Our people, unless vigilantly checked, will cheat. Even the fear of God does not prevent them from doing so."
Fazeer Mohammed believes that if the Pakistanis were really serious with all of the post-match comments about their country's honour being at stake, then they should not have returned to the field.
What is it about us former colonials that we feel compelled to measure ourselves by our one-time masters' yardstick of what constitutes civility and fair play? Giving up a Test match is as legitimate a protest as any other, especially if the degree of the perceived offence goes beyond issues of umpiring incompetence, or even bias. Those strident defenders of Victorian values, who will tut-tut and mutter disapprovingly about such behaviour being just not cricket, need to come to terms with the reality that this is only a game, and if it means being disrespected and insulted - as the Pakistanis claim - then it isn't a game worth playing.
For an outsider's account of the crisis, read Aakash Chopra's England diary in The Hindustan Times.
Even as I write, I am idly surfing the internet and hearing of mini-rallies and demonstrations around Pakistan in support of their beleaguered captain and team. I can see an outpouring of emotion on the British websites.
Martin Williamson is executive editor of ESPNcricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa