Procter must go the whole Hogg with Brad, too
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
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Robert Craddock calls Brad Hogg a “silly bastard” in the Courier-Mail but says he must face the same punishment as Harbhajan Singh if he is guilty.
Yes, we all agree the cricket world has gone totally mad, but the parameters have been set by the politically correct world that is smothering the sport ... If Mike Procter finds Hogg guilty and suspends him, all of Australia will scream: "You are kidding. For what?" If he finds him not guilty, India's billion-plus cricket fanatics will claim racial bias, particularly as Harbhajan was rubbed out for three Tests.
Malcolm Conn says in the Australian Harbhajan apologised to Andrew Symonds over a similar incident in Mumbai last year.
In the same paper David King looks at the events in detail and Peter Lalor writes Harbhajan might not even be picked to play on a fast bowler’s pitch in Perth next week.
Steve Waugh reviews the controversies of the Sydney Test in the Daily Telegraph.
The most likely outcome from all of this will be from this day forward Test cricket will have lost some of its colour and character because players will be forever scared to utter a word in the middle for fear of retribution.
In the Age Chloe Saltau says a simple act of sportsmanship might be all it takes to save the series.
"Good luck, Billy [Bowden], but don't mess up [at Perth]," writes Alex Brown in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Though Steve Bucknor's career is drawing to a close, cricket faces dark days if he's bullied out by player power," says Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
An editorial in the Jamaica Gleaner says "it is critical that the ICC engage in a serious debate on governance in cricket and arrive at a clear position on the issue."
Peter English is former Australasia editor of ESPNcricinfo