Holy carp. Did Jumbo really say that?

pdy: How do you exactly why he stood his ground? And was it an edge that was so close to call that he had to wait for the umpire's decision? Not walking for thin edges is very different, "spirit-of-cricket"-wise compared to waiting for the umpire's decision on very obvious edges.

The lack of a pact does not mean you just let off people whose behaviour was simply ugly in some respects.

If it was just for that it's a tad hypocritical considering the way yuvraj reacted in Melbourne that was hardly within the spirit of the game to edge one get given out and then stay at the crease for a minute acting like you got a rough one.

He even did the same in the second dig when he was plumb.

I'm sorry but it just comes off as sour grapes from kumble.

he's cheesed off because he fought hard to get his team home and didn't make it so he said something incredibly stupid and ill thought out...and considering nobody in cricket walks and every team including india over appeals what he said is quite frankly laughable anyway.

Batman wrote:Kumble was spot on in his comment. Symonds, Punter and umpires have been anything but sporting. I can't get over the last Ganguly dismissal yet nor Ponting's reaction when he was given out first innings, and to think they hauled up Yuvraj for dissent.

What did Symonds do?

Er..... it was an inside edge and he still went pretty much straightaway.

Not really a wise move by Kumble to let it all hang out right after an emotionally draining game like that - but he's not exactly saying anything that people don't already know.

Australia are a great side, and the sustained excellence of their cricket deserves all the plaudits it gets. But their constant bleating about the "spirit of cricket" - and seeming inference that they are the standard bearers of that ideology - is beyond a joke.

They're as happy to get down and dirty as anyone else. I wouldn't say they were worse than anyone else, but their conduct at times isn't exactly appealing.

But I don't recall Kumble's comments when Sreesanth was bowling deliberate beamers and purposely over-stepping by two feet to try and intimidate England's batsmen with bouncers during the summer. Didn't see too much evidence of the "spirit of cricket" when he was shoulder-charging batsmen as they walked past him, minding their own business.

Seems to me the the "spirit of cricket" is something of a myth, just a vague blandishment trotted out by the pious and self-righteous periodically in order to attack the conduct of another side.

Everyone knows top-level sport isn't a popularity contest. But it only tends to be the plucky losers who openly lament that reality.

Dello wrote:Not really a wise move by Kumble to let it all hang out right after an emotionally draining game like that - but he's not exactly saying anything that people don't already know.

Australia are a great side, and the sustained excellence of their cricket deserves all the plaudits it gets. But their constant bleating about the "spirit of cricket" - and seeming inference that they are the standard bearers of that ideology - is beyond a joke.

They're as happy to get down and dirty as anyone else. I wouldn't say they were worse than anyone else, but their conduct at times isn't exactly appealing.

But I don't recall Kumble's comments when Sreesanth was bowling deliberate beamers and purposely over-stepping by two feet to try and intimidate England's batsmen with bouncers during the summer. Didn't see too much evidence of the "spirit of cricket" when he was shoulder-charging batsmen as they walked past him, minding their own business.

Seems to me the the "spirit of cricket" is something of a myth, just a vague blandishment trotted out by the pious and self-righteous periodically in order to attack the conduct of another side.

Everyone knows top-level sport isn't a popularity contest. But it only tends to be the plucky losers who openly lament that reality.

Good points.

Very good points.

Dellos not just an ugly face

Dello must be an Aussie.

skully wrote:As evidenced by the thread title, I'm shocked that he'd say that. He may as well have thrown in that Roy is a monkey.

Skull - I think Clarke standing at the crease in the second dig when the captains had made an agreement to accept the fielders word for low catches got right up his nose. His statement may have been a little over the top but it's heat of the battle stuff. I do understand him being pissed off with the kiddie in those circumstances, particularly when you toss in Clarke's "catch" to dismiss Gangles.

Indians complaining about umpiring and excessive appealing...does it get any more hypocritical?

please don't yell wrote:But while clarke was a little silly he wasn't standing there saying the catch hadn't carried he was waiting for the ump to give him out for nicking it.

Stupid yes but it's within the spirit of the game to wait until you are given out so quite frankly kumble has come off looking rather foolish in all this.

You need to remember that the captains "agreement". Clarke standing there was clearly in breach.

please don't yell wrote:Two different issues though, the two teams had an agreement to trust the fielders on catches.

kumble was suggesting that clarke staying at his crease broke that agreement, which is ridiculous as clarke at no time questioned the catch but rather forced the ump to give him out for hitting it.

I thought that was all rather simple to grasp but i guess not.

pdy - that's your interpretation of why Clarke stayed put. We don't know what he was thinking but as I've said I do understand Kumble thinking that he wasn't living up to the gentlemans agreement.

Mick Sawyer wrote:

please don't yell wrote:Two different issues though, the two teams had an agreement to trust the fielders on catches.

kumble was suggesting that clarke staying at his crease broke that agreement, which is ridiculous as clarke at no time questioned the catch but rather forced the ump to give him out for hitting it.

I thought that was all rather simple to grasp but i guess not.

pdy - that's your interpretation of why Clarke stayed put. We don't know what he was thinking but as I've said I do understand Kumble thinking that he wasn't living up to the gentlemans agreement.

I don't think he was disputing anything. I think he was checking for a no-ball after Kumble had bowled a few. Just clutching at straws after a bad match with the bat.

" Just clutching at straws after a bad match with the bat."

May well have been - we don't know what he was thinking or how we (anyone posting here) may have reacted/behaved in the same circumstances.

Dello wrote: .....
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But I don't recall Kumble's comments when Sreesanth was bowling deliberate beamers and purposely over-stepping by two feet to try and intimidate England's batsmen with bouncers during the summer. Didn't see too much evidence of the "spirit of cricket" when he was shoulder-charging batsmen as they walked past him, minding their own business.

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Er ... he wasn't the captain then.

So how many Aussies here honestly don't cringe when Ponting rambles on about "the spirit of the game" and how he always plays "with the upmost integrity?"

It's a line that is wearing extremely thin and the more he uses it the more disillusioned he appears to be.

I cringe when any cricketer goes on about the spirit of the game, regardless of which country they're from.

HH_pink wrote:

Dello wrote: .....
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But I don't recall Kumble's comments when Sreesanth was bowling deliberate beamers and purposely over-stepping by two feet to try and intimidate England's batsmen with bouncers during the summer. Didn't see too much evidence of the "spirit of cricket" when he was shoulder-charging batsmen as they walked past him, minding their own business.

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Er ... he wasn't the captain then.

So it's easier to brush under the carpet and pretend it never happened then?

Dello wrote:

HH_pink wrote:

Dello wrote: .....
.
.

But I don't recall Kumble's comments when Sreesanth was bowling deliberate beamers and purposely over-stepping by two feet to try and intimidate England's batsmen with bouncers during the summer. Didn't see too much evidence of the "spirit of cricket" when he was shoulder-charging batsmen as they walked past him, minding their own business.

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......

Er ... he wasn't the captain then.

So it's easier to brush under the carpet and pretend it never happened then?

Er ... no. But, that Kumble did not comment on Sreesanth's antics then isn't something to be surprised about, and does not make him a hypocrite.

HH_pink wrote:

Dello wrote:

HH_pink wrote:

Dello wrote: .....
.
.

But I don't recall Kumble's comments when Sreesanth was bowling deliberate beamers and purposely over-stepping by two feet to try and intimidate England's batsmen with bouncers during the summer. Didn't see too much evidence of the "spirit of cricket" when he was shoulder-charging batsmen as they walked past him, minding their own business.

.
.
......

Er ... he wasn't the captain then.

So it's easier to brush under the carpet and pretend it never happened then?

Er ... no. But, that Kumble did not comment on Sreesanth's antics then isn't something to be surprised about, and does not make him a hypocrite.

Carping on about "the spirit of cricket" without first double-checking that the contents of his own greenhouse are all in order does rather make him a hypocrite, I'm afraid.

So if you want to make a negative comment about someone else, you've got to start by listing out all your faults and acknowledge that your own house isn't in order and has always been made of glass through history, and only then get to the point? I'm afraid that sounds rather silly.

Shouldn't Adam Gilchrist publicly denounce Symonds for not walking before he backs him up in a racisim claim then?

HH_pink wrote:So if you want to make a negative comment about someone else, you've got to start by listing out all your faults and acknowledge that your own house isn't in order and has always been made of glass through history, and only then get to the point? I'm afraid that sounds rather silly.

No more silly than: "Boo hoo, Australia are such bad sports. Yeah, they're not doing anything different to anything we do - aside from winning more often - but still. What a bunch of wankers."

Oh dear . . . now Trev decides to add his 2 synapse worth . . . .