Australian Cricket captain Steve Smith was caught pants down yesterday during their test match . He can't escape with his preposterous defence of this incident as a "brain fade" situation. Caught red handed on camera such lame excuses like "brain fade", " My Ass farted" to come to his rescue.
A great sporting nation nevertheless, the guys from "Down Under" have earned the sobriquet of "Ugly Aussies" for their unsportsmanlike conduct on and off the field. They are known as arrogants, sledgers and now proven cheats as live camera doesn't lie.
Sledging has been the motto of the Aussies from time immemorial and listing all is beyond the scope of this blog. The Ashes rivalry between England and Australia is legendary, with the English all rounder Ian Botham (Beefy) being a perennial thorn to the Aussies in 1970s and 80s. Once when Botham was batting, wicket keeper Rod Marsh attempted to annoy him - "How is your wife and my kids" ? A cool, witty Botham, a Champion womanizer himself responded - "My wife is fine. The kids are retarded".
Another instance of the infamous Aussie arrogance to win by hook or crook came in early 1981 when they used an unconventional tactics in form of the famous Underarm incident. It happened during the Benson & Hedges series final between Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand needed a 6 off the last ball to tie the match. It was that moment when Greg Chappell called his younger bother Trevor before the later was going to last bowl the last ball.
The elder Chappel told his younger sibling to bowl an underarm delivery rolling on the ground to the Kiwi batsman Brian McKechnie. Like an obedient Laxman to Ram, Trevor Chappel duly obliged his elder brother. The hapless tailender threw the bat in disgust.
Next day all the newspapers in cricket playing nations screamed at this unsporting gesture which even led to a diplomatic row between the two nations. I still remember a newspaper headline - "CHAPPEL'S UNDERARM STINKS". (Incidentally India was the other team in that triangular series who didn't qualify for the finals, eliminated with just 2 wins out of 10 matches).
A Kiwi underarm company promised to supply Deodorants to the Chappell brothers to relieve them from their underarm odor, tainting the game more than their underarm sweat soiling their shirts.
Yet per laws of cricket they didn't break any rule. In fact the Umpires were told before the Underarm delivery was delivered and it was perfectly legal under the law. Australia won the match, Kiwis the heart.
Later that year in November, 1981 the overtly aggressive Dennis Lillie almost came into blows with the Pakistani Batsman Javed Miandad (no gentleman himself and not new to controversies). But the incident initiated by the fast bowler in Perth yet reinforced the nation of the Australians prone to trouble making.
It is an irony the same Aussies protested vehemently crying foul when English fast bowler Harold Larwood ripped through the Aussie batting line up in the famous "Bodyline" Series of 1930s - single handedly contributing to restrict Don Braman's career batting average to double digit. They dubbed the English tactics as unsportsmanlike, when they themselves are champions of such behavior to win at any cost. It just reeks of double standard and hypocrisy of the ugly Aussies.
The decision to ban Steve Smith for just one Test match vame too little, too early. It's not too late for ICC (unfortunately known to be Spineless compared to FIFA or IOC) to reconsider this decision and impose a more stringent ban.
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