Should the Indian Cricket Team go Home?

[Sebastiaan56]

I was going to start a poll, but what the heck.

The mood was ugly in India, monkey taunts and other abuse. I was at the SCG on Sunday and have to say I was quite ticked at the very slow over rate during the Aussie innings. But Kumble is a fighter and his innings deserved much more respect than it got. And yeh, the umpiring could have been better.
Umpire Benson needs glasses.

Should they go home?

[bitingmidge]

What's wrong with the odd racial taunt anyway?

"Monkey" is bad, but if they'd called him a "Goose" it would have been OK.

Who decides these things?

They've given it their best shot, lost the cricket match, lost the sledging match, lost the umpire intimidation game, so now they'll go home blaming the big bad Aussies for not fighting fair.

That's how they'll save themselves from the wrath of the fanatical public.

Or does saying that have some sort of racial connotation too??

P

[jmk89]

What's wrong with the odd racial taunt anyway?

"Monkey" is bad, but if they'd called him a "Goose" it would have been OK.

"Monkey" is the internationally recognised form of racist taunt to black sportsmen - if you go to a soccer match in Europe it is not uncommon for the crowd to heckle black players every time they receive the ball with monkey noises. And the clubs get fined for this if it happens on the basis that it is racist.

So for anyone to use "monkey" to a black sportsman is to use a word as bad as calling an indigenous Australian a "boong". So far, 'goose' means "fool'" or "dill" but is not racist.

[Wongo]

On the other hand, in India calling someone a 'goose' is rasist.

[Waldo]

G'day,

I don't follow cricket but you can't miss it in the news.

For my 2¢ I agree that "monkey" in the context might be offensive, but if I call Wongo a goose, is that racist? (it might just mean that I dfidn't have my glasses on and there happened to be a real goose standing next to him at the time and got all mixed up - no offence meant at all Wongo-San )

On other matters to do with the current test:

• the umpires should get the boot as they can't see for quids

• Ponting has lost it.

• Australia have long been too arrogant

• Australia are well known for sledging, so now that they're getting their own back - tough titties

• India are being badly treated

[Poppa]

Is it? I never knew that? Why is 'goose' racist in India?

For mine, the Aussies were a little unsporting and overenthusiastic in the second test. But not to an enormous extent, and not worse than any other team these days. Appealing loudly is part of the game, appealing for a catch that wasn't is part of the game (not a part that I like). I would prefer that players walked, and that the game was played with a more sporting spirit. But apart from being a bit more fiercely competitive than they should be, I can't see that the Aussies did a lot wrong in this test.

The umpires were shocking. Bucknor should have retired some time ago. His eyesight is appalling and his mental agility is non-existent. Benson seemed equally incompetent. It is the worst collective performance I've seen from umpires since the days before independent umpires were introduced (I still remember what the Pakistan umpiring was like when they were at home).

However, it should be remembered that the umpires were independent and impartial. The fact that India got the bad end of the decisions in this test is just the luck of the draw - sometimes it will go the other way. To complain about incompetence is fine - these guys were incompetent in this test. But to complain about bias is just bad sportsmanship - sour grapes if you like.

As far as the racial taunt goes, I think that it needs to be stamped out, and given that this isn't the first time that Harbhajan has called Symonds a 'monkey' (it happened on the one day tour of India as well), he deserves to be called on it and then penalised. And the Indian team and officials should accept that rather than bleating on about it and threatening to take their bat and ball and go home.

Imagine for a second if an Australian player had racially taunted one of the Indian players. Would they have left it on the field? Should they have? Imagine the uproar if someone had racially taunted Ganguly. What would the Australian team and management reaction be?

I wonder if the Indian team would be complaining so loud and long if they were winning? Does anyone else thinks this smacks of sour grapes? Poor losers methinks...

The Indian team and management is bringing the game into disrepute. The question shouldn't be "Should the Indian cricket team go home?" - it should be "Should we continue the test tour against the Indians given their petty and unsporting attitude, or should we withdraw the invitation and send them home?"

[HappyHammer]

On other matters to do with the current test:

• the umpires should get the boot as they can't see for quids

• Ponting has lost it.

• Australia have long been too arrogant

• Australia are well known for sledging, so now that they're getting their own back - tough titties

• India are being badly treated

HH.

[Waldo]

I wonder if the Indian team would be complaining so loud and long if they were winning? Does anyone else thinks this smacks of sour grapes? Poor losers methinks..."

(not to be hypocritical with what I said in my first posts - but I think there are two sides of the same coin here.)

[Wongo]

Is it? I never knew that? Why is 'goose' racist in India?

I am sorry Poppa, you missed the point.

[Groggy]

What Waldo said

Funny how it only seems to bother anyone when money might be lost from the tour.

If they are not sending players off the field for racial taunts then who really thinks they are serious?

Call someone a monkey and get sent off, field with ten; or, be given out if it is a batsman. Anything else and it ceases to be about sportsmanship and the game and more about money and politics.

[Big Shed]

I am sorry Poppa, you miss the point.

I'm sorry Wongo, Poppa is not the only one "missing the point". So, what is the point?

[silentC]

Bet it wouldn't be happening if India were two up.

Sooks!

[Pusser]

I understand that Simmonds or someone did call him a "bastard" which outside of Australia is not a term of endearment and can even be taken as a grave insult. In any case Simmonds is on record as saying he did not care about being called a monkey. Ponting lost it by reporting it. I know he was only obeying the ICC directions but he cannot escape responsibility for his actions. He should have been sensitive enough to the situation and let it go through to the keeper and avoided all this rubbish. The fact that we can call them a bastard and they can't call us a monkey wreaks of double standards. India got a raw deal from shocking umpiring and Ponting should have displayed better judgement.

[HappyHammer]

Whilst the Aussies may not use racial taunts I bet some are close to the mark when playing England. I think they should just get on with playing cricket. I don't think it's up to the umpires to police sledging, either leave it in and let the players take care of it or take it out completely.

Ricky Ponting should take a leaf out of the All Blacks book and stop flaunting his handbag in public.

HH.

[Wongo]

I'm sorry Wongo, Poppa is not the only one "missing the point". So, what is the point?

I made it up.

I call you a monkey. You think it is racist. I think it isn’t racist.
You call me a goose. I think it is racist. You think it isn’t racist.

Now who has the correct answer?