 Former Indian spin bowler and captain, Anil Kumble has come down heavily
on the Australians for instigating on-field and then getting away with minor punishments.
He was alluding to the on-field incident in the Perth test match where the Aussies
seemed to have got under West Indian spin bowler, Sulieman Benn skin and
pushed him away but managed to escape with minor fines. Benn, on the other hand,
was given a two ODI match ban.
Basically, Kumble's point is that far too often, the provocateur gets away
with almost no punishment, whereas the player who reacts more strongly gets
punished harshly. Even in the game at WACA, Benn, who was instigated into a
squabble by Brad Haddin's bat brandishing, was first pushed away by the non-striker,
Johnson, and then was banned by the match referee, Chris Broad, for two
ODIs.
The incident had begun when the Benn and Johnson had collided with each other
while running after the ball and towards the crease respectively. Haddin then
pointed his bat to the bowler, who was less than impressed and took up to Haddin
at the end of the over. It was here that the batsmen tried to push him away
and were involved in a minor scuffle. According to many experts, all the three
should have been meted out a similar sentence, given that they had made a similar
mistake.
Kumble was writing in his syndicated column and also alluded to the incident
in the Delhi test match of 2008, where Gautam Gambhir was banned by the
same match referee for elbowing Shane Watson. Then, Kumble wrote, Simon Katich
had prevented the batsman from running between the wickets and had got away
without much punishment. Kumble said, "At that time, the umpire Billy Bowden
didn't see it fit to report Simon Katich who had later obstructed Gautam
and the match referee Chris Broad too didn't bother to act on his own or follow
it up with the on-field umpires even though it was very much evident on TV.
And as on that occasion, the provocateurs got away in Perth too, with Haddin
and Johnson receiving minor reprimands."
Even in the Perth test match, Watson was fined for mocking Gayle after dismissing
him, something that did not surprise the West Indian captain too much. Gayle
said that it was expected out of someone as aggressive as Watson and hence it
did not bother him too much.
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