The umpires make a couple of mistakes, your player is suspended for being a racist and your ready to call off the tour? Put the shoe on the other foot for a moment and say adam gilchrist called an indian something racist in india and then australia decided theyd call off the tour. India would be going off their tree. They are just looking for excuses for losing!

What I find funny is that he alledgely called him a monkey. How is this racist. If I have big ears and someone called me a monkey than its harasssment but not a racial slur.

I think the concept of "monkey" being a racist term has come from older generations. IMO, it all comes down to intent more than anything. I think there'd be a lot of younger people who wouldn't even be aware it was a term to avoid in some situations.

My understanding is that it is a word often used by the KKK.

I don't know how it can be racism when a black man says it to another black man. He is calling him a monkey when he is really a monkey himself. My idea of racism is when a white man makes a racist comment to a black man, not when a black man makes a racist comment to another black man.
And plus, i think Ricky Ponting is very arrogant. I don't blame Anil Kumble for his words at the press conference

Max your a wanker. Ponting is defending his team as captain. Arragent? Pffft u wish. Australia is full of pride. India just cant get it in there head that we maybe are better then them.

Kobe India are not disputing whether they are better or not

So Max, if a Chinese person makes a derogatory comment to a Vietnamese person, it's not racist 'coz they're all Asian'?

And Wei, the Indian crowds last year were ripping into Symonds with these Monkey taunts (most likely due to his colour/overall appearance, not just because of one feature) and now a player has used the same taunt. That's not on.

It was meant as a racist slur.... It was reported that Symonds was racially abused in India at Vadodara, Nagpur and Mumbai during the tour of Australia to India in September to October 2007. Even banners were flown with relation to this term "monkey" I believe it may go back to his West Indian heritage? and the term "monkey" being used for generations to slur West Indians.

Sooky LaLa Indians.
How can they threaten to take their bat and go home for an indiscretion, yet the ACB is threatened with multi-million dollar fine if they call off the planned trip to Pakistan (because the players fear for their lives?.
Where is the ICC run from?
Let us hope they do not drop the charge just to appease the visitors.

Who cares ....let em call off the tour.....send em back on the first flight, and put a Aussie B team in their place

Im sick of their whinging

Must be from all those years of British Rule....its making them whinging Poms...lol

Just wanted to clarify that I'm not disputing that the comment in this case had intent, just that the concept is going to be confusing to a lot of kids who've never come across it before in this context.

Kent, the KKK also use the term (Grand) Dragon... oh wait, you're right, the Dragons are pretty offensive right now too!

This really pisses me off. They get right up on their high horse and accuse Australia of poor sportsmanship and the like in what ultimately boils down to Pup's claimed catch as far as I can tell.

There were undoubtedly some poor decisions this test, going both ways (although they probably copped the worse end of it), but that's not the fault of the Australians and it happens in cricket, it was human error by unbiased officials and nothing more.

And if we're talking about sportsmanship how about Ganguly refusing to walk off once the umpire had given him the finger on Clarke's catch? Or their player who was reported for the same offense in the first test (was it Yuvraj?) How about Sharma's preposterous time wasting trick at the end with the old 2 left gloves trick?

The issue of whether or not Singh called Roy a monkey (and the heavy racial connotations) is basically his word against several Australians who heard it. The question I would ask is why would the Australians fabricate something like this? It's a pretty serious allegation to throw at someone and while the Aussies play hard and sledge hard they're not the type of people who would make something up out of the blue. By letting Singh off scott free you're basically saying it's acceptable to racially abuse someone as long as it's not caught on microphone or heard by an umpire, and that's completely unacceptable IMO.

I think India are being hypocritical sooks by threatening to call off the tour. When things haven't gone their way they've just taken their ball and gone home, it's this type of weak attitude and refusal to dig deep and toughen up that saw them bundled out of the world cup before the super 8's and has stopped them reaching their test potential despite some of the great individuals of recent years.

Have the Indians forgotten Pontings great sportsmanship in the first innings when he himself had a "questionable" catch. It looked out but he said he wasn't sure if he caught it so the batsmen stayed. This was in the middle of the Dravid/Laxman partnership when Australia were desperate for a wicket too!

The major problem if Singh gets let off is it will convey the message that racial slurs are acceptable, as long as the guy on the end of them is not part of a minority group.

Thought i might expand the term monkey, it is used in a derogatory way to people of colour as a racist taunt usually by white supremacists.

The intent is that Symonds in this case, as a man, in their deluded opinion has not evolved from being a monkey, where as some eg the KKK see the white person as being the perfection of evolution.

Anon, you should pick a banana company and send them that idea. Would make for easy publicity in the press.

Bloody sooks. They believe that because they contribute 70% of the $$$'s for the ICC, they can have whatever they like. Sice when is the game about India. Wa Wa Wa, cry cry cry, thats all tehy do! If they lose a match, blame the umpire, blame the crowd, blame the 2nd slip fielder for taking a great catch!

Get over yourselves, no cares about your pathetic cricket team anyway!

I'm bloody sick of the sub-continentals - India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka - who arrogantly think they can get their way because of the massive TV contract they have. Murali is allowed to chuck his way to a record, the Paki's walk off the field in England, and now the Indians want to reject the decision of the tribunal and appoint umpires of their choosing (a laugh considering the standard of their home-town umpiring is what led to the current use of neutral umpires). They complain about our sledging but say it's okay to use a racial taunts, because it's their "culture"? Well our culture is to play hard, but fair - we didn't break the rules. You did. Our culture is also to cop it sweet. We've never packed up and gone home from India, although your umpires and your crowds have been the worst in the world.

Then they say Ponting is a bad sport - this is the same Ponting who didn't claim a catch that everyone else thought he took, and hasn't complained at all about being given out LBW to a ball that he edged into his pads?

Go home and good riddance. They're the one's who are bad sports and don't play in the spirit of the game. When they win its all smiles, when they lose it's "Waaaaahhh!! No fair!!!! You're big bullies!!!".

Virtual Showtime, I dare say more care about the Indian team than about the Australian team!

For those interested, here's an article on Crikey about the Australian cricket team - suggests that their predicament is somewhat their fault.

The Australian test team has played the game in an unsporting fashion for far too long. The difference between "sledging" and racsism IMO is minimal.

Its time the Aust criket team and management took its responsibility to cricket fans the world over more seriously and stopped the poor sportsmanship that is commonplace in this side.

can anyone explain how it is better or worse to call someone
"you fat b*stard"
to
"you black b*stard"

if the intent is the same, to offend..then does it matter?

I mean who cares its only cricket

Virtual Showtime - you arrogant wanker australian. You're the reason no one likes us

ELG, do you really have to come in with those sort of comments? Obviously a vast majority of the national care about cricket, as do lots of us who post on this forum. Just because you don't like this topic, doesn't mean no else does.

I have to agree that the 'arrogance' of the Aussie cricket team has for years got on my nerves. It comes down to the swagger of the players (most of them anyway, I have plenty of time for some of them) and the lack of respect they pay their opponents. Some may define that as confidence, but I tend to think that it is just being a bad winner. The Aussie cricket side is all about immodesty and boastfulness.

It is enough for me to support the underdog opponents like India when they are here so that hopefully they will deflate the size of the Aussie player's heads a little. That is what made the Ashes in 2005 so great. It was totally different and refreshing to see the Aussies with their backs against the wall a bit. It made it a whole lot easier to support them and made for a more enjoyable series. All I want is a close contest, I can't see any joy in watching another team get pantsed.

Whilst I am a huge cricket fan, I believe the world game generally has stagnated because of the Aussie's dominance. It just makes it boring. Give me a test where anyone can win it and it goes down to the second last over where three wickets fall anytime. Great stuff. But credit to the Indians, they were better than the Aussies and deserved a few more breaks in that game.

That said, I don't hold for racial slurs, and such stupidity ought be punished, as should any sledging that is not taken in the proper spirit of the game.

Didn't Dean Jones get suspended for mentioning the word "terrorist" as a commentator. Imagine if Ponting called Harbijan a "Terrorist". If India continue with the stand-off then they should be banned a minimum of 2 years.... Bringing the game into disripute... How about the performance of Harbijan when he dismissed Ponting, the run and swan dive and rollover...... Then India sulk because Australia celebrate a great WIN....... THey have a history of issues.... Imagine if our crowd treated the Indian like our players were treated over there last October..... They have VERY short memories.....

Have to agree with you on all points there Unley...

At the end of the day, I can see why India do feel Australia are bad sports. Look at the Past events. All the events in the past portray Australia's bad sportmanship and arrogance:

Remember:

-When an Australian player did an underarm bowl to ensure they won the match against NZ
-Shane Warne took Drugs
-Ricky Ponting getting into a fight at a nightclub while drunk

Look at these 'controversies on wikipedia about Ricky Ponting(the list is long)

Controversies

Ponting was involved in a fight outside a pub in Kings Cross, New South Wales in early 1999, and earned a suspension from the national team.[43]
During Australia's tour of India in 1998, Ponting was reportedly thrown out of Equinox night club in Calcutta. The Indian papers reported that Ponting was misbehaving with several women in the nightclub. Ponting was fined for this incident, and later apologised to the nightclub staff.[44]
During the 4th Test of the 2005 Ashes series, at Trent Bridge, Ponting was angrily outspoken about the use of substitute fielders by the England side, particularly after being run out by such a substitute. He directed an abusive tirade at the England dressing room and was subsequently fined 75% of his match fee.[45]
After England won the match to take a 2-1 lead in the series Ponting returned to the subject of substitutes in an interview with Australian radio "I think it's an absolute disgrace the spirit of the game is being treated like that. It is within the rules; it's just not within the spirit of the game" he said. The England coach Duncan Fletcher later commented on this incident: "He [Ponting] completely blew his top. I did not actually think it at the time but, looking back now, that might be the moment when it became clear that England were going to regain the Ashes."[46]
In 2005 he began using cricket bats with a graphite covering over the wooden blade of the bat. This covering was ruled by the MCC to have contravened Law 6.1, which states that bats have to be made of wood, although they may be "covered with material for protection, strengthening or repair not likely to cause unacceptable damage to the ball". Ponting and his bat supplier, Kookaburra Sport, agreed to comply.[47][48]
Ponting has been fined for dissent on more than one occasion.[49]
After the final of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, Ponting drew some criticism for appearing to ask BCCI president Sharad Pawar to "leave the podium" so his team could commence celebrations. The issue, while minor, was solved when Ponting issued a formal apology to Pawar.[50][51]
After the 2nd Test of 2007-08 series against India, Ponting and the Australian Cricket team were criticized by the media and several former and present cricket personalities, for playing the match contrary to the spirit of the game. [52][53][54]. The Sydney Morning Herald went on with the headlines, Arrogant Ponting must be fired.

OK, a couple of comments:

1) Bucknor has long been a disgrace, and his performance definitely disadvantaged India. They also knew that the clown was slated for the next two tests, so how could they stay silent? He needed to be removed, and it was going to take a protest from a black nation to get it done.

2) India should at least acknowledge that it is because of them and Pakistan that the neutral umpires concept had to come into International Cricket.

3) The perception seems to still be in place that only a white person can be a racist.

4) There is a big difference between being a racist and saying something that is or is potentially racially offensive.

5) Fine, India can go home. Whether thay lose 2-0 or 4-0 makes no difference. The ABC/ICC can then slap them with a huge fine and we'll use that money to pay for not going to Pakistan.

6) Anil Kumble could acknowledge that defeat could also have been avoided if India had made the decision to cull such blatantly out of form/not up to it batsmen as Jaffer and Yujrav.

7) I'm sure I'll cop something for this, but 16 wins in a row, added to two unbeaten World Cups, added to everything else, ENTITLES Australia to some level of arrogance. Do you want to know why so many Australians instantly succeed in International cricket? It is because the standard of the opposition is weaker than that which they face domestically.

8) As for Symonds not walking in the first innings, why should he? He won't have the option of remaining at the crease next time he is given out when he DOESN'T hit the ball. His mistake was stupidly running his mouth of in the media the very next day that he hadn't hit it.

9) Yes, India did apparently forget that Ponting had not claimed what could very well have been a legitimate catch in India's first innings.

10) It is not unexpected that Australia makes an issue of what Harbijan allegedly said, given that on the recent one day tour their crowds had banners calling Symonds a monkey and the crowd was CHANTING "Monkey!", which of coarse the Indian Cricket Board denied.

I agree with Mutley.

1 - Accept the umpires decision. Hell, if the Indian wana complain, then try playing local ("footyclub") cricket, where A) your best mate may give you out LBW when you've hit the ball, or B) plum LBW's aren't given cos the umpire is a lower order batsman on the same team.

2 Best remedy for all this - BAN sledging of any sort. 1st offence - offender sent off field, replaced by 12th man. 2nd offence - play 1 short.

On-field behaviour has long been an issue - History records W. G. Grace was bowled for a golden duck on the first ball of a charity match, but continued to play, exclaiming "They came to see me bat, not to see you umpire". Try doing that these days.

3 - The calls for Ponting to resign: absolute BS! Under what reasoning? Arrogance? We are bloody good cricketers and as leader he has done nothing to bring the team or the game into disrepute.

4 - The charges against Harbhajan: I dont know what went on, neither does any one else. Common sense says that the match referee wouldnt have suspended Harbhajan if he hadnt done anything wrong.

Bring on Perth test where Bretty is likely to take a couple of Indian's heads off!

I agree with the idea of letting India choose what the want to do - we'll fine them for not meeting contractual obligations, and use the money to pay the fine for not playing in Pakistan (due to terrorism fears).

Can you imagine the outcry in India if we here were to burn effigies of Tendulkar! Their actions over there are simply disgraceful.
And not to mention the fact that they have basically called the Aussie players liars by denying that the word "monkey" was ever used.
There is no doubt that sledging as such has been a problem with world cricket now for some time and it can be easily stopped by more stringent rules and enforcement. And don't think that sledging is restricted to Australians, take for example Andre Nell of South Africa, the way he carries on is bodering on verbal assualt. How on earth he has not been ordered to take control of himself is beyond me.
The Australians, like it or not, are playing the game within its current rules, but have not stooped to the lows of racist remarks thank goodness.
This is a real test for the ICC, who have shown a tendency before to bow to the wishes of the sub continent.

I am Australian but I am totally ashamed to call myself one at the moment.

The fact that Ponting denied a catch is just own damn fault for not being able to stick up for himself.

At least India takes a stand as a team.

The arrogance, flamboyance and general idiocy of the my team's cricket players over the past few years just makes me ashamed. I used to love the old days where there was good, had you on the edge your seat cricket, good players that where also decent human beings and a lot less bullshit.

I think the personality of the team went downhill after Steve Waugh left- he was a decent man and a good cricketer...

Even in the team there are scandals with strippers, drugs, misbehaviour and blah blah blah. Just because they play good cricket doesn't mean that everyone should fall down in awe and I commend the Indian team for taking a stand and bring my team down a notch. I see it a necessary evil.

I hope I am one of many Australians that can see beyond blind patriotism and see that the Australian team has got something that was a long time in the coming.

We might win most of the matches but we have no dignity or decency as a team.

Sara if you are so aashamed in being an sustralian at the moment then you obvisly are not a true aussie.

Ricky Ponting is a true Aussie and clearly playing with in the rules of the game. IMO he is our greatest ever test captain and many people would agree with me on that one. To say his arogent is just outragous.

IM PROUD TO BE AUSSIE SARA!

this is just a loud of BULLS*** the contriversity of late. it has always happened on feild, just never leaked to the press. get over it and play the game we all love as auussies.

Sara, If you are ashamed to call yourself an Aussie, then move to INDIA and live... Quite simple really....

Kobe, don't play that card, it merely makes you look rediculous. Everyone is entitled to thier opinion, and, strangely, you do not have to worship Ponting to remain a citizen of this nation.

Great, here comes the "true Aussie" and "true fan" stuff again. Lame.

Geebus...talk about "outrageous",

Sara holds a reasonable opinion and the "if you dont love it, leave it crowd" springs up. Let me guess, you were in cronulla on OZ day a couple of years ago?

A number of players in the current test team are disliked by a large proportion of Australian society because they do not represent the true Aussie spirit of a fair go and respect for your opponent etc.

"Win at all costs" is not what australia is about..remember John Landy (if you dont know the story check out his bio) he epitomised the Aussie sporting spirit.

A bad winner, is a horrible sight..and too often one we see from the current test team.

We should be ashamed as Australians to suggest anyone should leave the country because they hold a diferent opinion. DISGUSTING!

There are actually a few opinion pieces emerging around the place (The Age, SMH, Crikey, etc) that aren't overly favourable for the Australian team.

The Age: Why Ponting's heroes just don't appeal to me
The Age: Without grace, winning is nothing
SMH: Black day for cricket when we walk away
Advertiser: Lawson lashes Aussies

I know this is a little off-topic, but I mean it seriously - does anyone ever wonder how so many people in India actually watch the cricket? I know the whole country isn't in poverty, but a large number of people there are. If they can barely afford to eat, how can they afford a television or Internet setup to watch overseas sporting events?

Even though a large number are in rural areas and/or poverty, there are still absolutely loads of people in the larger cities - e.g., 26m in Delhi and Mumbai alone.

Don't underestimate their access to technology either - more than 200 million mobile phones, for example, and more than 100 million TVs. Only need a TV per 10 people to have five times as many TVs as there are people in Australia!

In 03/04, I was in a fairly classy bar in Mumbai having a drink - it wasn't overly busy, middle of the day, we were just trying to escape the heat. The cricket was on. At one point, I looked up above the bar, and there was a glassed in mezzanine area with the 'unwashed' (for lack of a better way to put it) patrons watching the same broadcast from their own area. I'd imagine that many follow the game at actual matches, via newspaper, radio and by congregating around another TV if they don't have one of their own.

Fort Kochi was the only place where I happened on a cricket game and watched for a while - not a big crowd, not even a fence around most of the field. Not sure what level it was - uniformed and umpired but the quality didn't look that good.

As you hear via the media here, even Australian cricketers are big over there. Spotted massive billboards (Steve Waugh, etc) alongside the road from Alleppey to Kochi, for example.

Brett Lee sold hundreds of thousands of records over there for his atonal renditions of really crap songs. And the Aussie team was at a film shoot the other day for a Bollywood movie. Cricket players in India are gods and the average local there could recite the names of all of the players on the Aussie better than anyone here could.

Oh yea I'm aware of the popularity of cricket there. I just didn't know how they actually saw the game. I suppose huge numbers crowding around a television set does make sense though.