By Raul and Anil
October 29 2003

The ICC regularly announce strict new regulations to bring unruly elements under control, but their application is regularly inconsistent. The Australians have started off their tour of India with on-field actions that violated ICC norms but drew no ICC penalties. Matt Hayden, during his innings in the opening Australian ODI against India in Gwalior, didn't like some movement he saw near the sightscreen. He complained to Indian umpire Hariharan, who attempted to address the problem, but apparently not to Hayden's satisfaction. Hayden gesticulated furiously at the crowd, presumably trying to tell them something that the umpire hadn't.

Later Anil Kumble tied him up in knots and the next thing you knew, Hayden had decided to take the law in his own hands. He threw his bat down in a show of anger, peeled off his gloves and started running like a maniac towards the screen to direct the spectators to move on. He spat a few gobs of saliva, mouthed a few expletives and the crowd, being a typical crowd like anywhere else in the world, began enjoying his display of temper and started jeering him, which further incensed him. The right thing for Hayden to have done was to let the officials handle the problem, and get on with his job -- making runs for Australia.

With these actions, Hayden can clearly be considered to have brought the game into disrepute based on past actions by the ICC against other players. Was he reported by umpire Hariharan to match referee Ranjan Madugalle? If so, why did Madugalle take no action? If not, why didn't ICC watchdog Malcolm Speed take action, as he has done in other cases where the referee neglected his duty?

In another incident, Hariharan called a marginal wide off a Brad Williams delivery towards the end of the Indian innings, and was confronted by captain Ricky Ponting who walked over to argue about the call. Replays suggested the ball may have clipped the batsman's pads -- in which case Ponting's contention was correct -- but the question is, will Ponting be pulled up for dissent? He was very theatrical, waving his arms about, shaking his head and doing a whole song and dance.

Ponting's action should be dealt with even more severely, because as captain of the team he is expected to keep his team under control. Instead, here you had a captain who was leading the charge in dissenting the umpire's decision! Ponting should have simply let the umpire do his work while he took care of his, instead of openly, disrespectfully challenging him on the field for all the audience to see.

Again, did Hariharan report him? Did referee Madugalle, who has a track record of punishing Venkatesh Prasad for celebrating a wicket but ignoring Glen McGrath's much more blatant sledging, in the very same match in Australia, dismiss that complaint? Did Madugalle take note of the incident and at least meet with the Australian captain and manager? If not, why isn't he doing the job he is being paid big bucks to do? Why didn't Malcolm Speed take any action over Ponting's open violation of the laws?

Once again, the ICC has shown that it is selectively blind to violations of law by the Australians, even while it takes harsh and draconian measures when it comes to other teams. Just this month, several South African and Pakistan players were banned, fined, and warned for what were comparatively minor infractions. Captain Graeme Smith was even banned for a crucial final match, while bowler Hall was banned for 2 ODIs and a Test match. But the Aussies, who seem to have done worse deeds in challenging the umpire instead of "merely" the players as the SA and Pak cricketers did, got away scot-free.

There is nothing fair about laws that are diligantly enforced for some teams, but ignored for others. Until the ICC becomes more even-handed, it will continue to attract criticism and complaints from fans worldwide.