Punter and Martin have, to use a cricketing phrase, swung their bats a bit too wildly this time. But will they be given out or even warned, I doubt - given that the umpires (the Australian Board, Cricket Australia, who are going to investigate this incident) are very vocal supporters of all Australians and all their unsporting acts, specially when such acts are against the subcontinental teams - Darrell Hair is a prime example.
I saw the footage over television yesterday. Of how Ricky Ponting "beckoned" Sharad Pawar to hand over the Champions Trophy to him. And how, immediately thereafter, Damien Martin virtually shoved Pawar off the dias, so that the Aussies may be photographed with the trophy. Very rude behaviour and an ugly incident, to say the least, irrespective of whether it was Sharad Pawar or a completely unknown, insignificant person. Though, if one has to go purely by his stature as the BCCI Chief, Central Minister of the Government of India, and a leading, very senior & well-respected politician of the world's largest democracy, and the reverence that he should command for his sheer age, the Aussies have shown great disrespect not just to him, but to all Indians.
Pawar, in his maganimity, has dismissed this as an unnecessary debate, and as an incident which is not noteworthy given the youth of the Australian team and their excitement at winning the trophy for the first time. He has dismissed this as a unintentional mistake, at the most. I am no fan of Pawar's or his ideologies, but I am not willing to let this pass by as an accident. I do feel that these twin acts, even if unintentional, were definitely uncalled for, and extremely disgraceful.
Aussies cannot be pardoned for being so arrogant due to the excitement of winning the trophy. They are, after all, world champions in cricket, have won too many tournaments to count, and are the first team to hold both the World Cup and the Champions Trophy at the same time. This is definitely not their first win, where they can be excused for behaving like kids, though I have yet to see any kids who behave like this on a dias.
As ambassadors of not just the gentleman's game, but of their country, the Aussies should have behaved the way a champion should - gracefully. Obviously, that is a word that they have never come across in their life. It is a norm, if not a basic courtesy, to give respect to the host, specially when the guest has been treated so very nicely while visiting another country. And it is even more necessary when you are in public view of not just the stadium audience, but the entire world watching you over television, to behave in a manner befitting you. But let me give Ponting & Martin the benefit of doubt; maybe they did behave in a manner befitting them perfectly - rogues will be rogues, as they say.
Irrespective of their upbringing and their ethos, I would like to know from Punter, Martin and Cricket Australia how they would feel if the same treatment were meted out by the Indian Team to Hon. John Winston Howard, the Chief Patron of Cricket Australia, and incidentally also their Prime Minister. But which Indian Cricketer will ever give them tit for tat? Maybe, we do have a business case for Sourav Ganguly's presence in the Indian Team.
