“WHAT HAPPENS NOW”?

by Des Kelly

It is a phrase I hate using, “I told you so”, BUT I did, several times, when I wrote, specifically about the present Australian Cricket team, their “attitude” on the cricket field, where, personalities who would make any Aussie, & of course, any Lankan/Aussie PROUD to even be associated with, great guys & gals, Australians, all, are typically friendly, caring people with families, living Aussie-lives (at home).

change dramatically, the moment they “hit the cricket ground”, whenever or wherever. I will concentrate on the “guys” here, because this is the “breaking-news” at the moment, these same guys who would go out of their way to “help” ANYONE who needed help, any day of the week,

would be the same guys who would be the most preferred, as co-fighters in a war-trench, would be the best “mates” in any “pub”, undergo a transformation on a cricket field that is almost impossible to understand. As one of the “partners” of a “fast bowler” in this team indicated recently, ” he is the most gentle loving man, at home, BUT put a cricket ball in his hands, and he becomes a “holy terror”, a sentence that puts everything into perspective.

Call it anyway you like, the UNDERLYING reason for everything that has been happening with the Australian Cricket team recently, is the “will to win” AT ANY COST.

Why this is so, is anybody’s guess. I did make this public, many months ago. I told you so, guys, but did you take any notice ?, of course not, because, if you did, your team would not be in the disgraceful position it is, now. If you were a team battling to win every match you played, I could understand it, but, you ARE NOT. You ARE one of the top cricket teams in the World. You have the top “batsmen” in the World, you have the top bowlers, quick & spin, in the World, you have superb fieldsmen all around the ground,

BUT, YOU CANNOT & WILL NOT WIN EVERY GAME YOU PLAY. Australian Cricket-Gurus you guys are not illiterate. You should be able to instill into every “head” that wears the “baggy green”, to remember that Cricket is a ” Gentleman’s game”, & all the “ball-tampering”, “sledging”, epithets, hard-looks, cheating, etc., will NOT win cricket matches.

What happens now ?. Well, here is another truism.

If you are the “Captain of a Ship”, YOU are fully & totally responsible for everything that happens on that Ship, while you are in “command”. Steve Smith is the Captain of the present Cricket team, a young & perhaps inexperienced one.

However, I may be wrong here, but I am of the opinion that

not even the “Coach” or Assistant Coach, or ANYONE, is in the position to “tell” Steve what to do, while “his team” is ON the field. If something is “‘suggested” to him, by anyone in what is termed “the leadership-team”, it is up to Steve to use his brains and reject anything that may result in overall disgrace of his team & Cricket, in general.

However, when all is said and done, ” Breaking-News” has brought forward all the “Gurus” of Cricket who have, in their wisdom, given extensive coverage of this particular incident, ex Captains of the Aussie-teams, various other comments from everyone, including the Prime Minister, stating the pros & cons of what should now be done.

I could never claim to be any sort of a “Sports-guru”, BUT,

Firstly, No one, from ANY Cricket-team could claim to be the “perfect” example of “fairness”in the game. The very SAME for “Cricket-hierarchies” around the World. Unfortunately, the ” Political-Bums” come into it as well. NOBODY IS PERFECT.

Secondly, if one was to “Ban” everyone who is involved in this particular instance, then we shall have to BAN every cricketing Nation in the World, resulting in NO MORE CRICKET AT ALL. We cannot simply pull out Steve Smith & his team to punish THEM because that would be “Foul-Play”

Thirdly, Steve Smith was the Captain of his Ship. He was not a “minor”, knew exactly what he was doing, as such, HE should be given the maximum penalty of a) losing his Captaincy, b) be taken out of the team for the rest of this season PLUS the entire next season, which should be punishment enough, because, I do not have to go into details about the added punishment he would be going through, even as I write this. “Steve, you are a great cricketer, superb batsman, etc., etc., but, in my eyes, you were always too young to be “Captain of the team”.

Fourthly & finally, Everyone makes mistakes. Let Steve Smith now grow-up, be a man & take his punishment, like one. After that, lets go back to where we started. Cricket is a great game, it would be sad to lose it completely, the “fake Press” should get off everyone’s back now. I certainly hope that ALL AUSSIES, ALL LANKANS, ALL, EVERYBODY, NOTE:-

In Cricket, or any other Sport, A “draw” is always rare., but, there has got to be a Winner & a Loser in every game played

No amount of money, honey, or upcoming Easter bunny will help (although I love those chocolate eggs).however, “Cheating” will always be a “Loser”It doesn’t help, it hinders.