From fame to shame South African is guilty of ball tampering
 It
is the accepted norm in any sport that the team winning must do so
gracefully. They must must be humble in victory and the losing team
graceful in defeat.True the South Africans led by Graeme Smith played
the better cricket in Dubai to beat Pakistan by an innings and 92 runs
in the Second Test and square the Two Test series.
Before going on to comment on the futility of playing Two Test
series, we would like to line up the South Africans, especially Faf Du
Plessis who was accused and convicted of ball tampering and give him six
of the best on a special place on his anatomy.
After South Africa made a massive 527 in reply to Pakistan’s first
innings paltry 99, there was only one way that the game could have
ended, and that is victory for the Proteas unless the unforeseen
happened.
Unsporting and ugly act
Then with that scenario looming the unsporting and ugly act by du
Plessis who was spotted tampering with the ball by rubbing it on the
zip of his pants so as to change the condition of the ball was, to say
the least, unbecoming and unacceptable.
This incident that should have no place in the game, must be
condemned roundly by all quarters and one expected a punishment that
would be a deterrent, would be slapped on Du Plessis.
But it was not so. He was fined 50 per cent of his match fee which
punishment everyone feels did not fit the crime and got away lightly.
Not only Du Plessis, but the entire team must take the blame, because
the offender would not have acted the way he did without the rest of the
team members being in the know.
It was a move from fame to shame. Being the number one team in the
established game, they were expected to be an example. Why they had to
act in such a degrading manner is inexplicable.
Hawk eyed TV technician
With the International Cricket Council doing away with the hawk eyed
technology, it was the hawk eyed vigilance by the Ten Cricket TV
technicians that spotted Du Plessis doing the ugly.
But the Pakistanis are not happy with the punishment meted out to Du
Plessis and rightly so. They argue that had it been a player from the
sub continent the punishment would have been more severe.
Angered by the soft punishment meted out to Du Plessis, the Pakistan
Cricket Board Chairman, Najam Sethi had lodged his protest with the
International Cricket Council. The PCB is seeking an explanation of the
inconsistency by the match referee who happened to be former Australian
opening batsman David Boon in application of the ball tampering rule to
Afridi vs Faf. He was referring to Pakistan all-rounder Sahid Afridi’s
ban for the same offence in Australia in 2010.
Akhtar surprised at punishment
Former Pakistan fast bowler tagged the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ during
his time was also surprised at the leniency of the punishment. Akhtar
was slapped a two one-day match ban and fined 75 per cent of his match
fee for ball tampering during a tri-series in Sri Lanka in 2003.
Another former Pakistan Captain Rashid Latif too gave his views: ‘How
can you give such a lenient decision on such hard evidence. He should
have been banned for six months at least and the captain Graeme Smith
should also have been punished’.
But support for Du Plessis and the South Africans came from another
former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohil who believed that the punishment was
not lenient and it was fair. ’The punishment is within the rules and
since Du Plessis did not contest the charge you have to show some
leniency’, said Sohail.
To the Test match and it again showed the poor thinking by the powers
that be in arranging two Test matches. With Pakistan and South Africa
winning one Test each the series was a damp squib. What purpose did it
serve?
Pakistan rallied beautifully
Pakistan whose cricket had been in the dumps, rallied beautifully to
win the First Test and give their cricket a shot in the arm. And when
they were expected to give continuity to that win and rub the world
number one team in the dust in the Dubai wicket, they capitulate meekly.
When Misbah beat Smith to the toss and had a broad smile writ in his
face, it looked as though the Pakistani batsmen would make the South
Africans chase leather and pile on the agony and the runs.
But Smith decision to drop left arm spinner Robin Peterson and toss
in leg spinner Imran Thahir paid unforeseen and rich dividends. The
Pakistani batsmen are known to play spin very competently.
But they were stung by the vicious leg spin/googly bowling by the
right armer Imran Thahir and showed absolutely poor foot work as they
tied themselves to crease and fell easy prey.
Thahir hard working bowler
Thahir’s match figures of 8 for 130 – 5 wickets in the first innings
and three in the second was grand reward and was instrumental in mapping
victory for the Proteas. It also proved the wisdom of playing a leg
spinner in a team.
It has been the norm of most of the captains in whatever grade of
cricket, to not include a leg spinner in the team. That is because
captains don’t have confidence in a leg spinner. But a good and clever
leg spinner who also bowls the googly can make batsmen look utterly
foolish, especially batsmen who cannot spot or read the googly. Thahir
had many of the Pakistani batsmen groping, unable to read the googly and
falling prey. The South African captain deserves kudos for his daring in
playing Thahir. And it was nice to see the bowler jubilating and blowing
kisses to his supporters every time he captured a wicket.
They don’t come dime a dozen
Good leg spin/googly bowlers don’t come dime a dozen. And when good
ones do come, captains should not be apprehensive and shy away from
playing a leg spinner. True he is expected to buy his wickets and on his
day will always be a match winner as Thahir proved.For the South Afrcans
skipper Graeme Smith and one-day international captain Abraham de
Villiers it was a Test match they will always remember. Smith coming
back into big time cricket after ankle surgery rolled out a double
hundred and De Villiers a hundred.
When the Pakistanis went in a second time an innings defeat seemed to
be on the cards. But Misbah and Azad Shafiq delayed the inevitable with
Misbah unfortunate to miss a hundred while Shafiq made a pleasing
hundred.
Shafiq on the previous tour to Sri Lanka scored a hundred in one of
the Tests and showed good promise. He stuck it out with immense
concentration and played a disciplined innings.
Younis deserves punishment
The experienced and former Captain Younis Khan played a responsible
innings in the second visit. But the manner in which he got out was
inexplicable. Being the most experienced batter in the side, and when he
was expected to stick it out, he blindly rushed out to Thahir missed and
was bowed off his pads. He deserves to be punished for his recklessness,
when sticking at the wicket was of importance.
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