The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Australian media, players lambast CA

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Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008
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Australian media, players lambast CA

Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) bore a scathing attack from its furious players and local media for bowing to the BCCI’s “money power” and letting Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh off the hook with minimal punishment.

The ICC-appointed appeals commissioner John Hansen on Tuesday overturned the charge of racial abuse against Harbhajan but held the Indian guilty of using offensive language against Australia’s Andrew Symonds.

Frustration

“It shows how much power India has. The Aussie guys aren’t going to make it up. The players are frustrated because this shows how much influence India has, because of the wealth they generate. Money talks,” an unnamed Australian player was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘Cricket’s Day of Shame’ cried a headline in the paper and the report said the players were dismayed to hear “Harbhajan had avoided any meaningful punishment”.

The report also said that CA caved in to India’s muscle flexing as it was anxious to save the tri-series because it feared to be sued for a figure understood to be about $60 million if India quit the tour.

India’s broadcast partner, ESPN, owns the lucrative contract to beam cricket from Australia into the subcontinent.

The report claimed that CA told the cricketers that “if ESPN sued successfully, it could take 10 years to recoup the losses.”

The Australian also said “the players wanted Harbhajan convicted of something because he had allegedly broken his word, lied and twice called Symonds a “monkey”.

“When the offer for Harbhajan to apologise in return for the lesser charge was made to the BCCI it was rejected out of hand.”

Threat

“Billionaire super power of world cricket threatened for the second time in a month to go home if it didn’t get its way, while its players refused to continue with the tour and remained in the luxury team hotel in Adelaide.

“The Indians also held the tour to ransom by pulling the same stunt after the Sydney Test when Harbhajan was convicted,” the report in The Australian said.

Another leading newspaper the Daily Telegraph said “India executed an astonishing political power-play when they achieved a courtroom compromise in the Harbhajan Singh race row in Adelaide”. — PTI

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