Justin Langer, Australia’s new coach has said in an interview, “If Allan Border had asked me to tamper with the ball I would have,” and softened that with, “The difference is Border would never have asked me.”
Let’s set aside for the moment the issue of whether a coach appointed to erase memories of that offence should begin by condoning one of the perpetrators — Cameron Bancroft.
Langer’s message to players seems to be: you are soldiers, yours not to reason why, yours but to do and get banned. It happened with Mohammad Aamir in the spot-fixing case when he followed skipper Salman Butt’s instructions and bowled a pre-determined no-ball.
There is too the more disturbing implication that sportsmen cannot (or should not) think for themselves and distinguish between right and wrong. Bancroft (like Aamir) knew what he was doing, knew what the impact might be, and went ahead anyway. He had a choice, but acted as if he didn’t.
During the Bodyline series, when the Nawab of Pataudi Sr. indicated to his captain Douglas Jardine that he was unhappy with England’s tactics, Jardine responded with: “I see His Highness is a conscientious objector”. Pataudi, who began with a century on debut was dropped after one more Test.
On that tour, Gubby Allen refused to bowl Bodyline, and finished with 21 wickets, the best after key bowler Harold Larwood’s 33. But Allen was an amateur and could afford to take a stand, unlike Larwood, a professional used to doing what he was told to do by the captain.
Sport is replete with military metaphors, and its not surprising if in this mix, “conscientious objector” finds a natural place. Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is a fine example of one who suffered for his beliefs. He had his world title taken away from him and was refused a licence to box in the years when he was at his peak.
There have been others too. The All Blacks captain Graham Mourie pulled out of New Zealand’s team when the then apartheid South Africa toured, controversially, in 1981.
The meaning of the term “conscientious objection” has bled into areas other than the military, and takes in sport too. It is the reason behind many protests on the sports field, from wearing black bands to raising the black power salute.
In the 2003 cricket World Cup, Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black bands in their opening game to “mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe” under President Robert Mugabe.
NFL star Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem in protest against what he saw as systemic racism in American society, brought the US President into the debate, but the point was made.
When South Africa’s cricketers Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir opted out of endorsing beer brands that sponsored the national team, their stand was respected by the authorities.
In the case of Bancroft, the implied reason as suggested by Langer is: “I was only following orders.” It has been the favourite of many violators of human rights in history. Interfering with the condition of a cricket ball in play is hardly in the same league, but it is necessary to acknowledge the reduced responsibility such a defence carries.
Langer is doing himself and his team an injustice by suggesting that players do not have accountability, that cricket teams are led by dictators and that is how it ought to be.
This is not to say that players should constantly question the captain’s strategies and tactics on the field of play. Often the leader might have a plan in mind which is not immediately apparent, and by protesting or arguing, the teammate works against this.
Sometimes the call may be for a bowler to restrict the scoring rather than attempt to take wickets. On the 1974 tour of England, skipper Ajit Wadekar complained that his lead bowler Bishan Bedi “did not bowl to instructions”. Bedi refused to bowl a restrictive line while the batsmen piled on the runs, reluctant to descend into the ordinary.
Yet, bowlers have refused to run a non-striker out while backing up too much, or bowl bouncers at tail-enders; fielders have confessed to having picked up a catch on the bounce and recalled batsmen. These were all personal choices.
Even ‘walking’ — not such a hot topic now, thanks to the DRS — has been a personal issue. Wicketkeeper Wally Grout once refused to whip off the bails to run out a batsman in a Test match because he had collided with the bowler and thus lost time.
Bedi himself has bowled to struggling visiting batsmen in the nets to help them sort out their batting. To quote a line from a Harold Pinter poem on Len Hutton: Another time, another time.
Cricketers play under two sets of rules: the laws of the game, and the dictates of sportsmanship. You can’t break either, and Langer ought to know that.
