Hi All,
I'm a keen student of the game and the reaction by the Indians has been, if nothing else, predictable.
It is perfectly true that two umpiring decisions in particular during the game were patently wrong -- not hearing Symonds hit the cover off the ball in the first dig when he was 30-odd and giving Dravid out caught behind in the second were both howlers. And, they had a significant impact on the outcome of the game. It would more likely have ended as a draw if they had been correctly given.
But, most of the others were line ball and nothing really to complain about one way or the other. The catch by Clarke off Ganguly looked okay to me. An agreement between the captains before the series commenced meant that if the captain of the fielding team claimed that a catch was fair, that was the end of the matter. That is precisely what happened. Ponting was asked whether it was a fair catch, he replied yes and that was that. Or at least that _should_ have been that. Sourav Ganguly has a penchant for belligerence and just wouldn't walk even after the umpire raised the finger.
If the Australian team don't do well, they get a bit of a roast in the media and the pubs and clubs, but that is it. Cricket on the sub-continent is a different thing. There is a lot of money in the game over there (particularly from T.V) and success of the team is very, very important. The pressure was really on them to win, they managed to get themselves into the driving seat a few times in Sydney and one way or another they didn't win, and worse they lost. They are probably just as dirty with themselves as they are with the umpires -- they just haven't admitted that to themselves yet.
Fact of the matter is, right or wrong, you can't argue with the umpire's decision. Having said that Steve Bucknor's use-by date is well past. I'm surprised no one tapped him on the shoulder after the farce he and his fellows made of the World Cup final. He should go. But that doesn't mean India should be excused for taking their bat and ball home with them. For shame!
As a matter of interest, have a look at the Indian Times --
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
It is pretty savage.
Best,
Les D
Contributing Editor
AS&T