As usual, Australia seem above the law

The Australians always seem to get away. Whatever their transgressions, invariably, it is the teams playing against them that seem to invite the match referee’s wrath, writes Anil Kumble.

The Australians always seem to get away. Whatever their transgressions, invariably, it is the teams playing against them that seem to invite the match referee’s wrath. This is why I am not looking at the recent incident in the Australia-West Indies series in isolation.

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In the Delhi Test, the one that earned Gautam Gambhir a ban for having a go at Shane Watson, the same umpire and the match referee were officiating. At that time, Billy Bowden didn’t see it fit to report Simon Katich, who had later obstructed Gambhir, and match referee Chris Broad too didn’t bother to act on his own or follow it up with the on-field umpires, even though it was evident on TV.

As on that occasion, the provocateurs got away in Perth too, with Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson receiving minor reprimands. There doesn’t seem to any punishment forthcoming for someone who provokes and that, to me, is against the principles of natural justice.

Jeff Crowe, of course, had no such issues when he docked Mahendra Dhoni for the team having bowled three overs short. The facts were very evident. It is a huge blow for India and they will miss the multi-tasking ability of Dhoni. They will miss his batting — what a hundred he made in Nagpur under pressure — his wicketkeeping and leadership skills.

When you are defending a total these things happen. Sometimes, you do lose track of time, but this is international cricket and you have to be aware of what’s happening.

What you need to do is stay ahead of time. The last few overs are always tension-filled and there is an understandable tendency to take additional time to take decisions. But if you are ahead of the clock, say by the 34th over when the second drinks break is taken, you will get more time to plan. Also, the team needs to rally around the captain, especially on Indian grounds where the noise makes communication very tough. And when you have three medium pacers bowling the last overs, time has to be given for that too.

For stand-in captain Sehwag, the next two games will be a test. I am confident that captaincy will not affect his batting. He has led India in the past, both in Tests and ODIs, and so it will not be new for him.

What he and the team need to do is come up with a plan to tackle the unorthodox hitting of Tillakaratne Dilshan and the orthodox batting of Kumar Sangakkara. On these unhelpful tracks it is a tough ask but perhaps the answer lies in striking with the new ball. They have to find a way to make the new ball pay.

Hawkeye Communications