Ponting used tailored loophole in agreement

Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting sat before the match referee Mike Procter before the first Test in Melbourne and decided to play the gentleman’s game, as it should be. And like it has been the tradition since Ponting took over the captaincy in 2004, the Australian once again put forward his point of view — now one of the most debatable — that players will play the game honestly and the umpires shall take the player/captain’s word as final if in doubt on the field.

While it’s routine for the two skippers to meet before a series and agree on certain issues— what can be termed as matters of policy — this particular clause has been different from what is agreed upon in any other series in any other country, if not unique.

So Kumble, ever the gentleman on and off the field, fell for the general niceties of the agreement without going into the nitty gritties, and it was all verbally agreed upon in the pre-series captain’s meeting. Little did he know that the man who proposed the clause, will use it to his advantage.

According to a senior member of the team, they have already decided upon a review of this clause and that would be intimated citing examples from the second Test. “We had some respect for certain Australian cricketers, but they have disappointed us with their actions. I don’t think it would be wise now to go back again to the same guy and hope that he would be honest this time,” he said.

Kumble too showed his ire at the spirit shown by the Australian team. “We’d like to play hard on the field and expect that from Australia as well. We had decided before the series that we would be honest. I’ve played my Cricket very sincerely and honestly, that’s the approach my team takes, and we expect that from Australia as well.

“I don’t want to say anything more at the moment, we have to wait and see on that. Sometimes it happens that in the heat of the moment you take those chances and then probably don’t say anything on that. It’s a part of the game,” he said.

... contd.