Hi!

This is a very interesting article from more than one point of view. I’m an Englishman who has lived in France for over 20 years, and I have thus been out of the cricketing loop for many years.

Flicking through a couple of your posts takes me back down memory lane because I used to be an assiduous fan of cricket, but.....could I ask you a question please?

I may be wrong, but I have the impression that there is much more cheating (or trying to) going on now than before. Same thing for polemical discussion. In other words, less ”fair play”.

Is this true or am I just seeing the past through rose-tinted glasses?

Thank you.

Oh, and incidentally,

”Sreelata Yellamrazu”.

Wow! Please forgive my saying this, but that’s one heck of a cool name you have!!)

Hi Michael,It is me,thnks for appreciation,as usual to the point.Cricket as a game has become a war a game of words, who shows down whom,no consideration,no compassion pity it was supposed to be a gentlemen’s game

Hi Veena, how are you!!?!

I know, snif.

Moreover I was brought up with those values. Play hard, but play fair.

Is it all the money? (Read, money = pressure).

Nice to know you like cricket!!

Hi Michael, you are not wrong to perceive that the past must indeed seem like something one should view through rose tinted glasses.
Cricket has retained its essence; but lose its identity. Unfortunately the people who should be holding up the legacy because of the position they have derived from the sport, are deriding the ethics of the sport itself.
It’s still cricket; just not a gentleman’s sport anymore.

Thanks,
keep reading,
www.crickblog.com

Dear Sreelata,

I would like to draw your attention to other reports highlighting the controversial remarks made against Yuvraj.You should also take in account the fact that British media has lauded the efforts of Yuvraj.

The newspaper(read Daily Telegraph) lauded Yuvraj’s performance and said he resembled Gary Sobers in his shot selection. “All he seemed to do, to create shots possessed of the grace of Garry Sobers, the power of Clive Lloyd and flair of Brian Lara, was to wave his bat somewhere in the vicinity of the ball.” the daily quipped.

The Independent, however, rubbished the criticism.
“Much will be made of Yuvraj’s back injury and his use of a runner for the majority of his innings... Some will feel it was a calculated decision so that he remained fresh. It is hard to believe. A runner normally causes huge mix-ups that often result in a run-out, and Yuvraj would not have wanted to be dismissed through no fault of his own,” it said.
I am providing a link .Have a look at the report:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081116/jsp/sports/story_10117779.jsp

However, having said that, let me say that both Australian and British media miss no opportunity in picking holes in India’s victory. You should now treat such “prejudiced “reporting as part and parcel of this game once hailed as “gentleman’s game”. You should take in account the approach of the Australians in the Sydney Test to know the changes that have hit the game. To be gracious in defeat is a thing of past for all the teams including the England and Australia. The British media (read Western media) loves to be biased and prejudiced in while reporting sensitive matters pertaining to India .I am providing you another link, which reveals approach of ICC.An excerpt from that report : Gavaskar, as a television commentator, described England and Australia as “dinosaurs, still trying to voice their prejudiced opinions in the media, and may not open their eyes and see the reality” in a syndicated column at the weekend. A report in British newspaper Times’ online edition on Tuesday said that Gavaskar is to be asked to step down as ICC cricket committee chairman .

(http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gavaskar-gets-icc-summons-over-dinasaur-comment/288400

Yours,
Arvind K.Pandey

Dear Arvind,

Thanks for taking the time and patience to provide such detailed viewpoint. Perhaps we could have used it as an article itself on Crickblog! :)

Seriously, I think that is precisely the point Veena is trying to make. There were two sides to the coin. One can only wonder if the British media were trying to cushion the blow by making accusations and in the same breath, equate Yuvraj Singh with the greats of the game.

Thanks,
keep reading,
www.crickblog.com

@ Sreelata,

You can use post this comment as article on Cricblog.I have no objection in this regard.

Some Minor Corrections:

1.The British media (read Western media) loves to be biased and prejudiced while reporting sensitive matters pertaining to India.

2.To be gracious in defeat is a thing of past for all the teams including England and Australia.

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@ Sharmila

I am also no huge fan of Yuvraj.However, your comment is not in tune with the developments.You should not forget that he has become the second Indian to score a fastest century in an onedayer.He has already got much-needed publicity by fair means.Why would he indulge in cheap publicity gimmicks ? Let’s not forget that runners have always failed to deliver in crucial moments.

********************************************

Could be. I anyways am not a huge fan of yuvraj, i think he’s all publicity and no game...i guess it is very much possible that he was faking it :P

”1.The British media (read Western media) loves to be biased and prejudiced while reporting sensitive matters pertaining to India.”

This is a post, and a page, about cricket. It is not a post, or a page, about western media and, by extension, Western culture.

Moreover, ”The British Media” cannot be read as being ”Western Media”.

That’s like saying ”The Indian Media” can be read as ”Indian Sub Continent Media”.

There are enough anti-western posts on Instablogs. Do ALL Instablogs posts have to be used as anti-western mouthpieces? Can’t we just talk cricket?

Thank you.

Hi Michael,

I completely agree. Can’t we just talk cricket?

But let’s face the facts. Cricket is now a global business. Gone are the days when the passion for the sports united brothers across borders. Now it’s a win-at-all-costs approach, and if it means business is run by pitting one team against another in the dailies before they take the pitch, that is how it is being done and even worse, emulated elsewhere.

And I don’t necessarily agree that just because one is a journalist from India, he/she needs to report with a deliberate bias. But it was seen emphatically with the Australian press when India toured Australia last year. There is a serious disease of aping Australia not only in their cricketing tactics such as sledging but also, of their journalistic prejudices, both of which we were brought up to think as something to be abhorred.
The only request then would be to not do it simply for the sake of it. But can anyone gauge whose grouse is more genuine in such a divided atmohsphere?

Thanks,
keep reading,
www.crickblog.com

Hi!

You are absolutely right about deliberate bias.

The English sporting press has adopted it as a culture, and it has existed for twenty years or more. It’s regrettable, but it isn’t only directed against ”foreign” teams or athletes, much less Indians, who represent a high proportion of its readers.

To see this, all you have to do is read articles about the English football scene. Scathing, provocative, biased and cruel they are, but, as I say, this treatment is not uniquely reserved for others.

We may not appreciate it (and I certainly don’t!) but that’s how the English sporting media works.

(Incidentally, as a musician, I can tell you that it’s the same in that sphere too).

It’s even WORSE in Australia!!

The press is the press. Cricket is cricket.

I prefer the game to most of the press reporting of it......

Dear Sreelata,

Yes, it’s time to discuss about cricket alone!! There is no need for me to add any rejoinder here since Sreelata has virtually upheld my contentions in previous comment...” But let’s face the facts” .However, I wish to add that not only sporting skills but other dubious skills are also being employed to crush the opponent.The pitch has become ideal spot to locate ” Sama, Dana, Bheda and Danda.” I hope Sreelata you do not fail to intercept what I am really trying to say.Remember,how the suspension of Sourav Ganguly raised hue and cry inside the Parliament !!

Regarding other argument that I am targeting Western media (by equating it with British Media), I will say that I did not intend to convey the said impression. I only intended to convey that prejudices which govern the English sporting media can also be observed in Western media while reporting India related stories. I have only tried to highlight the trait visible in the Western media.

I did not elaborate that point here since the issue dealt with cricket. The Western media’s ” biased approach ” is quite evident to all sensible readers/writers and I do not wish to highlight something that’s so commonplace. At present I am running short of time but whenever I have time I will definitely present an in-depth article, encircling negative traits of Western media, with sufficient and proper facts!!!

Yours,
Arvind K.Pandey

@ Sreelata

Lo ‘n’ behold! ... Yuvraj has made another century...That too without a runner....It’s now really hard for British Media and his critics to come up with nice excuse. I wonder are they going to hatch another cock and bull story as how come Yuvraj has hit another century without a runner ?

Hi Michael,

I completely agree. Can’t we just talk cricket?

But let’s face the facts. Cricket is now a global business. Gone are the days when the passion for the sports united brothers across borders. Now it’s a win-at-all-costs approach, and if it means business is run by pitting one team against another in the dailies before they take the pitch, that is how it is being done and even worse, emulated elsewhere.