Ponting's Heros

Complaint posted for Nice1bruva in response to this article in The Age:

Dear Michael,

I would like to give some feedback for your article on The Age website January 9th 2008 titled “Why Ponting’s heroes just don’t appeal to me”.

I’m sure you only wrote this article in the spirit of enraging passionate Australians, but I thought I’d email my feedback regardless. It is also clear that this article is written undoubtedly from the perspective of a person who has never played a decent level of cricket in their entire life, but is happy to sit at home in their Lazy Boy and criticise anybody and everybody with no basis of comparison.

If you took the time Michael to actually play the sport you may understand the complexities of umpiring and playing it. Even in our great game today the umpire has little more than a couple of milliseconds to see and make a decision. It’s all well and good that you have the benefit of 15 angles, snicko, hot spot, and super slow mo to make your decision but I challenge you think about REAL time. In “real” time the umpire has to look down at the crease to see if the bowler’s foot is behind the line and then quickly look up at the delivery. Now I know this is hard for you to understand or even grasp but sometimes when the ball knicks the pad it certainly can (without the aid of 2000 different TV help tools) sound like it hit the bat, which would cause the players to appeal and the umpire to make his decision.

I think what is needed to ease your mind is perhaps playing cricket or watching it without the aid of TV. Go and watch your local District or Sub District competition and see if you can be so definite then. Players are always going to appeal when there is ANY doubt. That’s why we employ umpires, to make those tough calls. If you can just as easily judge decisions at local level then perhaps you should sign up and register yourself as an official ‘A’ grade umpire, and then we wouldn’t need any of the technology we currently employ because you’d NEVER make any mistakes.

Be grateful that you have the privilege of watching such a magnificent cricket side as the one we have today. Stop siding with the cry baby Indians who are more interested in playing for draws, racially abusing the big Roy Roy, and setting the most ridiculous field placements. Stop condoning Tendulker and his comments to incite military action on the decision to ban Singh.

Michael Epis, grow up and stop whinging like a spoilt Pom. If you don’t like cricket or the spirit it’s played in then write some commentary on lawn bowls (which is perhaps a sport closer to your era). If all else fails….move back to Moscow, I’m sure The Moscow Times readers are missing your rubbish opinions.

Regards,

Cameron Davidson