By IANS
Sydney : Former captain of English county Somerset and eminent cricket writer Peter Roebuck came in for some flak from readers of his syndicated column for being lenient with Indian player Harbhajan Singh. They felt the off-spinner’s behaviour also must come under scrutiny.
Roebuck, who is now an Australian resident, in his latest column Saturday accepted that the readers’ point is valid.
He now says the main objection to Harbhajan concerns not his loose mouth but his insulting behaviour on claiming the wicket of the Australian captain Ricky Ponting. India cannot expect to be treated with dignity when one of their players is carrying on in such a manner. Anil Kumble needs to take him in hand.
At the same time, Roebuck still feels Australia must look for an alternate captain in case any further calamities befall the national side. His man to captain the team is Simon Katich.
“It is not that the selectors lack alternatives or are obliged to choose their leader from within the squad chosen for the Perth Test match. Some of the players will retire soon and the opportunity will arise to chart a different course. Everything depends on the response of the players in the next few weeks,” said Roebuck.
“It is not that they need to placate a single cranky reporter. They need to reassure the Australian public that they mean to represent the country not only with skill and dedication, but also with grace. It has been missing. It is not so long ago that a distinguished politician was unceremoniously pushed off a podium.”
Roebuck says Katich is a capable cricketer in superb form and a respected leader with a strong outlook. He has captained teams at every level and recently has led New South Wales and Derbyshire with distinction. Last week one of his county players spoke highly of him as a batsman and leader, praising his straightforward and intelligent approach to the game. Anyone watching the Blues this season will confirm that the team has been playing with renewed spirit and greater imagination than previously.
Looking at his international career so far, he says that it has been patchy, with an ill-timed illness curtailing his first breakthrough and a succession of bad decisions in the Ashes series in 2005 undermining his second surge. In those days Katich seemed to be trying almost too hard to prove that he belonged.
“Brett Lee could be his right-hand man. Lee has enacted in his own career precisely the sort of transformation Australian supporters seem to seek from their national representatives. Attention was drawn in his younger days to an action that became ragged whenever he went wide of the crease. Harsh words were written about beamers sent down at disturbing moments. He might have sulked or sued. Instead, he confronted any weak points and has emerged not merely as a great bowler but also as an impressive man. Lee is not merely an outstanding figure in the Australian team. He is respected everywhere. It is a worthy enough aim for every teammate.
“Much the same can be said about Adam Gilchrist. Indeed, the current fracas surrounding the team proves that he has been right all along. Exception has been taken to his part in the vociferous appeal against Rahul Dravid,” he said.
Looking at the incident in hindsight, Roebuck writes, the point is not that he was misleading the umpire. The point was that the entire Australian team had worked itself into such a lather that judgment had flown out of the window. He misled himself.