Steve Waugh's comments
Captain MS Helal, psc, BN (Retd), Dhaka
I was surprised by Steve Waugh's comment 'Throw Zimbabwe out' on the present state of Zimbabwe's cricket where he further said that there was no place for teams picked on colour rather than merit (DS sports page, 2 June 2004). Absolutely right, that's what it should be. But unfortunately in reality that is not the case. Why the aborigines of Australia are being neglected in cricket? I don't know whether this view of mine would reach Steve, but let me remind him of South African cricket team Selection. Is it solely and wholly selected on merit or partly on the basis of colour these days, done in a very subtle way? What about the same South African cricket team that used to be selected completely on the basis of white colour during the apartheid period? Where were the forefathers of Steve Waugh then? If my memory serves right, no one of yesteryears' Steve Waugh type people protested this sort of discrimination at that time. The whole world knows this open secret that starting from John Howard (PM of Australia), most of the Australians are truly modern day racists under the cover of civilisation, and propagation of human rights. Should world cricket run on Steve Waugh type people's suggestions or on the basis of the opinion of the majority of the cricketing world and its fans? I think Steve Waugh should be barred, by creating massive public opinion, from commenting about cricket as most of his ideas and comments, if carefully analysed, are found to be originating from the concept of racism. Becoming a cricket legend certainly doesn't give him an open license to say anything and everything at his sweet will showing total disregard for the majority . It makes me laugh when a person of Steve's stature (supposed to be knowledgeable specially on cricket) publicly says, "I am not sure John Howard called Muttiah Muralitharan a chucker. I didn't hear him say it, so I can't comment on it." The whole world knows very well (in this age of high-tech IT) that John Howard is on record of having termed Murali a chucker. Let Steve deny this if has the courage and dignity, instead he is trying to bail Howard out. Murali's only fault is that he is a GENIUS, an Asian cricketer from a third world country.
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. PHOTO: AFP |
