PY said:
Hate is such a strong word, you're making it sound like a gangwar.
I think you'll find I said (and Neil agreed) that we find the attitude of some (a bit of emphasis on the some part) Australian journalists and fans to be rather rose-tinted when it comes to players being abused (or sledged depending on the case). I don't dislike Australia or the majority of the population. I think you'll find Neil is the same.
Also if you'd been here a while ago, there was an element of sub-continental fans who came here and made some extremely biased statements and the forum as a whole was just as willing to argue with their statements as it is about Australian ones.
As regards to your comment about , I'm fairly certain you would feel drowned under the length (several thousand pages) of the report made by the guys at UWA in which they reported what they had scientifically proven about Murali's action. You cannot ignore proven science with the results in front of you. It is as simple as that.
Yes a lot of that is quite reasonable.......I do live in WA, and I have seen and read some of the analysis of his action undertaken by a team at UWA, as well as closely studying the sequential pictures. To me they are, at best, inconclusive.
Apart from the fact that it was done a while ago, and many people now feel his action is actually
worse than it was a few years ago, there are 2 things to consider.
1) It was not done under match conditions, or when the bowler was fatigued.
2) There is no evidence to suggest that Murali bowled, or was asked to bowl, his full range of deliveries.
I mean, if you were him, and you were under scrutiny, would you actually bowl the deliveries that were most suspect? I think not.
In any event, the study centred largely on whether the guy can actually straighten his arm fully or not, and whether it does so whilst bowling - Dr.Frank Pyke, who led the study, is not an expert on bowling actions, his expertise centres more on biomechanics.......he is perhaps best known for helping Dennis Lillee's rehabilitation form a serious back injury in the 70's.
Any new investigation by the ICC into spinners in particular will be most welcome, and obviously must include further screening of Murali, preferably under match conditions.
The idea that this guy is 'untouchable' because of a study carried out a few years ago is plainly wrong, and to have umpires who would otherwise be reporting him except they fear for their jobs is rather a disturbing situation, to say the least.
And in relation to Neil, I'm sorry, but it seems clear to me that he has a clear and obvious dislike for Australian cricket.......that's fine, but it seems to translate into merely taking a contrary position to most things that are posted by Australians!!
Apart from that, he seems like a fine fellow!
What I can't get past is all you Murali-doesn't-chuck people are discounting entirely a poll on his action run on this very board, which showed categorically that those who believe his action is legal are very much in the minority! Of course these are only people's opinions!
Rik made a silly statement along the lines of "Well people have changed their minds since then" Of course anything is possible, but then the minority that voted that his action is legal may have also changed their minds!
I have no problem with anyone believing anything, but in this case I would like people to acknowledge that if this board is a microcosm of cricket supporters in general (and it is reasonable to assume so) , then those who believe his action are legal are very much in the minority!
Anyway, this argument can (and probably will) go on long after the bowler retires, (or is retired) it's clear that many millions of fans all over the world believe there is something wrong with his action, and there are probably an equal number who believe it is ok. In the end, cricket is probably the loser.
A similar result was achieved on another board BTW.
I have exhausted myself on this subject......