Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi

[luckyeddie]

You shouldn't have to apologize for the fact that Afridi is a bit of an immature loser.. And isn't scuffing up the pitch akin to ball tampering? Don't see why it wasn't treated so harshly by people..

It was - he was banned.

 

[Armadillo]

So simple but so true

 

[a10khan]

I think Afridi and Akhtar are not good sports at all. The way Afridi tried to scuff up the pitch was disgraceful, to say the least. And he apparently almost came to blows with Younis Khan over a opening fracas in the Caribbean. And Akhtar's beamer looked like the most intentional beamer I have ever seen. Both men have HUGE talent but really, I won't recommend kids to take them as their heroes. I still think that the Pak team will have a problem with their unity once Inzy calls it a day. Younis had absolutely zero control over Afridi and Shoaib after the umps talked to Younis and he talked to them. Shoaib was still sledging Pathan after Younis had that chat. And Afridi was personally told by Rudi that he didn't wanna hear another word from his mouth. It will be interesting to follow developments after Inzy retires.

thats bull...

they play their cricket they way it shd be played. if a couple of indian players cant live with it, its tough. the entire australian is as much or more aggressive then afridi n akhter. as far as there is no abuse, i think its all good. they are grown up men, not kindergarten kids.

btw the unity in pak team is amazing and it was on display in the 3rd test when inzy was out. the unity is now deeply instilled within the team and it comes from the coaching staff, inzy, younis, yousuf and also from afridi and akhter (both of whom have now earned the right to be called "senior members of the group".

as for that bouncer, it was never going to hit anyone twice the size of dhoni! and it wasnt intentional, he was just frustrated, he does get annoyed real soon. afridi n kumble's bantering was also part of the game, they are grown-ups, they can live with it, and so shd u!

 

[Arumpnoo]

wat exactly is wrong with the kumble and afridi staring at each other? They both stared, and they both probably had words. But this is nothing new in cricket..well it is, in that a spinner is glaring down at a batsman, and it's always usually a fast bowler.

But the windies used to do it all the time, bowl a killer bouncer, and stare down the batsman

Well Mate, Kumble is the one with the fastest speed in Indian bowling attack, so even that is nothing new. LOL.

Please no offense to any Indian fans, just couldn't resist to crack this one.

 

[deeps]

You shouldn't have to apologize for the fact that Afridi is a bit of an immature loser.. And isn't scuffing up the pitch akin to ball tampering? Don't see why it wasn't treated so harshly by people..

well, tbh, i think it's alot less than ball tampering. Pitch tampering is done on a daily basis. Batsman run down the pitch, bowlers follow through on the pitch etc etc. Nobody makes it as obvious as Afridi did.

Mike Atherton had an article saying "what afridi did, is what every first class cricket does, except he made it more obvious"

Do you really think bowlers 'accidentally' start running onto the pitch? What about batsman? it's not by accident

Sunil Gavasker once bowled a 2 over spell, where he fully scuffed up the pitch, and was subsequently banned from bowling in that match. but he'd done his job. scuff up the pitch.


Sure he deserved a penatly, and he got it. But i think it's a lot less bad, as ball tampering

 

[Deja moo]

thats bull...

they play their cricket they way it shd be played. if a couple of indian players cant live with it, its tough. the entire australian is as much or more aggressive then afridi n akhter. as far as there is no abuse, i think its all good. they are grown up men, not kindergarten kids.

So the way cricket should be played is by referring to your opponents as madar****s ? And you're sadly mistaken if you think the Indian players couldnt live with it. Pathan and Dhoni were clearly amused by Afridis antics on the field.

 

[honestbharani]

People make too much of these 'incidents' - for goodness sake, cricket is a competitive sport played with emotions as well as a considerable amount of skill.

It is one thing to call each other names as part of some banter and mindgames, quite another when you start involving one's whole family. The culture here in India is different and I am sorry if that is hard to understand, but we DO take things said in situations like this personally, esp. when it is about one's whole family. It maybe YOUR culture to NOT take such things seriously, but there is no way you can claim it IS the right way. Every culture is different and cricketers should start realizing that.

 

[honestbharani]

thats bull...

they play their cricket they way it shd be played. if a couple of indian players cant live with it, its tough. the entire australian is as much or more aggressive then afridi n akhter. as far as there is no abuse, i think its all good. they are grown up men, not kindergarten kids.

btw the unity in pak team is amazing and it was on display in the 3rd test when inzy was out. the unity is now deeply instilled within the team and it comes from the coaching staff, inzy, younis, yousuf and also from afridi and akhter (both of whom have now earned the right to be called "senior members of the group".

as for that bouncer, it was never going to hit anyone twice the size of dhoni! and it wasnt intentional, he was just frustrated, he does get annoyed real soon. afridi n kumble's bantering was also part of the game, they are grown-ups, they can live with it, and so shd u!

I said banter is good. Sledging the player himself is okay to a point, but calling a guy's family names is just not on, mate. And plz tell me how you are SURE that the beamer wasn't intentional?

 

[luckyeddie]

It is one thing to call each other names as part of some banter and mindgames, quite another when you start involving one's whole family. The culture here in India is different and I am sorry if that is hard to understand, but we DO take things said in situations like this personally, esp. when it is about one's whole family. It maybe YOUR culture to NOT take such things seriously, but there is no way you can claim it IS the right way. Every culture is different and cricketers should start realizing that.

I never mentioned culture or sensitivities, I certainly didn't mention families. I said, and I repeat....

People make too much of these 'incidents' - for goodness sake, cricket is a competitive sport played with emotions as well as a considerable amount of skill.

The implications of such a statement are "Things happen in the heat of the moment" - no more, no less. No slur intended on your culture, and I'm very sorry if it came over that way.

 

[honestbharani]

I never mentioned culture or sensitivities, I certainly didn't mention families. I said, and I repeat....

People make too much of these 'incidents' - for goodness sake, cricket is a competitive sport played with emotions as well as a considerable amount of skill.

The implications of such a statement are "Things happen in the heat of the moment" - no more, no less. No slur intended on your culture, and I'm very sorry if it came over that way.

Some murders are done at the heat of the moment as well. The point is, no matter what is the reason, it was improper conduct and deserved to be warned (and punished, if it was repeated.)


BTW, the culture thing wasn't specifically aimed at you. It was more of a general thing. I have known for a fact that the aussies and the proteas that I have met during games generally feel that whatever is said on the field should not be taken seriously. I guess it is their culture but they need to understand that it is different here in the subcontinent.

 

[GotSpin]

First of all It is unfair to compare Shoaib and Afridi. Shoaib is a great guy on the field and off it whereas Afridi's is a disgrace.

Anil Kumble did similar stuff against Inzamam in 2004 series, In frustration he threw the ball to Wicket Keeper knowing very well that Inzi was standing in between. Had Inzi not ducked, he would have been hit by that ball. After that Instead of aplogizing Kumble had the gal to go and argue with Inzi. Although att the end of the day Kumble and Inzi were seen walking together to the pavilion, laughing as if nothing happened.

How do you know afridi is a disgrace and not a "great" guy. You personally know him do you? Former good mates?

 

[GotSpin]

well, tbh, i think it's alot less than ball tampering. Pitch tampering is done on a daily basis. Batsman run down the pitch, bowlers follow through on the pitch etc etc. Nobody makes it as obvious as Afridi did.

Mike Atherton had an article saying "what afridi did, is what every first class cricket does, except he made it more obvious"

Do you really think bowlers 'accidentally' start running onto the pitch? What about batsman? it's not by accident

Sunil Gavasker once bowled a 2 over spell, where he fully scuffed up the pitch, and was subsequently banned from bowling in that match. but he'd done his job. scuff up the pitch.


Sure he deserved a penatly, and he got it. But i think it's a lot less bad, as ball tampering

True, just how mcgrath "accidently" scuffs up the pitch just where Warnie likes to bowl

 

[Deja moo]

How do you know afridi is a disgrace and not a "great" guy. You personally know him do you? Former good mates?

Lets just say if you're watching the cricket with your family, you'd want to turn down the volume of the television set whenever he opens his mouth anywhere near the stump microphones.

 

[honestbharani]

Lets just say if you're watching the cricket with your family, you'd want to turn down the volume of the television set whenever he opens his mouth anywhere near the stump microphones.

I have watched Afridi for a long time now and he is amongst the worst behaved cricketers on the field of play. Don't know what he is personally and honestly, I am not sure if I even care. What he does on the field sets an example as he is a big hero amongst the Pakistan fans and he should really try to improve his behaviour. It is about time.

 

[Mecnun]

Sledging is okay but personal abuse is not. Must admit that this is notthe first time I have seen Afridi sledge Indian players. He was doing it to Sehwag and others in India as well however when he comes to bat he takes it as well from the likes of nehra/kumble.

What about that incident between Vaughn and Moyo. Would love to hear what they were saying to each other. That conv went on for a while still Moyo did not go running to the umpire

 

[honestbharani]

Sledging is okay but personal abuse is not. Must admit that this is notthe first time I have seen Afridi sledge Indian players. He was doing it to Sehwag and others in India as well however when he comes to bat he takes it as well from the likes of nehra/kumble.

What about that incident between Vaughn and Moyo. Would love to hear what they were saying to each other. That conv went on for a while still Moyo did not go running to the umpire

That was because the umps knew what was going on then. Here, Afridi was sledging in Hindi and Urdu and Pathan had to state what was going on to the umps to make sure they were in the "know".

 

[Deja moo]

Must admit that this is notthe first time I have seen Afridi sledge Indian players. He was doing it to Sehwag and others in India as well however when he comes to bat he takes it as well from the likes of nehra/kumble.

I first noticed it during the WC2003 game between Ind-Pak. The situation had really gotten to Afridi when he was bowling. But its also true that nowadays Kumble seems to get too confrontational when things don't go his way. Harbhajan is the exact opposite. He seems to get crestfallen too easily.

 

[Mecnun]

Harbie does seem like an exciteable character!! Good for the game. He maybe a bit like Kaneira who needs to be performing otherwise he gets frustrated and his head and shoulders slump.

I do not mind a bit of passion and aggression but continuous abuse and singling out of individuals is not something I agree with. I guess in today's game I am a little traditional.

 

[luckyeddie]

Some murders are done at the heat of the moment as well. The point is, no matter what is the reason, it was improper conduct and deserved to be warned (and punished, if it was repeated.)


BTW, the culture thing wasn't specifically aimed at you. It was more of a general thing. I have known for a fact that the aussies and the proteas that I have met during games generally feel that whatever is said on the field should not be taken seriously. I guess it is their culture but they need to understand that it is different here in the subcontinent.

OK, changing my original comment then.

People often make too much of these 'incidents' - for goodness sake, cricket is a competitive sport played with emotions as well as a considerable amount of skill.

Happy? You have to make allowances for me - I'm a doofus.

 

[honestbharani]

OK, changing my original comment then.

People often make too much of these 'incidents' - for goodness sake, cricket is a competitive sport played with emotions as well as a considerable amount of skill.

Happy? You have to make allowances for me - I'm a doofus.

lol. I just wished to point out that stuff like this are taken more personally in our culture than they seem to be in some other cultures. That is all. I don't know what was the tone you felt when reading my post, but it certainly wasn't confrontational or anything.


I thought all of us at CW were doofuses, BTW...