Cricket is the loser (20 May 1999)

20 May 1999

Cricket is the loser

Clifford Landers

Australia's controversial vice-captain Shane Warne who ignited another unwarranted "scene" against Sri Lanka Captain Arjuna Ranatunge in England " sounded more like a Wrestlemania hack than an Australian Vice-captain" was how the Editorial column of the widely read newspaper here, on Sunday, described him.

The headline of the Herald Sun Editorial column which read "Cricket is the Loser", said that Warne's gratuitous attack on Ranatunge in an English newspaper column was no more than an extension of the on-field sledging that has given our (Australian) cricketers a bad name. "He was flexing his muscles more vigorously than his brain" it said.

In its opening paragraph the column said, cricket fans have no time for Arjuna Ranatunge, the Sri Lankan captain whose arrogance in Australia last summer left him exposed as a poor leader and a bad sport. There were no tears when he said he would never return.

As the Sunday Herald Sun commented after his petulant display in the England - Sri Lanka one-day fixture at the Adelaide Oval, Ranatunge treated the game's conventions with contempt. Three months later, Australian spin bowler Shane Warne is in danger of doing the same.

In describing Ranatunge as a spent force and suggesting cricket in general and Sri Lanka's team in particular would be better off without him, Warne sounded more like a Wrestlemania hack than an Australian Vice-captain.

With the World Cup series starting in England and with last summer's misadventures consigned to history, it was neither the time nor place for hairy-chested aggression and inflammatory sentiments.

After all, the line between national pride and individual acheivement is blurred in these contests and diplomacy rules. That Ranatunge responded by insulting Australians and their culture is an indication of the intellectual vacuum in which the spat was conducted, but the greater worry is that neither party seemed to understand the damage inflicted on a game bigger than both, it said.

Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in September is in jeopardy because of the passions unleashed by Warne's ill-conceived outburst. It is time our spin wizard demonstrated greater maturity. Australians have a high level of tolerance for lovable larrikins, but they also admire intelligence and sportsmanship and in cricket expect good manners.

Warne and his teammates would be well advised to curb their sledging on and off the field because it smacks more of bullying and lack of discipline than a will to win, the column concluded.

Meanwhile, the Herald Sun columnist Bruce Wilson to whom Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunge responded to Warne's accusations after his side lost the 'opener' to England at Lords on Friday night, in an article yesterday (Monday), said that Arjuna Ranatunge has been able to take the high moral ground in this debate, something he does with the calm ease of Kaa the python in Kipling's Jungle Books. Kaa could make troops of monkeys walk into his open mouth; Warne in his public rage with Ranatunge has been dealt with just as efficiently. The only difference is this; It was Warne who had his mouth open.

Meanwhile, many of the Sri Lankan followers here are of the view that Shane Warne made these accusations against Ranatunge with some hidden intention or motive despite being aware of the disciplinary action and related consequences he would face.

Source :: The Daily News (https://www.lanka.net/lakehouse/)