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| Wednesday, 19 May 2004 |
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Healy on the wrong pitch by Malinda Seneviratne Ian Healy, the former Australian wicketkeeper, probably believes he has come far, indeed further than anyone before him has, by claiming that banning Muttiah Muralitharan from bowling his doosra does not go far enough - his entire bowling action should be re-examined. Healy obviously believes that the most "tested" test player in history has not been tested enough. Or that those who did the testing were incompetents. Healy says, "It's a bit of a shame, the public wants to know how the rest of his action stands up." Whenever someone finds it imperative to cower behind the generality of things such as "the public", I tell myself, "this guy doesn't have the balls to stand on his own two feet". What is this "public" made of? Racist Aussies? Did Healy do a head count of public opinion before he appointed himself as the spokesman for the public? Has he asked "the public" if it wants all actions of all bowlers of all countries of all class also tested to see if they "stand up"? The truth is, Healy can't stomach the fact that Murali got to 520 before Warne. Perhaps the fact that Murali is black has something to do with it as well. We can't say for sure. But I would not give Healy the benefit of the doubt. He's an Aussie. And many Australians, our cricketers will testify, operate as though prejudice is their defining ethnic trait. And who the hell is John Howard? Mother of all third umpires? No, he is not. He is the prime minister of a country whose population is largely made up of the descendents of illegal immigrants whose racism only just stopped short of driving to extinction the native peoples of that continent. For the record the way these people are treated by Howard's government, even today, makes all these horror stories about Zimbabwean-style racism seem rather hypocritical. Stewart McGill, before he boycotted the Australian tour of Zimbabwe, ought to have refused to play for Australia, a nation where racism is not just a one-off Darrel Lehman kind of thing but an institutionalised fact! Under the circumstances, I am astounded Ian Healy has not asked for a re-examination of Australia's status as a civilised nation. Shameful, Ian, shameful! |
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