Ponting's Point
"Ricky Ponting has accused India's early-series attitude of being "fake" after their behaviour turnaround during the third ODI on Friday
Mukul Kesavan
25-Feb-2013
"Ricky Ponting has accused India's early-series attitude of being "fake"
after their behaviour turnaround during the third ODI on Friday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's captain, publicly complained about
"harsh words" from some of the Australians during the 47-run loss,
but Ponting claimed Chris Broad, the match referee, congratulated
him for the way his side approached the game." (report in Cricinfo).
To raise useful levels of friction
You need to sledge with conviction
A quality that's wanting,
In Indians, said Ponting.
To snarl one match and snitch the next
Is to stray from sledging's sacred text:
Which bids you: Go mano a mano
(If you can-o).
To drag the ump into private chat…
What kind of manliness is that?
Turning it on and off like a gizmo?
That's not machismo!
Real men don't need to start jumping
To get their testosterone pumping.
These Sreesanths and Dhonis:
They're just phonies.
A history of transportation
Explains our gift for confrontation,
And our knack for raising hell,
Also why we travel well.
That doesn't mean we're less than good
We bear ourselves as sportsmen should
Unlike the excited oriental
Who tends to look mental.
While Dhoni sneaked and Bhajji raved,
The referee said we were well-behaved
Only losers think I'm a baddy:
I have a reference from Daddy.
Mukul Kesavan is a writer based in New Delhi