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The broader picture of Chris Broad

By Marlon Fernandopulle
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) should demand an impartial inquiry from the ICC with regard to match referee Chris Broad's hearing in the Justin Langer incidence during the third cricket test between Australia and Sri Lanka played at the SSC grounds last week.

Justin Langer was clearly seen flipping the bails while walking across the stumps after the end of an over. Subsequently the Australian players appealed for a hit-wicket decision against the batsman who was Hashan Tillekaratne. The decision was put to the third umpire Peter Manuel who correctly decided that Tillekaratne was not out.

At the official hearing match referee Chris Broad completely exonerated Justin Langer from the charges that were brought against him. The action of Broad came as a surprise not only to the Sri Lankan players but also to the millions of television viewers who watched Langer deliberately flick the bail off the stumps and the Australian players appeal for hit wicket.

Whatever the reasons maybe, a look at the television replays suggest that it was a deliberate act, and if it was so, does'nt the appealing by the Australian players amount to cheating? Cheating according to the ICC code of conduct for players is a level 4 offence. The penalty for such an offence is a suspension of either 5 test matches or 10 ODIs.

It's a shame that the match referee who had an eagle eye to spot the kink in Muralitharan’s doosra has turned a blind eye on this disgraceful act by an Australian player.

This newspaper has pointed out in the past the manner in which the ICC officials conduct proceedings in a biased manner leaning towards the Australians and the Englishmen. On one such instance the ICC Corporate affairs manager Mr Brendon McClements accused the writer for making such statements as they were not backed up by facts. We replied Mr McClements giving him the facts citing a couple of true incidences. What has happened today is another example of how bias the ICC match officials are towards the Australians.

It's time that SLC takes up these matters with the highest authority at the ICC and expose these deliberate acts by certain individuals who are not only tarnishing the image of countries and players, but also bringing the game to disrepute by their own actions.

Broads appointment questionable!

The ICC should also have a more stringent process when they recruit match referees in future. Chris Broad has been reported to have been fined sterling pounds 500 for smashing the stumps in a test match and warned on several other times for showing dissent during his playing days at a time when there were no match referees or a code of conduct for players. In addition Broad was also heard to have made questionable comments on Muralitharan’s action when commentating for BBC's talk sport during Englands tour of Sri Lanka in 2001. Is it right for the ICC to appoint these men as elite match refrees?

Broads appointment by the ICC for the Sri Lanka -Australia one day series was mysterious. An ICC media release in January named the ICC elite umpires and Mike Procter as the match referee for the Sri Lanka -Australia one day and test series. However in another ICC media release in March (a few days before the start of the test series) the ICC replaced Mike Proctor with Chris Broad and made a change in the ICC umpires replacing S. Venkataraghavan with Dave Orchard for the test series. In this release the ICC ensures to put a foot note indicating the change to the elite umpires, but remains dumb on the sudden change of the match referees appointment which in fact came as a surprise to the players.

These deliberate acts by the ICC has given rise to speculation among Sri Lankans that the reporting of Muralitharan by Broad has something more to it. Muttiah Muralitharan is more than a world class off spinner to the millions of cricket crazy Lankans. Chris Broad has opened a can of worms. His action has hurt a nation. Thus it's upto Sri Lanka Cricket to do whatever possible to put to rest the current controversy and ensure that their champion bowler is protected in the future.

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