by Girish Menon
When the English mob and commentators unleashed their self
righteous 'spirit of cricket' indignation on Sachitra Senanayake I felt the
need to find out more about this unheard of cricketer who has caused a minor
tempest in England's favourite brew container.
So, I looked up his career stats to find out that Sachitra
is 29 and had already played 1 Test, 34 ODIs and 17 T20Is. I also learnt that
prior to his 'Mankadding' of Buttler, in earlier ODIs of the current series he
had been reported for a faulty action and asked to report to Perth for a
bio-mechanical examination about the degree of flex in his action.
I happened to listen to Test Match Special (TMS) at the time
of Sachitra's Mankadding incident and at the time the commentators were
insistent that Sachitra had not warned Buttler earlier before running him out. The commentators also alleged that English
bowlers, unlike Sachitra and Murali before him, were unable to bowl the doosra
since it would be ironed out by coaches at the junior stages itself.
Personally, I feel any bowling action which does not
threaten the life of a batsman should be permitted. This will balance the
equation between bat and ball and make for interesting cricket.
In his book Lila, Robert Pirsig describes the English
reaction when the first stuffed platypus was shipped there. At first, the
traditionalists were aghast that nature had betrayed their classification.
Also, they denied that platypi could lay eggs and then suckle their young. The
traditionalists also tried to ban the platypus out of existence since it did
not meet their classification code. It was only much later that the
traditionalists accommodated the
platypus in the field of biology.
At 29, Sachitra may feel like the stuffed platypus on its
arrival in England .
After investing so much time and effort in developing his skill, he is now
being told that if he does not obtain a clearance from an Australian he will
not be allowed to ply his trade. England may or
may not have had a role in the reporting of Senanayake, but surely this could
have been done discreetly at the end of the series so that the Sri Lankan team
would not be compromised in the middle of the tour. Isn't this a case of giving
the home team an unfair advantage?
Yet, when Sachitra legitimately runs out Buttler after
warning him twice against cheating, the umpires had the audacity to ask the Sri
Lankan captain whether he wished to withdraw the appeal. The crowds aroused by
a partisan TMS commentariat then boo the Sri Lankans and Sachitra in
particular.
So, Sachitra you are not alone. I empathise with your
situation. I also hope that you have an alternative career mapped out for I am
not aware of any cricketer who has retained his wicket taking skills after his
action has been re-modelled. So power to you.