The Haddin, Johnson and Benn incident is not unusual
Day 2 of another enthralling Test between Australia and West Indies brought about an unsavoury incident that has seen Suliemann Benn banned for two ODI fixtures, Brad Haddin fined 25 percent of his match fee and Mitchell Johnson fined 10 percent of his. This is far from being the first time that Australia has been involved in such ugly on-field confrontations.
The infamous 2007/2008 tour to Australia of India witnessed the most shameful on-field cricketing controversy outside of match-fixing. Harbhajan Singh allegedly racially abused Andrew Symonds and tensions ran high on the back of a number of poor umpiring decisions and questionable Australian gamesmanship. This all happened in one Test, too, in Sydney.
Michael Clarke was in the thick of the action, claiming a catch that did not carry to remove Surav Ganguly and later standing his ground having edged Kumble to first slip! There’s refusing to walk then there’s refusing to walk. Symonds refused to walk, when on 30, but the error lay with umpire Steve Bucknor. He scored 160 to further irk the Indians.
Anil Kumble, then Indian captain, openly questioned Australia’s integrity, claiming that they weren’t playing the series ‘in the spirit of the game’. Australian captain Ricky Ponting openly questioned the integrity of Indian journalists. He was also at the forefront of the ugly celebrations with which Australia marked a remarkable victory. It left a bad taste in the mouth as Ponting ran round the field screaming, pumping his fists and embracing his team mates for a prolonged period.
Australia has always played hard cricket. And successful cricket. They blew away meeker opposition for the past 20 years through a system of aggression in their approach and sledging. The Merv Hughes stare rather typifies their sentiments towards opposition. A volley of four-letter words would follow each and every climbing bouncer. Those timid English gentlemen of the 1990s and early 2000s found no riposte.
The arrogant front assumed by Australia during their dominant years was highlighted by Glenn McGrath, too. “We’re going to win 5-0” we used to hear before every Ashes series. He was a fine player in a fine team and regularly backed up his predictions, or at the very least came close! Yet, he, like his team, reacted poorly when similar treatment was meted out by opposition. Take McGrath’s own confrontation with Ramnaresh Sarwan. I won’t print it here in case any kids are reading, but it ended with McGrath threatening to rip Sarwan’s ‘throat out’. He started it.
Ponting inherited a fine team to captain, but lacks the class of leadership of Steve Waugh before him. He has largely let his team behave as they wish, which hasn’t always been exemplary when under pressure. It was also sad to see Ponting sparking a chain of physical confrontations on Day 1 of the third Test in Perth against West Indies.
Dwayne Bravo had run down the wicket after his delivery and Ponting ran straight towards him upon taking a single. He then appeared to pinch Bravo’s left ribcage in a gesture to remove him from the strip. It’s not Ponting’s concern. Billy Bowden, the umpire, will decide if Bravo needs a warning – not the Australian captain.
And so to Day 2. Benn had played very aggressively, talking to batsmen and throwing aggressive glances down the wicket. Then occurred his collision with Mitchell Johnson, the non-striker, upon a quick single. Both men moved into relevant areas; Benn to collect the ball, Johnson to charge up the wicket. They tangled, shirts were pulled, and Johnson easily made it in for the single, seemingly unperturbed by what had occurred.
Brad Hadddin, on the other hand, gestured his bat towards Benn angrily, inflaming what had become an innocuous situation. Benn flayed his arms outwards in protest, Chris Gayle spoke to Haddin, arms folded in his usually calm demeanour. Benn then engaged in further confrontation with the Australian wicket keeper.
“I’m onto you boss,” he said, picked up through the stump microphone in front of Bowden. “I won’t take that for a joke, I won’t. Don’t f**king push your bat at me, man.” His anger is understandable – the phase of play had passed, competitively, yet Haddin saw fit to make the aggressive gesture.
Benn then continued the argument with his final ball of the over, moving to throw the ball to his keeper despite Haddin not moving for a run. Benn then approached Haddin, who was talking to Johnson, at the end of the over, pointing at him over Johnson’s shoulder. Johnson pushed him away forcefully with his left elbow and Gayle and Bowden diffused the situation.
Benn got what he deserved, especially considering he pleaded not-guilty to level 2 misconduct. The Australian pair pleaded guilty. Benn has played the entire Test with this passion, and it has brought him wickets. He constantly chats and sings away and has been described as an ‘unusual man’ by Marcus North. He is – at least in that he is a West Indian with an Australian attitude.
It highlights a lack of control in Ponting’s leadership, that he deemed it acceptable to involve himself in a physical confrontation with Bravo, to launch a four-letter assault on the England dressing room at Trent Bridge in 2005, to make umpiring decisions during the aforementioned India tour, to lead a chorus of over appealing and pressuring of umpires. He is a fine player, but his leadership has been openly questioned in the past couple of years. It’s all well and good being a good captain when you have McGrath and Warne in your side; it’s another thing altogether being a good captain when you have ordinary players at your disposal.
Thankfully his vice-captain, Clarke, appears to have matured, so hopefully the future is a little brighter for Australia in terms of on field conduct under pressure. And thankfully for this match, and series, the play has been of the highest level. It will take more than a round of handbags from a trio of players who aren’t as good as their predecessors to overshadow Chris Gayle’s 70-ball century.
By Miles Reucroft
Miles is a freelance writer for The Cricket Blog – click here to get in touch to commission him for work
