04 Dec 2013, 06:51#43
Pot calling kettle black
"Spectator's racist taunt mars Aussie cricket win
PETER LALOR THE AUSTRALIAN JANUARY 19, 2009 12:00AM
RACISM returned to haunt cricket yesterday when a member of the crowd at Hobart's Bellerive Oval was charged with abusing a white South African player.
A Cricket Australia spokesman said a person in the crowd allegedly racially abused Morne Morkel during the Australian innings yesterday morning.
Morkel, 12th man in yesterday's one day international match, did not clearly hear the insult, but a spokesman for the South African team said the remark was "fairly unpleasant".
Cricket Australia said last night it had contacted the South African team and the nation's cricket authorities over the issue.
A policeman at the ground overheard the abuse and interviewed the alleged offender, who was last night charged with racial vilification. The incident, which took the polish off Australia's dramatic five-run victory yesterday, follows a string of racial controversies in cricket.
Last summer, Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused but later cleared of calling Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey" during the Sydney test. The fallout from that led to the Indian team threatening to return home after Singh was initially found guilty.
In 2007, Symonds, who is of West Indian heritage, was repeatedly abused during a one-day tour of India.
The last South African tour of Australia was marred by a series of incidents. The International Cricket Council held an inquiry in 2006 into racial slurs against South African players from Australian fans. The inquiry, led by Indian Solicitor-General Goolam Vahanvati, investigated claims Makhaya Ntini, Garnett Kruger, Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince were taunted with calls of "kaffir" and "kaffir boettie", offensive Afrikaaner terms for blacks and black sympathisers.
The ICC inquiry led to the establishment of strict anti-racism procedures in cricket.
Under the new regime, Gibbs was banned for two Tests in 2007 after a stump microphone caught him calling a Pakistani crowd a bunch of animals and telling them to go back to the zoo.
Yesterday's racist episode followed evictions for under-age drinking from the Melbourne Cricket Ground during Friday's opening day match between Australia and South Africa.
Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Paul Pottage expressed concern that alcohol played a major role for many youths attending the cricket. "I am still concerned that a significant number of young people are attending the cricket with the sole intention of consuming as much alcohol as they can," he said. "Many see very little of the game as they stand on seats, throw objects and balls and disrupt other spectators.
"We will continue to issue on-the-spot fines and penalise those whose only aim appears to be disrupting the day for others."
JWJust_win
Captain18,570 posts
JWJust_winCaptain18,570 posts
04 Dec 2013, 10:20#46
Great clip. Man Dagg had his mojo back then, he was incredible. Cory Jane, Kaino so may players at their peak!