The Sunil Gavaskar-Ricky Ponting spat continues, keeps gaining in girth, to be specific. Today, former India skipper Ajit Wadekar batted for Gavaskar in his column in The Indian Express, saying this Aussie rudeness was probably in their blood. And today, former Australian skipper Allan Border hurled a few more bouncers at Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar with Allan Border and another former Aussie cricketer attacking him for “uncalled for” remarks.Later even Tony Greig also piped in with his special comments, off television.Border took exception to Gavaskar, citing the death of ex-Australian cricketer David Hookes after being punched outside a Melbourne bar three years ago as an example of Aussie behaviour. “I consider Sunny a friend, but what he said about David Hookes and the behaviour of Australian cricketers was totally uncalled for. What Sunny said was totally inappropriate,” Border was quoted as saying by The Australian.The incident, the daily claimed, has strained a 20-year friendship between the two former captains to breaking point. Border described Hookes as a fantastic cricketer, husband, family man and a mate and said, “For him (Gavaskar) to link David’s death to players allegedly misbehaving on a cricket field is plain wrong.”Australia’s 1987 World Cup-winning captain said Gavaskar had a mistaken cultural view of the way Australia play the game. “Where Australia may be seen to be playing the game hard and tough could be misconstrued on the subcontinent,” Border said. “Similarly, the way India play the game at times may not be to the liking of every Australian. Cricket is a global sport in which different cultures lock horns out in the middle, only the nuances of the game may vary from country to country,” Border said. “While a cricketer on the subcontinent or the West Indies may find an Australian bowler’s remark to a particular batsman of ‘you lucky bastard’ offensive, to players in other teams it’s not,” he explained.Lehmann also joined the fray. “I’m pretty disappointed with Gavaskar. His remarks only hurt David Hookes’ family and friends and tarnish Hookesy’s memory,” Lehmann said. “A man of Gavaskar’s stature in the game of cricket should know better. I came into the international arena a few years after he had retired. He was a player I admired—not any more,” Lehmann said.In his column in The Indian Express, Wadekar had recalled an incident in 1967-68 when Sir Donald Batsman was giving a farewell speech in Sydney. Indian players were “aghast”, writes Wadekar, when some Aussie cricketers at the dinner started booing the great cricketer slowly but in chorus when Sir Don’s speech became a bit lengthy.Former England captain Greig said: “It’s inappropriate and I really don’t see any great value in this sort of sledging,” he was quoted as saying in media reports here.Greig, a close friend of Hookes, said he was shocked by Gavaskar’s attack.Meanwhile, a report in The Age said Gavaskar erred in comparing Ponting’s world champions with the revered West Indies teams of the 1970s and ‘80s. “It is true that Australia is not universally popular. But is it possible the legendary West Indies sides of the past, the epitome of calypso cool, are now viewed with romanticism?“Teams under Viv Richards, in particular, played with an almost violent edge. They were good but they were brutal, and their behaviour was not always beyond reproach. Curtly Ambrose spoiled for a fight; Michael Holding once kicked over a set of stumps,” it said.(With inputs from Express News Service)
