Second Test, 2007–08 Border–Gavaskar Trophy

The Second Test in the Indian cricket team's tour of Australia for the 2007/08 Australian summer, was a controversial match in which an unusually large number of umpiring mistakes were made by international umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson. The match ended in a dramatic defeat of the Indian team in the final ten minutes of the (five day) match, with some commentators suggesting that the umpiring mistakes had a major impact on the course of the match. The result ensured that Australia retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as well as taking Ricky Ponting's team to 16 consecutive Test wins, equalling the previous test record, also held by Australia under Steve Waugh. The controversial test has been termed Bollyline by some media outlets in Australia, an obvious reference to the 1930s controversy Bodyline.

The Test itself featured numerous individual performances which set up a fifth day in which the match could have been won by either team, but was most likely to be drawn. The match featured centuries by batsmen in every day of the match. Three four-wicket hauls were achieved and Brett Lee achieved a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Both Anil Kumble and Michael Clarke were, at individual points in the game, on a hat-trick. All rounder Andrew Symonds was at the centre of much of the action, achieving 162* and 61 with the bat and taking 3/51 in India's second innings. Symonds was awarded man-of-the-match. Symonds was also involved in a controversial racial abuse altercation from spinner Harbhajan Singh, as a result of which Harbhajan was banned for three test matches (pending appeal).

Context

Australia had won the First Test played in the previous week at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by a margin of 337 runs, needing only four days to secure victory. Australia were seeking a 16th consecutive Test win to equal the record set by Steve Waugh's team between late 1999 and early 2001.

The first match had led to media consternation about the appropriateness of India's batting strategy. No. 3 batsman Rahul Dravid had been promoted up the batting order to open along with Wasim Jaffer, moving him from his accustomed position. Regular opener Dinesh Karthik was dropped prior to the first test, so that a middle-order vacancy would be created for Yuvraj Singh, who had scored a century in his previous Test where he substituted for Sachin Tendulkar who was out due to an injury. During the First Test, both Dravid and Jaffer failed to pass 20 in either innings, with Dravid attracting attention for his particularly slow and defensive approach. This allowed the Australian bowling to assert control over the Indian batsmen. Yuvraj also failed, scoring 0 and 5. This prompted calls for the recall of Virender Sehwag, who was taken on tour as the reserve opener. Sehwag had been dropped in early 2007 and had been unproductive in recent Ranji Trophy matches in India; however, his extremely aggressive approach had seen prior success against Australia and cricket pundits felt that he could instil fear into the Australian bowlers, rather than letting the Australian new ball attack seize the initiative. Jaffer, Dravid and Yuvraj were all mooted as possible omissions to include Sehwag by the media.

Australia fielded an unchanged XI, whereas India made one change: the injured Zaheer Khan was replaced by fellow paceman Ishant Sharma, a 19-year-old playing in his third international test match.

The match was preceded by speculation as how attractive the play would be. The First Test was played on a pitch that was slow and somewhat irregular, and the commentators were optimistic that the Second Test would lead to more attractive batting, particularly from the Indians, who amassed 7/705 and 2/221 in their previous outing in 2003–04. Tendulkar (148* in 1991-92, 242* in 2003-04) and V. V. S. Laxman (167 in 1999-2000, 178 in 2003-04) had in particular scored Test centuries on the ground which were much-lauded.

Teams and match officials

Match referee	Mike Procter
Field umpires	Steve Bucknor  Mark Benson
Third umpire	Bruce Oxenford

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Progress of play

2 January - 6 January (scorecard)

Australia	v	India
463 (112.3 overs) A Symonds 162* (226) A Kumble 4-106 (25.3 overs)		532 (138.2 overs) SR Tendulkar 154* (243) B Lee 5-119 (32.2 overs)
401/7 dec. (107 overs) MEK Hussey 145* (259) A Kumble 4-148 (40 overs)		210 (70.5 overs) SC Ganguly 51 (56) MJ Clarke 3-5 (1.5 overs)

Australia won by 122 runs Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia Umpires: MR Benson (ENG), SA Bucknor (WIN) Player of the match: A Symonds

Day One

India lost the toss and Australia elected to bat, R.P Singh took Jaques for 0. This left Australia 1 wicket down with no runs scored. Hayden followed soon after leaving Ponting and Hussey at the crease. Ponting was caught behind the leg stump by the wicket-keeper MS Dhoni when he was on just 14 when he was adjudjed not out by the umpire Steve Bucknor. The two survived through lunch with Ponting scoring a half century. Harbhajan dismissed Ponting again causing a middle order collapse that left Australia 6/137. Clarke, Hussey and Gilchrist all fell quickly, with Clarke not offering a shot to a straight ball from Harbhajan and being given lbw. Symonds while on 30 nicked the ball to the wicketkeeper off Sharma, however Steve Bucknor controversially did not give it out. Symonds then went on to make 162 not out. Hogg also scored his first Test half-century, with the pair putting on a century partnership at over five runs an over to regain the initiative, before Hogg was removed. Another incident rocked the cricketing fans when Symonds was given not out by both the TV umpire and Steve Bucknor when replays showed that it was very close. Symonds also contracted the fury of spectators when he did not walk-off after admitting to the dubious decisions that went in his favour. Australia finished the day at 7/376.

Day Two

India dismissed the lower order in the morning with Australia all out for 463. Lee resisted stubbornly, scoring a half-century in support of Symonds. Brett Lee bowled Jaffer at the start of India's innings before the partnership of Dravid and Laxman took over the crease. Laxman looked to play shots while Dravid was on the defensive. After one particularly long period without scoring a run, Dravid's next run was loudly greeted with ironic applause and he raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd in a humourous response. Dravid made 55 while Laxman scored his third test century at the SCG in consecutive Test appearances there. The Australians took late wickets, removing both Laxman (109) and Dravidin quick succession to leave Tendulkar and Ganguly at the crease at stumps with the score on 3/215.

Day Three

The day started with Tendulkar and Ganguly in particularly aggressive mood, with both lifting Brad Hogg for sixes and scoring many boundaries. Ganguly was particularly robust, reaching 67 from only 78 balls before lofting Hogg to mid-off. When Yuvraj replaced him at the crease, India's momentum slowed as Yuvraj in particular had difficulties dealing with the second new ball, before being trapped leg before wicket. The lunch break came soon after, and Dhoni was quickly removed by Lee, as was Kumble shortly thereafter, leaving India seven wickets down and more than a hundred runs in arrears. Harbhajan joined Tendulkar and scored quickly to begin with, from a series of risky shots. He then settled down and began batting in a more orthodox manner, providing steady support to Tendulkar. Harbhajan and Tendulkar both passed their half-century and century respectively after the tea break as the eighth wicket partnership passed 100. It was after Harbhajan passed 50 that his altercation with Symonds occurred, leading umpire Benson to speak to Harbahajan. Harbhajan was then dismissed and India surpassed Australia's total. Singh and Sharma then scored 13 and 23 respectively before India were bowled out. Tendulkar finished with 154 not out and raised some eyebrows for continually taking the single from the first ball of the over and handing the strike to Sharma, who had previously only scored 17 runs at Test level. India had a 69 run lead. Hayden and Jaques were unbeaten at stumps, having survived five overs.

Day Four

Australia started the day slowly as the Indian pace pair of RP Singh and Sharma bowled accurately. After a short rain delay, the Australians began to seize the initiative and had wiped out their first innings deficit. Approaching lunch, Jaques was out to Kumble after a lofted sweep to the fence. Ponting came to the crease with more talk about the impending battle with Harbhajan. He was caught at silly point off the first ball he faced from Harbhajan sparking major celebrations among the Indians. Harbhajan ran towards the vicinity of the deep point fielding position before doing two attempted rolls/somersaults. After lunch, Hayden and Hussey rebuilt Australia's innings with Hayden scoring another hundred. He had to get Ricky Ponting as a runner due to his injury. He was eventually dismissed of Kumble for 123 while attempting a reverse sweep. The very next ball Kumble claimed Clarke for a golden duck. On a hat trick Kumble hit Symonds on the pads sparking a big appeal. But it was not given and he and Hussey remained unbeaten at stumps.

Day Five

Australia started the final day at a slower rate then what was expected. Hussey went on to make his first century against India ending on 145 not out. Symonds also scored a half century before getting out at slip. Gilchrist and Hogg failed to contribute getting out for low scores. Australia declared setting India a target of 333 to win. Some commentators believed that Ponting had declared too late in the innings. The situation of the game meant that India needed a run rate of well over 4, near impossible on the decaying SCG pitch. Australia needed 10 wickets to win in a minimum of 72 overs. Before lunch Jaffer fell to Lee yet again (just as in all of his innings so far on the tour). A crucial moment came when Dravid and Ganguly were both batting, and Dravid padded up to a ball from Symonds. It was caught by Gilchrist and Dravid was given out caught behind although replays showed that his bat was far from the ball. In the same over Yuvraj was out for a duck, putting India five wickets down with more than a session remaining. The standout was Ganguly scoring 51. Anil Kumble led by example after the Ganguly dismissal scoring 45 not out and spending over 2 hours at the crease. With just 2 overs remaining on day 5, India had 3 wickets in hand and were 122 runs behind. The game looked certain for a draw. However Clarke took 3 wickets in 5 balls to give Australia victory with just 7 balls remaining. The umpiring was heavily criticized after the match, with India believing they had a too-large share of the bad decisions. After the match India sought to replace one of the umpires for the 3rd test.

Post-match interviews

When the match ended the stadium erupted in cheering as the Indians walked off the field and Australians celebrated their record-equalling win. In an interview live at the ground, the Australians revelled in their victory, praising Michael Clarke. Ricky Ponting also humorously asked Clarke to tell the crowd that the declaration was timed exactly right. The Australian and Indian teams shook hands before heading into the dressing rooms, but Kumble, who was batting at the end of the match, showed his displeasure by not shaking hands with the umpires.

After the match had finished, in the post-match press conference. Anil Kumble summed up his view of the game by stating "Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game", reminiscent of Bill Woodfull's words after the 1932/33 Bodyline series. Chetan Chauhan, India's team manager "said his players were "agitated and upset" by... the "incompetent umpires here"... [and hoped] that they will not officiate again in the series." whereas, Ricky Ponting was questioned of the wrong decision, the racism row and specially the wicket of Ganguly when he held his finger up to tell Mark Benson that Ganguly has been caught. Ponting after being asked a question from an Indian Reporter about the catch, Ponting went on to say "If you don't trust my integrity, you should not be here". This was rather criticized by the Indian Media.

List of umpiring controversies

While the match was set for an intriguing contest, numerous dubious umpiring decisions went against India, leading to them continually lose the momentum in both Australia's first and second innings and eventually losing the match. According to the writer of prominent Cricinfo blog "Men in White", Mukul Kesavan, "the Indians players must have felt like lab rats being chivvied by mad scientists".

Bucknor, aged 61, is the most experienced umpire in international cricket history, having stood in a record 120 Tests, and is the only umpire to have officiated in over 100 Tests. He has stood in five Cricket World Cup finals.

Below is a list of the major umpiring controversies identified by Cricinfo, Hindustan Times and Star Sports:

Australian 1st Innings

• Ricky Ponting (17) given not out by Mark Benson - Ponting attempted a leg glance off his pads while facing the medium pacers of Sourav Ganguly. He appeared to edge it back to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The appeal was turned down by the umpire. Ponting went on to score 55 runs.
• Ricky Ponting (55) given out by Mark Benson - Ponting inside edged bowler Harbhajan Singh back onto his back pad. Was adjudged LBW after an Indian appeal to the umpire.
• Andrew Symonds (30) given not out by Steve Bucknor - Symonds attempted a push outside off to the bowling of Ishant Sharma, but managed over only a sizeable edge to the wicketkeeper Dhoni. The Indian appeal for caught behind was turned down by Bucknor. Symonds went on to score 162*.
• Andrew Symonds (48) given not out by third umpire Bruce Oxenford - Symonds lifted his back foot while beaten by Anil Kumble, Dhoni appealed for a stumping which was referred to the third umpire. While analysing the video replays, Wide World of Sports commentators Mark Taylor, Michael Slater and Ian Healy decided it was out. The 3rd umpire turned down the appeal, commentators at Cricinfo saying "in by a whisker, make that half a whisker". Symonds went on to score 162*.
• Andrew Symonds (148) given not out by Steve Bucknor - Symonds attempted to slide his back-foot into the crease when beaten by Anil Kumble, Dhoni appealed for a stumping but Bucknor did not pass the request to the third umpire, adjudging Symonds not out. Cricinfo commentators said "he just appeared to have some part of his foot grounded behind the line". Symonds went on to score 162*.

Indian 1st innings

• Wasim Jaffer (3) given out by Mark Benson - Jaffer bowled by a yorker from Brett Lee. Replays show that Lee's front foot was outside the crease that would make it a no ball .

• VVS Laxman (16) given not out by Mark Benson - Laxman shaped to flick a full ball from Brett Lee down the leg side, further replays indicate the ball would probably have struck middle and leg or leg stump. Laxman went on to score 109.

Australian 2nd Innings

• Michael Hussey (45) given not out by Mark Benson - Hussey turns the full face of the bat to the leg side and gets a fine touch to wicket-keeper Dhoni off the bowling of Rudra Pratap Singh. Hussey went on to score 145*.
• Andrew Symonds (0) given not out by Steve Bucknor - Symonds was struck on the front pad by a top-spinner from Kumble on his hat trick ball. Bucknor adjudged it not out. Kumble missed out on a hat trick. Symonds went on to score 61.

Indian 2nd innings

• Rahul Dravid (38) given out by Steve Bucknor - Dravid tucked bat and glove behind his pads as he successfully padded away a delivery from Andrew Symonds. Adam Gilchrist caught the ball and appealed for caught behind and Bucknor gave it out. Replays revealed a small deflection of the pads going almost straight into Gilchrist's hands.
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni (3) given not out by Steve Bucknor - Many factors have been discussed in reference to this decision. A Symonds delivery brushed Dhoni's pads and then his glove with little additional deviation. The ball then looped over Ricky Ponting at silly point and at full stretch he took the catch and appealed only for Bucknor to give it not out. At first the point of contention was whether the ball brushed the glove and although this faint brush was almost invisible from the vantage point of umpire Bucknor, TV replays revealed that it did indeed deflect slightly off the glove. The point of contention then changed to whether Ponting held on to the catch. It was suggested by Jenny Thompson in Cricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary that he had actually 'grassed it' in the act of preventing the ball jarring loose when he elbow hit the grounds. The replays also confirmed that he had 'grassed' the catch but still appealed for it which lead to further doubts over credibility of fielder or captain's referral in case of controvertial catches. Dhoni went on to make 35.
• Sourav Ganguly (51) given out by Mark Benson - Although debate remains on whether the decision was incorrect, the manner in which the decision was conducted caused controversy. Sourav Ganguly edged the ball to Michael Clarke at slip who was engulfed by his team-mates in celebration of an apparent catch. Umpire Benson was unsure as to whether it carried so he asked Ponting, who raised his finger, telling the umpire that he thought the catch was cleanly taken. Benson then made his decision. TV replays were mainly inconclusive showing that the catch was either 'bump' or 'grassed' or both. The controversy was about that umpire Benson should have consulted third umpire rather than asking Ponting and in case of doubt should have given decision in favour of the batsman.

Racism allegations

In Australia's previous tour of India (for seven ODIs) in October 2007, Andrew Symonds, the only non-white Australian player, was subjected to monkey-chants from the Indian crowds in Vadodara. At first the Indian authorities dismissed the chants as religious and, in any case, not racist towards Symonds, who is of Caribbean origin. The issue became controversial and came to a climax at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where four men were arrested for taunting Symonds with monkey gestures and a large proportion of the crowd booed Symonds when he came out to bat.

Prior to this article's series, the two teams made a deal with the match referees that there would be no instances of racism, including monkey chants. However, during the third day of the Sydney test match the debate restarted. According to Symonds, while Harbhajan was batting with Sachin Tendulkar in a vital partnership for India, Singh slapped bowler Brett Lee on the backside, to which Lee did not react. Symonds says he needed to stand up to his teammate so he "had a bit of a crack at Harbhajan, telling him exactly what I thought of his antics". Symonds goes on to say Harbhajan then "shot back", apparently by calling him a monkey. Following the alleged exchange, Ricky Ponting brought the incident to the attention of Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor, who later reported Harbhajan to the match referee Mike Procter on the charge of: "Using language or gestures that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person's race, religion, gender, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin." [1]

The Australians have had a turbulent relationship with Harbhajan. In 1998, Harbhajan taunted Ricky Ponting when he dismissed him, resulting in Ponting having an on-field argument with Singh, with both of them docked their match fees. In the historical 2000-01 tour of India, Harbhajan became the first Indian bowler to achieve a hat trick and took two ten-wicket hauls against the Australians. In this particular tour, Harbhajan had claimed that he had the measure of captain Ricky Ponting, pointing to the fact that he has dismissed him six times in the last seven matches.

The hearing for the incident was initially scheduled to be at the end of the fourth day's play, but was postponed till after the match for fear that it would aggravate or distract the players. Mike Procter, who would be hearing the case, indicated that the umpires had not heard anything in relation to the allegations. On the morning after the end of the test match, Procter, after listening to the testimony of Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist as well as that of Indians Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, declared that Harbhajan would be banned for three test matches. Included in his final report were the words that "I believe one group is telling the truth", implying that Tendulkar and Singh were lying in their testimonies.

International reaction

Former Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram lashed out against the "hypocritical" Australians for reporting Harbhajan despite being known for their sledging, and a rumoured pre-series agreement not to refer to Symonds, Australia's only dark skinned player, using the word "monkey" as Indian cricket fans had done in their recent home series. Despite the fact that there are too many despites in the previous sentence, I can't edit it because it makes no sense whatsoever.

Indian officials further went on to claim that because "monkey" was not a derogatory word in India it was acceptable, although they have counter claimed that Brad Hogg used the word "bastard" against two of their players. Hogg has been charged under Level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

Akram further attacked them by calling them the "worst sledgers" in the world and labeling them as "cry babies":

"We did not behave like cry babies and drag it to the officials … They do it constantly and much more than anyone else, so how they can go out and complain about other teams, I don't know." - Wasim Akram, former Pakistani cricket player

Rashid Latif, a former Pakistani cricketer who was accused of being a racist to Adam Gilchrist during the 2003 Cricket World Cup, also defended Harbhajan, saying that Singh had temper problems but was otherwise a good person:

"He has a short temper, he needs to control his emotions. He is a good guy, but he has some kind of problem with his temper. I think (Harbhajan) should have been given a warning on the field and if he does say something again, then give him a ban for two or three matches...All of these things should stay on the field, it is better for the game. - Rashid Latif, former Pakistani cricket player

Danny Morrison, former New Zealand fast-bowler accused Australians of "running off to the teacher", while his fellow team-mate Dipak Patel said that he had been called "a lot worse than a monkey".

Harsha Bhogle, a commentator of the channel Star Cricket said during the commentary when the game ended "Australia Won! but did they deserve it?".

During the Clarke's claimed catch and when Ponting held up his finger, Sunil Gavaskar said "Why is Mr. Benson asking a person who didn't walk off when he was caught behind at 14, and it couldn't be possible that you are lying when you are batting and true while you are fielding, That is Nonsense! Utter Nonsense!. I am sorry Mr. Benson, you got it all wrong". Harsha after the match summary also asked the question if Australia played fairly? or Was the Victory Deserved?

Reaction in Australia

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland was approving of the player's behaviour, claiming that there had been a "marked improvement" in their on-field attitude and behaviour in recent years. The Australian Cricketers Association chief Paul Marsh believed the issues to be an instance of "tall poppy syndrome", claiming that the only reason Australia was being targeted by the media and opposition teams was that they had been dominating world cricket for too long.

The Australian team maintained that they play hard but fair. Pace bowler Brett Lee outlined the competitive spirit in the team while captain Ricky Ponting insisted that the only player to have been outside the spirit of the game was on the Indian side.

Peter Roebuck, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald and former player, called for sacking Ponting from the captaincy and went on to say that:

"If Cricket Australia cares a fig for the tattered reputation of our national team in our national sport, it will not for a moment longer tolerate the sort of arrogant and abrasive conduct seen from the captain and his senior players over the past few days. Beyond comparison it was the ugliest performance put up by an Australian side for 20 years. The only surprising part of it is that the Indians have not packed their bags and gone home. There is no justice for them in this country, nor any manners".

In regards to the racism issue. Ponting denied he did anything wrong by singularly reporting Harbhajan Singh for being abusive. Ponting stated that he was obligated to refer any incidents of racism to officials as it is widely agreed that racism is unacceptable anywhere in the world.

"When I heard what had taken place with Andrew I immediately informed the umpires and then left the field at the end of the over to inform our team manager, which is what we are instructed to do," Ponting wrote. "Making this report is not something I wanted to do but something I had to do. I had nothing to gain personally from taking this action. I was doing the right thing by the game."

Former player Geoff Lawson was scathing in his description of the team. Speaking to the Herald Sun, he said:

"There's certainly been a lot of feeling from ex-players who think the baggy green has been disrespected. Some of these (current) players need to be spoken to. I just think a bit of counselling needs to be done with how these players perceive themselves. As an ex-Australian player I was pretty disappointed." - Geoff Lawson, former Australian player

Sport Australia Hall of Fame members John Bertrand, Herb Elliott and Rob de Castella accused the Australian cricket team of turning sport into war and thereby damaging international relations. John Bertrand, the Hall of Fame chairman, went on to say that:

"We believe Australia's Test team moral compass needs to be retuned and we want Cricket Australia to know that... We believe the No.1 rule is to show respect for your fellow competitors and currently this does not appear to be the case... Their desire to win at all costs is beginning to blur their moral compass and it would appear that is what happening to the Australian Test team... The fallout that we are seeing at the moment is not acceptable. It's clearly damaging international relations and clearly a lot of people are upset..."

Kevin Bartlett, former AFL player, accused the Australian cricket team of bad sportsmanship towards its opponents by saying that:

"You don't treat them with contempt, you treat them with respect -- and I didn't see that from the Aussies"

Impact on tour

The BCCI originally outlined that the appeal for Harbhajan Singh must be carried out before the team left Sydney, however, due to a concession from the ICC, an appeal hearing was called for at a yet to be decided date which effectively allows Harbhajan to play in matches again until the appeal. The BCCI also called on Steve Bucknor to be stopped from officiating at the third test in Perth. On 8 January the ICC confirmed Bucknor would be dropped and replaced by New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden. They also confirmed the appointment of a code of conduct commissioner to oversee Singh's appeal. In the aftermath of Harbhajan's controversial banning, batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who was the only Indian to have actually heard the altercation on the field, sent an SMS to Sharad Pawar, the chief of the BCCI and also a Indian cabinet minister. The wording of the message was "Harbhajan is innocent and I can assure you on this. In this hour of crisis, the board should stand by him. I suggest we should play in Perth only if the ban is lifted".

External links

Harbhajan Singh charged with offence under ICC's Code of Conduct, ICC Media Release, Friday, January 04, 2008 9:15:31 PM [2]

Harbhajan Singh found guilty of offence under ICC's Code of Conduct, ICC Media Release, Monday, January 07, 2008 10:11:50AM [3]