Stuart Broad and the whiny schoolgirl
A cricketing guru once said, “"Cricket is a game for gentlemen and fosters excellent team spirit. If you are from a country that plays cricket, you will know it forms a quintessential part of life for most people." What an absolute waste of wisdom. Not that this wisdom is not a fact witnessed in cricketing history, but merely that for some, these words have simply fallen on deaf ears. This happens especially when players belonging to a place from where this sport originated, show complete disregard for cricketing ethics and morals.
So what exactly happened?
The usual more or less. The batting line-up and the more experienced players found the conditions too “hot” to handle as the middle order of the Pakistani batting line up collapsed at 101 for 6. However, defying the odds, Muhammad Amir and Zulqarnain Haider put up a brilliant partnership of 50, before Amir was caught at first slip off Stuart Broad. In the valley of ashes and shattered dreams of the Pakistani cricket fans, there sparkled a glimmer of hope in the form of the young Zulqarnain Haider who played a classy innings of 88 runs, providing exactly what was needed from the top order. Paired with Ajmal, the two began teasing the England bowlers playing the ball around and proving hard to contain.
England bowlers were truly frustrated. But then came something absolutely absurd. Stuart Broad lost his temper. Losing temper is one thing, and throwing a ball at the batsman in frustration is quite another. It is preposterous to see an English player in a cricket ground disregarding cricketing ethics and resorting to hitting the batsman with the ball. More than being preposterous, it is hilarious. If one cannot get a batsman out, hit him. Goes on to remind us of a whiny school girl who hits her friends after not getting what she wants.
Stuart Broad has left us cricket fans in absolute shock and disbelief. The cricketing pitch at Edgbaston seemed more like a stage for an Indian soap opera, where the newly married bride of Asia, had to suffer a case of domestic violence at the hands of the whiny school girl who couldn’t get her own way. One would have thought that the beautiful cricket ground in England would see a classic match between the Anglo-Saxon Knights and the fearless warriors from Asia and it proved to be just that, had it not been for one whiny school girl who felt she wasn’t being paid enough attention. Cricket is a game about chivalry and sportsman spirit. It is a game for the gentlemen. We were only left to wonder how Stuart Broad found her way on the cricketing pitch that epitomizes ethics and respect for the game which the school girl blatantly disregarded.
“Broad has been treading a thin line for some time. In throwing the ball at the batsman he clearly overstepped it.” states Jonathon Agnew, a sports commentator.
This is not the first time that a ball throwing incident by an English player has taken place. In 2005 during England’s tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Steve-Harmison-c2576 picked up his ball to throw at the wicket while Inzamam was at the stumps. Inzamam took evasive action to avoid being hit by the ball and Harmison appealed for a run out which was given by the third umpire. It proved to spark much controversy.
This time however, Broad went one step further, since the ball was not aimed at the stumps but the player. More than anything, it made the England cricket team look bad, who have played excellent cricket against Pakistan in the last few matches. Resorting to girly antics, made the highly professional English team look bad and Stuart’s frustration rubbed off on the rest of the England team who lost their usual control and discipline witnessed in previous matches. Coach David Saker had to come to the boundary edge, something highly unusual for a coach to restore some discipline in the English side.
Gladly for Broad, Zulqurnain’s innings overshadowed his tantrum. One can only hope that the whiny school girl does not rub off on Broad in the future. She surely is a bad influence on him and the English cricket team.
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