THE STIRRER'S BLOG FOR MONDAY

CRICKET UGLY CRICKET AND ROONEY UGLY ROONEY…

21-08-2006

Pakistan's cricketers might have been claiming a face-saving victory against England at the Oval today after being comprehensively outplayed during the current series.

Instead they'll go down in history as the first team to forfeit a Test after staging an impromptu strike yesterday afternoon in protest at allegations of ball-tampering.

It would be bad enough if this were a one-off, but professional sports stars seem increasingly unwilling to play by the rules of the games which made them wealthy and famous in the first place.

Before the test match debacle, for example, it was revealed that Manchester United's Wayne Rooney was threatening to withdraw from England promotional duties after being handed a three-match ban by the FA.

Many observers agreed that Rooney's punishment for a stray elbow during a pre-season friendly was excessive - and certainly the player on the receiving end was reckoned to have “made the most of it”.

But an independent panel assessed the evidence, heard the referee's account and made their decision.

No one expects Rooney to be pleased about it, but to withdraw his ugly mug from England promotional campaigns because of it is both petty and short-sighted.

As a Manchester United player, he is simply yet another talented individual at a global soccer franchise a pimply youth with a chavette girlfriend who just happens to be blessed with enormous skill.

With his national team, he is a hero celebrated by all of us.

Take the huff and refuse to associate withThree Lions Wayne, and you'll be the biggest loser.

Accept the punishment, and you'll be seenas a bigger man.

If you don't believe it, just take a look at the Pakistani cricketers.

They may well have had cause for grievance with Darrel Hair who with his umpiring colleague appeared to jump to the conclusion that they had been cheating.

Hair might well have shown more tact when he decided to add five runs to England's score and replace the ball that he thought had been tampered with.

It is also a moot point whether, given his track record, he should have stood at the game in the first place.

But however angry the tourists felt, there is simply no place in the sporting world for refusing to take the field of play.

That hardly punishes the people responsible for the perceived injustice ie the umpires, but it does hurt the fans - you know, the folk who pay your wages - who have been cheated of their entertainment.

Playing by the rules and swallowing difficult decisions is a fundamantal of sport - and those who can't accept it have no right to the riches it bestows.