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Howard
bowled by Australia
By Quintus de Zylva
The photograph shows Sri Lanka’s four cricketers who took part
in the Tsunami Cricket Match at the MCG which raised more than a
million dollars from a generous sports mad Australia. Murali had
only a few months earlier been cast a slur by Australia’s “cricket
tragic” PM when he suggested that testing of Murali’s
action at the Pace Laboratory that Darrel Foster and the University
of Western Australia conducted had shown dubious results.
Murali
said that he might never play in Australia again and was obviously
hurt by such comments. John Howard was an invited guest at this
cricket match but chose not to apologise to Murali for his inconsiderate
ill-founded comments.
Australia voted on Saturday and bowled Johnnie Howard who
fought an election with a slogan “Love me or loathe me”.
A swing of 5.7% against the Coalition gave Kevin Rudd and the Australian
Labor Party a predicted 87 seats as compared to the Coalition’s
predicted 62 seats. And the electorate of Bennelong have chosen
former ABC journalist Maxine McKew instead of John Winston Howard
who has held this seat for more than thirty years. Howard became
only the second PM in Australia’s history to have lost his
seat at an election.
And to think that this happened to John Howard at a time when
Murali is on the verge of breaking Shane Warne’s test wicket
record on his home ground at Kandy.
The
bouquets will be soon be thrown at Murali’s feet whilst Australia
chose to cast the brickbats at an arrogant man who ventured
into chucking waters that even angels fear to tread.
Murali can hold his head high whilst all about him are losing
theirs - Darrel Hair was no-balled from the ICC panel of elite umpires
and now little Johnnie has to walk the walk alone loathed by a majority
of fair - minded Australians.
Rabindranath Tagore in ‘Fireflies’ (1928) said “bigotry
tries to keep truth safe in its hand - with a grip that kills
it”.
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