Postcard (22 April 1999)

22 April 1999

Postcard

from Justin Langer

Mayhem in Guyana ruined a thrilling spectacle

After watching last night's thrilling one-day international in Guyana, I was interested to hear 'Tugga's' comments about the danger of such a crowd invasion. He described his dismay and disbelief that he and Warney had been subjected to a situation which he obviously felt was uncomfortable and potentially very dangerous.

When I read his comments this morning I could almost hear some people saying: "Oh yeah, as if something like that could happen on a cricket field." Well maybe this is a fair assumption but in this day and age you just never know. I mean, taking it to the limit, who ever would have thought two teenage boys could walk into a high school and play Rambo at the expense of human lives?

All it would take, as Tugga expressed, would be one drunken idiot, with a dislike for Australian cricket captains or leg-spin bowlers, to take an easy shot at a sitting target. Understandably, no international sportsman should expect to be placed in this situation while representing their country, so in my view Steve's comments were totally justified. While the West Indies may be 'rucking' about having the game judged as a draw, I feel the Aussies are the one's who should be feeling angry with the situation.

During the Test series the security was at times pretty slack. Although the West Indian people put it down to "just being laid back", there should be a heavy responsibility on the hosts of a Test-playing nation. In the washup, the good guys could be breathing a sigh of relief at ending up with one point, but in the big picture, everyone should be relieved that the price was only a disputed referee's decision. Guys like Steve Waugh and Shane Warne are not only great cricketers, they are also great family men and great Australian ambassadors who should never have to take any physical risks in the pursuit of providing their fantastic entertainment.

Luckily, we didn't see a repeat of the Monica Seles affair and an awesome game of cricket was played. One of my young Middlesex team-mates asked me about Tugga's approach in the last over. My only reply was that there is little word in international cricket that can affect the normal running of a game, it is called "pressure". Although on face value it may have seemed to my young friend's eyes that four singles may have been enough, I reminded him that it is always easier watching the game from the grandstand, or with a cup of tea in your hand, from your living room.

Thirty overs (due to the rain) may well be a game of the future if yesterday was anything to go by in entertainment value and the series is now at boiling point with two games to go.

From London, JL