England bowlers don't have the license to abuse

Rahane shines as India take 3-0 lead against England<br>

India have walloped England 5-0 in a series marked as much by some splendid cricket as by some spoilt kids like behaviour especially by England's players. Having beaten India in home conditions, England came here expecting to walk all over the Indian team especially since the experienced guys like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer were still out of action with injury.

When they found that things were not going according to expectations, they resorted to intimidate the Indians verbally. Not for a moment is it being suggested that the Indians are saints, but apart from Sreesanth, who is not playing this series, there is no Indian bowler who has a long follow through when he has bowled a good ball and have an abusive word with the batsman.

That they have got away is because the umpires have failed in their duty as also the match referee. If the match referee spoke to the skippers of both teams after the second ODI, then how come the umpires did not intervene the moment England's bowlers ended up near the Indian batsmen frothing at the mouth.

Sure, it is understandable that a bowler who runs in from a long distance and then finds the batsman edging the ball will get upset, but that doesn't give him the license to abuse. I mean does a batsman whenever he hits a boundary go up to the bowler and say things to him? It could be the hot and humid conditions that can add to the frustrations, but there is no excuse for abusive language.

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All it shows is how badly brought up the person is. There are one or two English players who think they are better than they actually are. Just because they have had success in county cricket and have been referred to as terrific players there, it just does not translate into success at the international level. This is the case with many players all over the world who are kings of first class cricket but paupers when it comes to that one level above.

Taufeeq Umar was one such player who was prolific at the first class level, but was not consistent enough at the international level to cement a place for himself in the Pakistan team. He has grabbed the second chance he has got with both hands and on a true batting surface in the Emirates, he cracked his highest score in Test cricket and has now established himself in the line-up.

There has been some excellent cricket in Zimbabwe where New Zealand have been stretched by the home team and Brendan Taylor has led from the front. The Australia-South Africa series is also turning out to be a close one and Bangladesh and West Indies are fighting it out for getting ahead in the rankings.

There is going to be a lot of cricket now that the season in the Southern Hemisphere is on in full swing and so there is plenty to look forward to. Taufeeq Umar for his double ton just pips Kumar Sangakkara, who also got a double century, to the accolade of the CEAT International Cricketer of the Week.

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