Incredible, the English press characterizes jealbeangate as a childish prank but Sreesanth is the mean, beamer hurling villain who has been corrupted forever!


What if a ball had kicked on one of the jellybeans reared and hit the batsman? It is against the laws & the spirit of the game to place anything foreign on the pitch. And there was no question of intent here. The jellybeans came because the English either threw or planted them on the pitch.

It is remarkable how blind the English press to their errors(or characterize egregious acts as felonies as 'pranks'

ananth, grants pass,, or, usa

And for the record, the chap's name is Sreesanth (one word) not Sree Santh which is to say, Santh is not his surname. Imagine the reaction if Indians (writers, bloggers and commentators) referred to Gatting as Gat Ting? In this internet age there is no excuse for such bloopers. In all fairness to the author of this article, Richard Hobson, he got the name rightl.

Jay, New York,

Can i just applaeud Zaheers reaction to the sledging with his reaction with the ball... absolutly the best possible response to such derogatory comments and actions was to win the match by bowling out half the england side in the second innings. it is such a shame that two such well matched sides are degrading to such poor actions, the balance of the 2 sides should lead to a classic series instead blighted by such poor actions on both sides. I just hope that the Oval test is a close victory for England (say by 1 wicket, with an overdue hundred from Dravid) as an england supporter i feel this would be the best result, assuming both side act maturely again.

Ben, folkestone, uk

Much as I would like to keep race out of this, I cannot. English correspondents adopt a "Boys will be boys" attitude when confronted with overwhelming evidence of the naughtiness of their compatriots. Yet, the antics of Sreesanth who is obviously immature are attributed to a "dark side."

A good example of such a double standard is the English coach Peter Moores' suggestion that stump mikes be dispensed with so that "some things...are left on the field." Moores also defended the English wicketkeeper, Matt Prior's sledging tactics: ""That's how he usually operates, that's what he does and that's what he was selected for." And Pietersen's aggression is cast in a romantic, Flashmanesque light by the English press yet it is the native who has the dark side.

Similarly, such a fuss is made about immigration from the colonies changing all that is British and true, yet the English were in India without a visa for 190 years.

Sorry but it is the English who need to examine their motivations.

Jay, New York,

It is time the ICC imposes code violation warnings like in tennis. Should lead to the extent of making teams lose wickets, or the loss of a bowler for the day. While England has been leading the aggression, India are falling for the bait and reacting too.Both the teams should reverse this awful behaviour and try to set an example at Oval. Prove, it is a Gentlemen's game !!!

Suresh R, Mumbai, India

It is unfortunate that whenever an article such as this appears, there is always an Indian fan lambasting the author for hypocrisy, bias, or pretty much racism. However the actions of Santh yesterday were appalling, and Indians should be agreeing with that fact. This is not to cover up the fact that the English sledging has got way out of hand, however all teams endulge in this to an extent. The jelly bean incident is bizarre, and is also way over the mark - whatever the reason for it, there is no excuse for attempting to mess with the pitch.

Arvind - this article is about 1 aspect of the game, and in no way seeks to brush up a poor England 1st innings batting perfomance (though if England had won the toss, I suspect the converse result woud have arrived).

As for Juan Pablo, no matter what you say, your comment is way off point. The British Empire has nothing to do with this test match, Sree Santh's behaviour, or this article. Go read the Guardian.....

djfilmer, Lytham,

I thought I was the 'confident aggressive' generation in India. Comparing to my dad's generation, we tent to a lot mean and want to win. We can play the game and know how to win. But we still have some reverence to the greats. I don’t think I will ever go out to insult the British judiciary, while I may do the same British royalty.
I went to India 3 weeks back after a gap of almost 3 years, and what I find is absolutely incredible. My generation is already considered Jurassic, and tame. The newer generation doesn’t care a leaf for the established morality and culture. They are proud and impossibly confident. May be it’s a metaphor of Indian civilization reclaiming its rightful kingdom in the world..
And for the records I am 32 and is from Kerala.

VInu, London, UK

i find the english behaviour pretty attrocious this summer, especially that of Pietersen. He reminds me of the Aussies, which i absolutely loathe, and being Australian myself and quite embarrassed.

What i dont understand is, that England beat Australia in a fantastic series 2 years ago without any sleding, overtly aggressive behaviour...purely by playing brilliant and tough cricket. I dont understand why they think they need to act like the aussies!

steve ronald, London, London

This is not mental strength by England but bullying. Where was this attitude in Brisbane (or the whole Christmas period really)? Having spent thousands watching this pathetic shower at Christmas, watching them behave like spoilt children now only makes me angrier! I for one will be glad if this England side lose this series.

Anthony Morrow, Cheadle Hulme,

Oh! There its come up again. An Indian player being made the butt of accusations when the real culprits are left to go scot free. I was sure something dramatic as this was coming up to bury the first innings' English antics! Afterall, for the 'collective unruly aggression' to be buried from the eyes of the post-match analyses and an imminent defeat, why not shift the focus on Sree! The Indian team has seen too much of these things. Sree just demonstrated that India is pretty much capable of 'giving it back'. If his counter-aggression eased up the 'stiff upper lips', I think its time for them to understand the spirit of 'The Gentleman's Game' from a one-time offender.

Arvind Iyengar, Chennai, India

The whole issue of this beamer delivery has been blown out of proportions by the media and born again, refined now commentators. Noone knows whether the bowleer intended to maime the batsman or whether it was a genuine mistake. Mind you, your not guilty until proved otherwise and everyone claiming that it was a delibrate act does not make it one!! Of course, Sreesanth should be and rightly penalised for his other offence of bumping into the batsman.

Other interesting thing conveniently overlooked by everyone is the presence of jelly bean in the good length area. If my understanding is correct, noone including the umpires are supposed to damage the pitch and if caught, are penalised heavily. Would the authorities find who is the culprit and punish him as well and if not fine the entire English team? Now, that is a real issue and not a beamer in a cricket match!!

Hariharan, Maidenhead,

The fact is aggressive behaviour or sledging is a terrific tactical weapon when its backed by superb performances. So Zaheer and pieterson, and more or less the entire aussie team can get away with it. Sreesanth with his horrible bowling, is not only undermining the efforts of Zaheer and RP singh, but also making an utter fool of himself,and is likely to be dropped in the near future if he doesn't get his bowling together.
If sreesanth does "go and get 'em" as Dr Eapen exhorts him to, it would be great. But under the current circumstances, it's better if he just lets his aggression out in the nets.

bhaskar, Bangalore, India

Cricket is supposed to be a gentleman's game brought into disrepute by a few. Sledging is mainly an Aussie time which gained prominence during Steve Waugh's tenure as captaincy.

The English were always great patriarchs of the game playing in the fashion the game is supposed to be played. They should know because they invented the sport.

Aggression is required, specially for any pace bowler but if he cannot learn to get it out of hand, then he should have no place in the side.

Play the game in true spirit. Get the batsman out with a combination of speed, accuracy and deceit. That will epitomise the true spirit of the game and restore cricket to it's former glory.

Biswajit Dasgupta, Bangalore,

Sreesanth beamer reminiscent of Courtney Walsh's occassional habit of bowling beamers at batsmen who were getting too comfortable. He always apologised immediately afterwards, but the accuracy was too good to be accidental.

Geof Collyer, Farningham, UK

The England captain has gone on record before the start of this test match and said that he will not reign his men in. the English players have been the worst exponents of sledging in this test. Matt Prior says it gives him an advantage and in the modern test aggression is an expected by product. Well you dish it out you expect to receive it. Gone are the days when the Indians would be in awe of the White man. It is not in the Indians nature to insult a host or a guest. But you push us and we will push you back and hard.

Machin Prabhu, Bombay, India

We the Keralites have more hotter(spicy) food in our diet and being closer to Equator all should make Sreesanth a hotter personality.. Why shouldn't he be a challenger when he has Santhi as insurance both in his first and last names.
Go and get 'em Sree!

Dr.Jacob Eapen, Fremont, California. USA

"Sreesanth may hail from Kerala, a part of India known for its slow pace and sleepy waterways, but he is rebelling against those tranquil roots."

Bah!!Don't say that to Sreesanth.He insists that "I am so aggressive.May be because I am a Mayalyali(Kerelaite)".LOL

On a more serious note,there is no need for him to tone down much.India are far better off with people like him and Dhoni around.A hark back to old days of Mcgrath giving a mouthful to Indian batsman and they just staring down at the ground is not something the Indian followers will be keen upon.

Anand Kumar, Kochi, Kerela

I agree, Sreeshanth was way out of line during the 2nd test. I think he should actually be dropped from the next game for the lack of discipline shown...as for the aggressive Englishmen, I personally think that if you talk the talk then you have to walk the walk and as we saw yesterday thats not something that this English side can do consistently enough...

Siddharth, Delhi, India

The English indeed have the gift of hypocrisy. Where was the sporting and benevolent spirit when the empire was exploting a quarter of the world to fill its coffers? I suppose cricket must have been invented out of an excessive need to show sporting spirit in an economically inconsequential competition of sport.

Even now the government is actively selling arms and invading countries for oil.

If you think about it deeply this will not appear to be written out of context or resentment

Juan Pablo, Sao Paolo, Brazil