Former paceman Dirk Nannes has accused Australia’s Test team of horrendous sportsmanship, saying it’s inexcusable players didn’t shake the hand of Kiwi star Ross Taylor following his record-breaking knock.
But Australian batsman Adam Voges denied his team were bad sports, and Taylor himself said he didn’t feel like he had been snubbed.
Taylor rewrote the record books with his sparkling 290 from 374 balls during the second Test at the WACA Ground.
The 31-year-old’s score was the highest by a visiting batsman in Australia, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd when he walked off the ground after being last man out in NZ’s innings of 624.
Australian players clapped Taylor off the field and some shook his hand during previous milestones.
But Nannes, a former Australian Twenty20 and one-day player, was scathing after no one from the home side personally congratulated Taylor at the change of innings, when they were conferring with umpires about whether it was the lunch break.
“Not one person from the Australian camp went and shook his hand,” Nannes said while commentating for ABC radio.
“It’s not that hard.
“You don’t have a guy bat for a day-and-a-half out there and not even acknowledge it. That’s just horrendous sportsmanship.”
Nannes felt it was more than an innocent lapse from the Australian team, renowned for its hard-edged approach.
“We’re pretty good at lapsing as an Australian team, aren’t they?” said Nannes, who played alongside the likes of David Warner and Steve Smith in the T20 side.
“It’s not hard to do the simple things.
“It’s like when you’ve got a kid – you teach them to say thank you when they go for a sleepover and teach them to say thank you for the meal.
“That’s the sort of thing that happens on a cricket field as well.
“It’s not hard. Yes, you say it’s a lapse, but we see it more and more often.
“It’s not a good look.”
Voges felt the situation had been unfairly portrayed by Nannes.
“I think, to a man, we all clapped Ross for every milestone that he made. And I shook his hand at the end of play today,” Voges said.
Taylor said he didn’t give the Australians enough time to congratulate him in any case.
“When I get out, I just walk off as quick as I can,” Taylor said.
“I don’t want to stay out there any longer than I have to.
“I got out on the far side of the boundary. They were all congratulating (the fielder who caught me).”
The Test series between Australia and NZ has been largely played in good spirits to date.
The only truly controversial moment came in the first Test at the Gabba, where Australian paceman Mitchell Starc was fined $7725 for unnecessarily hurling the ball at NZ tailender Mark Craig.
Mon
Guest
Oh god there are some 'precious' people out there. I don't think Australia acted in any way unsportsmanlike or rude towards Taylor. As has already been mentioned and the evidence is there(!!!) they were just as gracious about Taylor's innings as the Kiwis have been. Some lazy, boring and outdated commentators and 'fans' will twist and turn anything to support this tired old argument. By the way- who is Nannes??? Go ahead and bring up the old days again. Yaaawwwwwnnnnn. If you don't like it, watch something else.
The Barry
Roar Guru
What a Dirk...
Ash
Guest
The kiwi press are all over this like a rash. They love putting the boot in while conveniently forgetting the appalling sportsmanship of Cairns, Vincent, and Tuffey. Every time I remind them of this on their stuff.co.nz forums my comments get moderated out.
Brisdragon
Guest
Give me the ABC radio call any day. Self important boofheads on ch 9 make watching cricket unbearable. its all about them, not the game. "let's have a quiz!.... who got out last ball in the syd test in 2004.... Oh it was one of the commentary team!!... lets talk about us for a while, maybe even show a video of Slats! yay!. Viewers want to watch the game, not empty heads babbling tripe. Why do they delay the telecast a few seconds? - to stop people muting the TV and listening to the radio! there is a message in that Ch 9.
Clark
Guest
Saying the players in the Aussie cricket team are arrogant tools is exactly like saying "water is wet", it's common knowledge and sadly the public continues to be exposed to it
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
Mate, take another look. Smith's happy to do end-of-match beers during the series, there's footage of him having a laugh with McCullum before the day's play, there are photos of him shaking Taylor's hand at stumps last night, he and Boof gave Starc a rap on the knuckles for his stupid throw at the stumps, and all the Aussies are happily applauding milestones and having the occasional laugh on the field with the opposition when something funny happens. What exactly is it they're doing that is so contrary to the ideals of good sportsmanship? That's a great quote from Kieth Miller, and I think the way the Aussies treat the game now lives up to that. And as it happens, I don't need to 'google' what a Messerschmitt is, my grandfather flew in a Lancaster Crew with the RAF in World War II and I love history. There's no need to assume all of us 'young people' are entirely ignorant :P
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Dirk Nannes is just another in a long line of pontificating-old-nanna-style cricket commentators, many of which grace the ABC.
Spanners
Guest
I watched the AB's hammer the Wallabies in the RWC Final the other day and I thought both teams played the match very hard and in a fair and sportsman-like manner. I didn't see (or expect) Wallabies players high-five or back-slap Dan Carter every time he kicked a penalty goal. They don't need to lavish praise on the opposition in the middle of the contest to display "good sportsmanship". It is well documented that the Aussie cricketers habitually frequent opposition changerooms after the days play to offer congratulations and share a beer (Taylor said as much in his interview last night). The back-slapping goes on behind doors. Several past and present players have commented that the moment belongs to the departing batsman and the oppsoition fielders shouldn't be intruding into that bubble the batsman is sharing with the fans. For mine, the fielding team clapping the mile-stones and then the departing batsman is more than sufficient to satisfy the purists. Just for the record, Dirk Nannes, the bloke who has slammed the Australian players as displaying "horrendous sportsmanship", played T20 for Holland and has played 1 limited overs match for Australia. His record speaks for itself and his comments should be no more relevant than my mate Bob who owns the pie shop around the corner.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
Not really news that Australian sports people (not just the cricketers) have gigantic egos. Its the media that helps boost their egos. Two wrongs don't make a right but I hope NZ do the same back.
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
Oh, come on ... so there are inviolable rules as to the exact time and place congratulations have to take place now as well? Ross Taylor walks straight off the pitch - what are the Aussies meant to do, come streaming after him shouting, "Ross, wait - we need to shake your hand!"? Taylor didn't want to have to stop and shake eleven hands anyway, he said himself that he just wanted to get off the ground. Besides, here's a picture of the Aussie batsmen, Smith and Voges, making a point of seeking him out and shaking his hand before they left the field at the end of the day's play. http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/8/4/5/m/v/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.183ym5.png/1447669291629.jpg Just because it's not as showy as the whole team racing after him, does it not count as sportsmanship anymore? Is it maybe ok for the Aussie players to save congratulating Taylor until sometime after hours, or as they're sharing a beer in the change rooms after the game? Or do they have to do it in full view of journalists and photographers to make sure we have solid evidence of it? If everything has to be done so the world can see, then frankly it's got nothing to do with sportsmanship.
dibatag
Guest
I well remember Keith Miller saying that, what a great sportsman and all round good bloke, the good old days when watching cricket was a pleasure, then along came a guy called Chapel and, well you know the rest
The Brown
Guest
All the Australian sports journo's that bring up the mantra "its the aggressive style of cricket that the Australians play, but its not bad sportsmanship" is just bulldust! Let's put the shoe on the other foot. If the Aussies were the "nice guys" and the NZ team were the aggressors, the Aus sports media would be blowing up deluxe at the behaviour. There would be calls of "its just a game NZ", "where is the ANZAC spirit NZ", "why are you taking things so seriously NZ"? Personally, I think NZ's attitude towards the game (which is exactly what it is "a game") is refreshing. In the modern times we live in, with all that is going in in the world, to hear Brendon McCullum say "well there are plenty worse things we could be doing other than stand in a cricket oval for five days", is just the attitude we should be instilling in our youth. Sure we want our cricketers to play as hard and fair as they can, but lets have a little bit of sportsmanship and perspective when it comes to sport. I'll finish with one of the best quotes from an Aussie sporting legend, which I hope puts all sport into perspective, Keith Miller was asked about the "pressures modern cricketers feel", his response: "Pressure? I'll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse". (and for those of you not old enough to know what a Messerschmitt is, "google it" as I am sure thats what you do with everything nowadays anyway........................)
JoM
Roar Rookie
Real Ross Taylor's interview on the CA website. Also on their facebook page I have seen a photo of Smith shaking his hand while the rest had run to the far boundary to congratulate the substitute fielder who took the catch to get him out.
dibatag
Guest
Aussie's bad sports!! well that's some thing new