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Australia’s five Tests against New Zealand this summer have been played in fine spirit. There has not been a single ugly blow-up between the players. But Australia’s angry questioning of a DRS decision yesterday at Christchurch was unacceptable.
After their World Cup final triumph against New Zealand last year, Australia were swamped by criticism for their supposedly offensive on-field behaviour.
It was a beat-up driven partly by media looking for a sensational story angle and partly by bitter opposition cricket fans looking to detract from another supreme performance by the Australians.
But the Aussies will deserve all the flack which comes their way over today’s DRS fiasco.
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With the first ball of the 73rd over of New Zealand’s second innings, seamer Josh Hazlewood speared a Yorker from around the wicket towards Kane Williamson’s leg stump.
In trying to keep the delivery out, Williamson’s balance fell to the off side and he appeared to miss the ball.
In real-time, it looked as plumb as an LBW can get. The vigorous appeal from the Australian players suggested they felt the same.
When their appeal was turned down by Sri Lankan umpire Ranmore Martinesz, captain Steve Smith swiftly called for a review.
While Hawk-Eye showed the delivery pitched in line with the stumps and would have knocked back Williamson’s leg peg, Hot Spot detected a faint mark on the inside edge of the Kiwi’s bat.
The minute that friction became visible on screen it was obvious the decision would not be over turned.
Obvious to everyone, that is, except the Australians who reacted furiously when Martinesz signaled that his not-out call would be upheld.
The tourists had been watching the replays on the big screen at Hagley Oval and clearly had failed to spot the small heat mark on the very bottom of Williamson’s blade.
Hazlewood was incensed, as was Smith who confronted Martinesz and, with hands on hips, pointedly expressed his dissatisfaction.
The bowler then asked his own questions of Martinesz before saying “Who the f— is third umpire?”.
WATCH THE VIDEO IN THE PLAYER ABOVE
Smith already had overstepped the mark by striding towards Martinesz and remonstrating. Hazlewood’s foul language put the Australians firmly in the wrong.
Even if Australia had been dudded by the DRS process, there would have been no justification for such open dissent. The fact that they were arguing against a correct decision only makes their behaviour more embarrassing.
It would have been fascinating to see the reactions of Smith and Hazlewood when they later, once off the field, saw the Hot Spot footage again.
Australia have built a reputation for being the most hot-headed side in world cricket. As a result, many minor incidents involving the Australians, such as those in the World Cup final, have been blown out of proportion.
But in this case the tourists’ actions were “intolerable”, as New Zealand TV commentator Mark Richardson remarked on air.
It is an unfortunate incident towards the end of five Tests which have been played in a hard but fair manner between these two teams.
Australia have been, by a big margin, the better team and look set for a 4-0 result over the two series.
If they do go on to achieve that scoreline today they will earn not just a prized away series win but also the world number one Test ranking.
This is what we would be focused on entirely if not for the petulant behaviour of the Australians.