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PTI

London, Aug 6: Former England captain Mike Atherton has called for Sreesanth to be "banned" for the third cricket Test, saying the Indian seamer’s bowling in the second match was "completely counter to the spirit of the game".

Sreesanth delivered a beamer to Kevin Pietersen and later a two-foot no-ball to Paul Collingwood on the fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test. He also shouldered rival skipper Michael Vaughan, for which he was handed a fine of 50 per cent of his match fee.

Atherton said a beamer - whether bowled deliberately or not - was a serious offence, and asked Indian captain Rahul Dravid to set the right example by benching Sreesanth for the final Test, starting on Thursday at the Oval.

"If bowled deliberately, there cannot be a more cowardly action (than a beamer) on a cricket field. If bowled accidentally, it is still potentially lethal. Either way it should incur an immediate one-match ban," Atherton wrote in Sunday Telegraph.

"Since the match referee Ranjan Madugalle was silent on the issue, it is Rahul Dravid who should take the appropriate disciplinary action ahead of the Oval Test.

"... Only one man, Sreesanth himself, knows whether it was deliberate ... But I have no doubt that Sreesanth’s rancorous spell ... Was the most glaring in the match of something that ran completely counter to the spirit of the game."

  

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Comment on this article

  • Alwyn Maxim, Mangalore

    Tue, Aug 07 2007

    About the comments from Atherton on Sreeshant, Mr.Atherton is correct in some ways because he is a great & senior player. I myself personnally observed Mr.Sreeshant, on the TV Screen while he on the field and the way he is acting like is very rude.

    Thinking that like him there is no one in the world and he is the smarter. It is a best idea that, instead of keeping Irafan Pathan &.L.Balaji, out of the game, better to replace Mr.Sreesant, soon as possible, There is no other player like SriSantha Indian History acting on the field like uneducated.

    What he is trying to prove on the field, better to send Mr.Sreesanth to the Wrestling Ring instead of Cricket Game because Cricket is beautiful game and I think Mr.Sreeshanth is never learn decipline in his life and as well as at home and School.

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  • Rophy, Kottayam/Doha

    Tue, Aug 07 2007

    Of course he should be banned.He is now a days having too much pride. He thinks himself very smart. He is good for nothing. Being myself from Kerala, I dont like his attitude of being over smart rather than playing positive cricket. Neither he fields,bats or bowls. He should be kept outside for giving other new guys to prove themselves

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  • Ashok Frank, Mangalore / Brampton , Canada

    Tue, Aug 07 2007

    Mike Atherton is nobody to decide on this matter. It is up to the match referee .That is why Match refrees are hired .

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  • denzil fernandes, dubai

    Tue, Aug 07 2007

    Every cricket pundit has the right to have his say. And former England skipper Michael Atherton is also entitled to his own share of views. Our own nippy Sreesanth has always been a showman from day one of his career without doubt.

    There are some cricketers who are quiet on the field and some like Sreesanth who always like to make their presence felt. The second test at Trent Bridge was a great venue where Sreesanth misplaced his nerves elsewhere and was bent upon proving to the Englishmen that he was no small player. With the red cherry in his hand he made merry having the England batsman duck in a hurry and flurry.  Every pacer loves to see the batsman bow in front of them. That is what gives any fast bowler the ultimate joy.

    However, for Atherton to suggest that Sreesanth should be banned from the third test is like saying that their own wicketkeeper Matt Prior should be asked to stay at home for the third test. That is unfair for the players concerned. A highly experienced match referee in Ranjan Madugalle has handled the situation aptly and closed the proceedings with a hefty fine for Sreesanth.

    Atherton should know that the England team was lucky to escape without any punishment in the Trent Bridge test. Their skipper Michael Vaughan will be the first one to admit it. Characters like Sreesanth and Matt Prior will always be there in all the teams. Kevin Pietersen also belongs to the same category and is no saint when it comes to tantrums on the cricket field. Andre Nel of South Africa is another who comes readily to mind in such cases.

    There is no doubt that India's Rahul Dravid must have given a dressing down for the Kerala speed merchant which will be good enough for a long time to come. Dravid will surely expect Sreesanth to come out with flying colours in the third test and prove one and all that he can be India's darling by taking wickets.

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