Cry babies :-)

Recently Michael Atherton has called for Sreesanth to be banned for a test. No doubt, beamers are reprehensible, and Sreesanth's behavior was intolerable. But, I dont recall Atherton ever making such a hue and a cry over beamers bowled by other bowlers from, say, England.

And, its not as if bowlers from England never ever bowl beamers. One can easily recall Darren Gough's beamer which actually hit Ambrose. And yeah, Atherton was actually playing in that match. If he didnt ask for Gough being banned, why does he cry for Sreesanth's head?

Another instance of a beamer was from Caddick to Yousuf Youhana in a ODI, and incidentally Atherton was playing in that game as well. Why didnt he ask for Caddick being banned then?

Indians, too, have been at the receiving end of beamers. But, nobody raised a hue and cry when Walsh's beamer broke Prabhakar's nose. Dhoni too has been at the recieving end of a beamer from Shoaib Akhtar, and in that case, there wasnt even an apology from the bowler.

Seems to me that the cry baby nature of the England entourage is emerging now. And it feels bad to see Mike Atherton, who, by all accounts, was a warrior with a heart for battle, resorting to such cribs. Having lost the test comprehensively, and been involved in the stupid jelly beans issue, they need excuses. And talking of jellybeans, Ian Chappell, in a coulmn in cricinfo, has actually gone to the extent of comparing it with pitch tampering. No prizes for guessing what Atherton's take on this is going to be.