The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 23

23 LIONS ARE EMBARRASSING, SAYS COACH SPORT EXTRA 6 WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE SPORT EXTRA 6 i4. EX A mderU panel THE AGE, Monday 4 February 1991 Sport probl UmpiriMg tion that the panel be set up, subject to finance being raised. The board's arguments have some merit but ultimately it seems to me that this is a case of justice being seen to be done. "Neutral" umpires automatically eliminate any allegations of home-country bias. Also, they would theoretically be more competent because they would be professional.

The ACB has said It would cost $1 million a year to set up the panel. This Is a cost that cricket will have to bear for the sake of Its very credibility. for this Test was Karachi or Falsalabad or Calcutta or Port-of-Spaln, and think of the outcry at home. Australians, Including cricket people, have the most awful double standards when It comes to the officiating of the game. 1 Who are we kidding with the smug belief that all of our umpires are beyond criticism, less susceptible to the pressures of umpiring at home, and generally superior to any other country's officiate? The Stewart decision was just one of various calls in this sum-; inert program that have 'been shown by television replays to be blatantly wrong.

David Boon was run out in Adelaide but reprieved; the same player was given out caught at slip In Sydney when the ball ricocheted from the wicket-keeper's gloves rather than his bat Stewart was unlucky to be judged leg before In Brisbane; Dean Jones nicked the one from Phil DeFreitas to which be was given lbw In the first innings in Adelaide. There have been others as well. It is always difficult to tell whether the mistakes have gone beyond the point of acceptable human fallibility on the part of the umpires, but my Judgment from watching the series Is that there have been too many errors. I also believe the mistakes have gone slightly in Australia's favor. Go back a season to the series against Pakistan, and the crucial Melbourne Test won by Australia.

Was not Australia's win assisted by at least one blatantly wrong leg-before decision on the final day? Australia has an umpiring problem. Tony Crafter and Peter McConnell are clearly the best But let us not pretend that we are immune to the problems that trouble a country such as Pakistan, which has had Its rise to world prominence in cricket unfairly sullied by the perception that Its umpires have provided undue help. The Australian Cricket Board has rejected calls for the establishment of an International panel of professional umpires, when It can only make sense. At the recent meeting of the International Cricket Council In Melbourne, Australia was the only country to vote against a resolu- available, and this was reflected by their appointment for the first three Tests of this summer. But there does not appear to be much depth.

Crafter and McConnell made more mistakes than usual In the Sydney Test, probably because they were tired after the heavy schedule, and they have not stood since then. The umpires have not been helped, It must be said, by the gratuitous appealing of which both sides have been guilty. This was particularly so In Sydney, where the pitch provided spin and there were dozens of bat-pad appeals. During Australia's strife-torn tour of Pakistan in 1988, the Pakistani umpire Mahboob Shah made a point that Is worth recalling here. Said Mahboob, who was the centre of much of the controversy during the first Test at Karachi: "I'm sure there Is a general view that with a colored umpire It Is often a question of Integrity.

With a white-skinned man the same mistake is called human error." In England's first innings of the fifth Test In Perth, Alec Stewart was struck on the pads by an ln-swlnger from Craig McDermott and adjudged to be lbw by the Grafter's a veteran of stormy times at wicket GIDEON HAIGH talks to Australia's longest serving umpire, Tony Crafter, about the pressures of umpinng at international level. MiMPs fftmial disgrace Picture: NEIl ELIOT mm 'raw owHr TM Total ULLEE 29 167. TRUMBLE 31 141 NOBLE 39 115 RUNDWALL 29 114 GRIMMETT 22 106 QIFFEN 31 103 WOREIUY 19 102 TURNER 17 101 THOMSON 21 100 ALDERMAN 17 100 COMMENT BLAKE Queensland umpire Col Timmlns. The ball was missing leg stump by some distance. Now Imagine that Alec Stewart was an Australian, and the venue By MARTIN BLAKE, Australia ruthlessly crushed the few remaining signs of life from Graham Gooch's England team at the WACA ground yesterday, and not even the weather bureau could offer the.

tourists any A rest day has been scheduled today, but the Australians have two full days In which to score the 81 runs required to secure a third victory in the Ashes series. Local forecasters say there Is no pros-' pect of an unseasonal storm. Gooch would have found nothing to cheer him if he peered upward last night looking for dark clouds and a possible reprieve. His team Is destined to be remembered as one of the worst-performed English squads to visit this country. Another English batting debacle yesterday handed Australia the fifth Test although this time It was not so much self-inflicted as brilliantly executed by the Australian fast howlers; -V Mew Hughes, Terry Alderman add Craig McDermott achieved milestones on- a day when Allan Border's side pro duced one or its best sustained efforts of the summer.

Hughes became the 23rd Australian to reach 100 wickets in Tests and was rewarded for the mi toll of his 20 hostile. overs with 437. Bowling downwind with pace and movement off the pitch, the Victorian wore deep footnotes In the turf as he pounded In over after over at England's batsmen. Five years ago Hughes looked out of his depth when he entered Test cricket now he is a bowler of world class and he has the record to prove It Alderman found the rhythm and accuracy that was missing in the first Innings here to finish with 373, In the process reaching 100 wickets against England. He Is the 10th Australian to reach that mark, and the equal-fastest with Charles Terror" Turner, who grabbed 100 scalps In 17 Tests between 1883 and 1891.

McDermott, the flrst-lnnlngs destroyer, played the support role this time but still bagged 360, giving him 11157 for the match and his first haul of 10 wickets or more in Test matches. England was bowled out for only 182 In Its second Innings, Its batsmen hopelessly exposed on a pitch that is so foreign to them. Gooch's side was travelling reasonably comfortably at 275 just after lunch but promptly lost 769. I i i -M Md. ffii -fit ib.X-,L-"'f AJT rwmt-m lmi 4,1 Mft bluo IbII nl anlt.1 vnl (ouuiufa Only a last-wlcket stand of 38 between Phil Newport and Devon Malcolm denied the Australians another three-day victory.

Newport played so sensibly that he gathered an unbeaten 40, embarrassing his more Illustrious teammates and ensuring that Australia at least had 120 to chase. Mark Taylor was out to the second-last delivery of the day, fencing at Phil DeFreitas to complete a disappointing series, but this will scarcely matter. Australia will resume its second Innings at; -o lJtf tomorrow, and i a 3-0 In the series by in tuncn. '-vf England had started the third day seemingly blessed with good fortune and headed for a reason able score. Mike Atherton was dropped at 9 by Alderman off Hughes, caught behind off a McDermott no-ball at 15, and poked and prodded in vain at various others, while Gooch was only marginally more at home on the bouncy strip.

Eventually, though, Hughes achieved the breakthrough he so richly deserved when the English captain played at a widish ball and edged a low catch to Alderman at first slip. Before lunch Allan Lamb (5) had also failed, shuffling half-forward at McDermott to be adjudged lbw. England lost 578 in the after- noon session. Atherton's luck ran out at 25 when he fell to a bat-pad chance off Hughes, David Gower drove at Alderman and was beau-. tlfuliy caught by Taylor at second slip, and Alec Stewart fended needlessly at McDermott to be caught behind.

iV Robin Smith had played well for 43 when he missed one from Alderman and was adjudged to be lbw, perhaps unfortunately. With -England going into the game with a long tail, this was a crucial blow. After tea DeFreitas was nicely caught by Ian Healy off an Inside edge, and Taylor dived low to his left at second slip to superbly snap i up Gladstone Small off Hughes. It's the silence that Tony Crafter recalls; the kind of enveloping stillness that preludes a storm. Sixty thousand pairs of Pakistani eyes were trained on his raised finger.

In a World Cup match In Rawalpindi the home town of Pakistan's cricket-dotty dictator General Zla ul-Haq and his army an Infidel guest umpire had ruled against their country's premier batsman Javed Mlandad. Given him out, what Is more, leg before wicket It had happened before, although no one could quite remember when. And It was generally accepted even by touring sides that law 36 had a sub-continental sub-clause reading: "The above does not apply to i was full house at the, ground," Crafter recalls. "But 1 when the ball hit the pad I just ihntiffht Thnr mir Ann. wlthnnt AVAn thlnktno nut nn thA Inriav finger.

The crowd just went silent. My Immediate reaction was: 'I've lust aimed mv death warrant'." Nobody moved. Least of all wouia intercede to restore order. As English Journalist Scyld Berry wrote: "The batsman could not credit It He had run to Crofter's -end for one leg-bye and oblivious to the raised finger, turned back for a second. Mlandad was aghast wncn uuner aanerea 10 nig decision: out lbw, and In bis own country too!" The silence was broken by some pithy advice from England's caotaln Mike Gattlns.

who sensed Javed was waiting for a "second "He (Javed) oian i reauy warn to leave, Crafter remembers. "And he had a few words with some of the PnelBRil llAIM An hla arait nlf I think they thought he'd Just lost I his way and they were helping him out" You need never tell Crafter that International cricketers respond to Javed in the same way powder in the batting gloves. Crafter was, after all, the man who separated Javed from a cussing Dennis Ullee after their infamous two-step in Perth In 1981. You need. In fact tell Crafter very little.

As Australian cricket's longest-serving international umpire, he has borne grave witness to the prodigious and puoriio mumcnis 01 luc wuna e1(lelayersln32Testsand81 one-day Internationals. Cmttf'r'm InnpAvltv mloht mi something to the vehement Initiation in Test match protocol the Pakistanis gave hlra In 1979. 1 In only his second Test again In Perth, he had to judge Alan Hurst's petulant "Mankadlng" of Slkhander Bakht and bIva th hail news to Andrew Hlldltch after Sarfraz Nawaz's gross "handled the ball" appeal "I'd had to give the decision i i llV'M 'i I r' itt-iblal ') Irt I a 'A Pa: fpl I Confident Fraser eyes Cup No. 27 Australia yesterday completed its demolition Job on Belgium in its first-round Davis Cup tie in Perth yesterday, emerging from the one-sided affair as a team with a solid chance of winning the competition. The Australian team of Wally Masur, Richard Fromberg, Darren Cahill and Todd Woodbrldge beat the Belgians 5-0.

And although none of their opponents was ranked better than 125th In the world, captain Neale Fraser said the tie had revealed an Australian team that could win its 27th Davis Cup. "We are ready to play any team, anywhere, on any surface," Fraser said. ThA Inanirotinn Cmoai claim came mostly from Austra- lla's No. 1 player, Fromberg. A noted clay-court player, Fromberg ha aded depth, to the Australian team ahd'showed over thtfWeeWM'lHaf he fc'a'dWbll- TWMiflitWJPiW qH'SnV'Sur- Fromberg was the only Australian to drop serve in the singles rubbers, but his success here, fol- lowing his effort In last year's final to take Andre Agassi to five sets and then beat Michael Chang, gives the team's prospects a healthy boost "With Richard In the team along with Todd Woodbrldge, and the pressure on them from so-many other players trying to get in, we have the makings of the best team In the world," Fraser.

said. Australia is the best grass-court' team in the world without doubt according to Fraser, and with at least one more home match in this year's Davis Cup, its chances of' victory should be at least as good as last year when It finished runner-up to the US. But the most that could be said for the five rubbers against Belgians was that they were good practice and provided a gentle Initiation for Woodbrldge. Fraser said he could not have been happier with Woodbridge's debut in which he partnered Cahill to a straight-sets victory In the doubles on Saturday to clinch the tie. "We now have a huge depth of talent in the doubles area as well as the singles," Fraser said.

While Fromberg made a shaky start on a surface that did not suit him, he came through, easing the 9 pressure on the best of Australia's grassourt players, Wally Masur. Fromberg again had an Indifferent match In the reverse-singles against Eduardo Masso. He beat Masso 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the first of the two dead singles rub- tuini tn otm Austral in a AJi ImH After his moderate start, Fromberg established an early break to lead 3-1 In the first set but Masso always retained a claim. The threatened Masso breakthrough came In Fromberg's first service game oi inc second set. He maintained the pressure throughout the set and broke again in the sixth game to lead 5-1 and duly served out the set In under half an hour.

Fromberg appeared unsettled and many of his problems were of his own making. Masso capitalised on his opponent's lack of aggression with some skilful ground strokes. But Fromberg came out for the deciding set In a different frame of mind and threatened Masso continually until he achieved the breakthrough In the ninth game. Masur then wrapped up the tie, beating Filip Dewulf 6-1 6-2 in 46 minutes. Australia must now await a decision from the International Tennis Federation before it knows who Its next opponent will be.

Its second round Is scheduled to begin on 29 March against France or -Israel, but the clash between the' two countries has been postponed because of the Gulf war. DttJfl: Austnhl Blo.uin HI: MASUR Mnu 6-). 6-1. 6-1, a FROMBERG II Oxnrff 4. 6-3, 1-4.

6-4; 0 CAHILLT WOOOORIDGE 4 M4UO l-i. 1-4. 6-J; MASUR Onmll 6-1. 6-1. SPORT EXTRA 4: Davit Cup wrap up Merv Hughes, right, is congratulated on his 100th Test wicket by Geoff dismissed Graham Gooch, 1 A And now the Marh, left, Mark Taylor and Terry Alderman after the big paceman had caught by Alderman at slip.

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OVtH U.S. 1 top and tall, no middle made every wicket critical Does a fellow change his game In trouble or go for. his natural shots? David Gower, as usual, decided to ignore the scoreboard and to blaze his personal trail, and, as usual, he lost his wickets badly, which may have provoked Gladstone Small's opening flambloyance. It Is tempting to blame Gower for every, collapse, yet he had played precisely as everyone expected, as he has always played. Nevertheless, he has failed to decide the course of this series, or even of a single match and may yet be one of the heads that roll, no matter that it Is 23 runs short of Geoff Boycotts' record for Test match runs.

As England collapsed a little blood-letting appeared certain and neither Lush, nor Mickey Stewart expect to survive it for though English spirits have remained high, too little Improvement has been seen on the field. To my mind Gooch must be reappointed as captain with Atherton, Smith, Russell, Fraser, Malcolm, Hick and, perhaps Lamb as his chief supporters. Otherwise a new team, on and off the field, must be given Its chance. Assuming England loses. It will leave In disarray, while Australia can end In triumph and head overseas In high spirits and with greater depth In bowling than had appeared to be the case last Friday.

and playing tough, competitive Test match cricket a tribute to Border's captaincy for the Ashes had long since been won. Sadly, and even allowing for Australia's excellence, courage and durability were only patently evident In England's batting, and few batsmen matched Matthews' custom of clinging to bis crease as a leech does to a body. Save when Atherton, Gooch, Smith and Newport were fighting with every fi-. bre In their bodies the old John Bull spirit seemed to be missing as once again England slid with ter-. rible ease from misfortune to disaster, utterly falling to find a man to shore up the side as the lower order crumbled lamentably i once again.

England's batting from seven downwards Is so weak as to put intense pressure upon the top batsmen once a couple wickets had fallen. Sitting In the pavilion, seeing his replacement miss a couple of catches and fall with the bat Jack Russell, the very epitome of pluck, a man who has helped Eng-' land out of numerous tight corners, must have yearned for a chance to strap on his pads. Alex Stewart remember, arrived as a reserve keeper and has since been mentioned as first drop batsman, senior keeper and even captain. Plainly these Stewarts are fellows with whom to reckon. England's egg-timer team all For English cricket this was a watershed.

Languishing 63 runs In arrears, relieved from racing its elongated tormentor, Bruce Reid, and from batting last on a pitch likely to crack, England needed to muster enough runs to finish this series on a bright note. To lose 21 van be deemed bad luck, but 30 Is a debacle calculated to provoke the greatest rolling of heads since Henry VIII began to pine for male offspring. i upon this days exchanges, the cricketing futures of Larklns, Gower, Hemmlngs, Stewart, Small and John Morris may have depended, not to mention the long-standing positions enjoyed by Peter Lush and Mickey Stewart, Critics have their tittle lists and wonder if any of these will be missed. Urgently England needed to summon the courage and durability evident In Its opponents' play, characteristics that brought runs from Alderman (26) and Racke-' mann when Australia was In trouble In Sydney, though neither can offer much beyond a block and a haymaker, and from McDermott i since his recall, characteristics that have allowed Greg Matthews to bat for 18 Intransigent hours in this series, and Ian Healy for eight So far this summer these characteristics have appeared In En- gland's game, chiefly when Gooch, Atherton and Smith have 7 A' been batting, or Fraser and Malcolm bowling. Now every man had to reach Into the depths of his heart and his skill to bring England one last hurrah.

Could they dO It? They could not In one respect England was unlucky, for It was facing a vastly different Australian side than the one that presented itself for duty last Friday morning. Suddenly Alderman was not bending at delivery or opening his chest Suddenly bis outswlnger bad fizz, his off-cutter zip and appeals menace. Craig McDermott flattered by his figures on Friday, was bowling with control and movement while Merv Hughes was hostile and fast thoroughly deserving his wickets after another formidable contribution. Moreover, Ian Healy was concentrating upon his Job, which he Is doing efficiently it rarely brilliantly, rather than screeching for everything, while Greg Matthews' knee had recovered with a rapidity calculated to prompt captains Into denying him a runner hereafter. Australia was at full strength wnen aiuuacr was iwaniaaea says Crafter.

"And Hlldltch was probably a reprisal. Yes, that second Test was certainly a good -baptism, a baptism of Are. And Perth seems to have been a bit eventful for me ever since." Since entering the first-class arena In December 1974 a year after achieving his modest preliminary aim of umpiring an first grade game has earned an esteem for low-key but cordial relations with players as well as Intrepid and Accurate arbitration. Crafter Is a benevolent attendant and even the worst on field Incidents must seem tepid after his rites of umpiring passage 11 years ago. "Cricketers lire like any other highly trained athlete whether it be a ballet dancer or a thoroughbred racehorse," he says.

"Like a racehorse, a cricketer will play up at the barrier from time to time. 6m ixnu 4.