Monty Panesar faces Racial Abuse
By SSNews, jon pierik, daily telegraph,
Nov 12, 2006, 16:25
South African skipper Graeme Smith, speaking from his experience in Australia last summer, fears Panesar is ''going to cop an unbelievable amount of abuse'' during the Ashes campaign from local fans desperate to help their side reclaim cricket's famous urn.
Panesar, a bearded Sikh who wears a black patka, has spent time discussing how to deal with Australian crowds, and has also spoken with former England spinner Phil Tufnell about what sort of baiting he could expect.
Smith has warned of the taunts which he feels await Panesar. "I was chatting to some of our team just the other day and we all shivered at the prospect of what he could be in for," Smith said.
"He is going to cop an unbelievable amount of abuse. I sincerely hope for everyone's sake, but especially his, that it isn't of a racist nature, but our own experience obviously leaves us with doubts. Hopefully Monty can become a bit of a folk hero. I can see how that might happen.
''But if he is selected instead of (Ashley) Giles at the beginning of the tour then the noise levels when he comes on to bowl, or even just fields the ball at mid-on, will be close to unbearable. I dread to think of him fielding on the boundary."
Smith's team suffered racial abuse at several grounds last summer. The tourists were particularly riled after hearing the word 'kaffir' - a racist term used against black people in southern South Africa - regularly shouted at them from the stands.
This prompted the International Cricket Council's solicitor general Goolam Vahanvati to launch an inquiry into spectator behaviour with Cricket Australia, with the result a series of hard-line changes to cricket's anti-racism code.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has said England's spin king is likely to be a target for the home crowd.
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By SSNews, jon pierik, daily telegraph,
Nov 12, 2006, 16:25
Panesar, a bearded Sikh who wears a black patka, has spent time discussing how to deal with Australian crowds, and has also spoken with former England spinner Phil Tufnell about what sort of baiting he could expect.
Smith has warned of the taunts which he feels await Panesar. "I was chatting to some of our team just the other day and we all shivered at the prospect of what he could be in for," Smith said.
"He is going to cop an unbelievable amount of abuse. I sincerely hope for everyone's sake, but especially his, that it isn't of a racist nature, but our own experience obviously leaves us with doubts. Hopefully Monty can become a bit of a folk hero. I can see how that might happen.
''But if he is selected instead of (Ashley) Giles at the beginning of the tour then the noise levels when he comes on to bowl, or even just fields the ball at mid-on, will be close to unbearable. I dread to think of him fielding on the boundary."
Smith's team suffered racial abuse at several grounds last summer. The tourists were particularly riled after hearing the word 'kaffir' - a racist term used against black people in southern South Africa - regularly shouted at them from the stands.
This prompted the International Cricket Council's solicitor general Goolam Vahanvati to launch an inquiry into spectator behaviour with Cricket Australia, with the result a series of hard-line changes to cricket's anti-racism code.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has said England's spin king is likely to be a target for the home crowd.
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