Even three days after the end of the second fixture of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Adelaide Oval, the discussion around the heated argument between Mohammad Siraj and Travis Head is yet to end. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already given one demerit point to both the players.
It’s the story of the over when Head whipped the full-length delivery of Mohammad Siraj for a six into the leg side. The left-handed batter had already taken Australia a comfortable position with a lead of over 100 runs, having bundled out India for 180 in their first innings.
But the Hyderabad-born came up with another near-yorker delivery, which the Adelaide-born found difficult and saw his stumps getting destroyed. Siraj was quick enough to put a hand gesture to the bowler towards the shed, which Head didn’t take in a light manner.
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Both of them gave their version of their story before Mohammad Siraj was seen to have a short conversation with the South Australian batter when he came out to bat in the second innings of India, with Head stationed at short leg. The latter, however, informed that they cleared the issue and believed that it wouldn’t be an issue going forward in the third Brisbane Test.
Veteran players comfortable with Mohammad Siraj and Travis Head’s face-off
The pace bowling legend of the home side, Jeff Thomson, hoped that the match officials would let the last three encounters flow smoothly, with the more former players giving their views not being sapped. The 74-year-old expects that the paying fans would expect both Mohammad Siraj and Travis Head won’t be matey.
I would rather see that (showdown in Adelaide) than batsmen joking with bowlers. “At least you know they are playing seriously. People who pay their money don’t want to see them being matey. They want it full-on.” The former New South Wales pacer was quoted as saying by the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph.
Mohammad Siraj, along with his first demerit point in 24 months, has been fined with a 20% match fee, as the focus now shifts entirely to the third Test match in Brisbane. The fiery exchange has given new energy to the spirit of cricket debate, especially because of the Head ending with a century.
The former Australian fast bowler, Michael Kasprowicz, didn’t see any problem in the whole incident. He remembered the old stories of watching Dennis Lillie’s emotions in the game. The former Queensland pacer claimed that the spectators were far away from the middle and couldn’t hear anything in the middle.
“I grew up watching Dennis Lillie showing that emotion, and you don’t want to take that away from the game. To me, it didn’t seem like much at all. I know rules are rules, but at the same time, the spectator has never been closer to the action, and they pick up everything.” Kasprowicz told the Daily Telegraph.
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“Just let them go. No one was hurt. No one was injured. I’m not saying carry on like a pork chop, but he was a young fast bowler celebrating a wicket.” The 52-year-old expressed.
The former Ashes-winning England captain, Michael Vaughan, remarks that a few of these types of conversations that Mohammad Siraj had with Head is good for the game in terms of ‘confrontation.’
“Whether people agree with the language used or not is one thing, but it is good for the game in terms of the confrontation. This series is incredible. In my opinion, Test cricket in the last two years has been as good an entertainment product as it has ever been.” The Manchester-born concluded.