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A couple of former Australia captains have pointed out Mohammed Siraj’s tendency to assume a batter is out LBW without bothering to check with the umpire.
Mohammed Siraj has been punished by the ICC for his exchange with Travis Head. (AP Photo)
Mohammed Siraj’s aggression is the talk of the town as it has landed him in trouble with the ICC which punished him for his confrontation with Australian batter Travis Head during the recent Adelaide Test. However, Siraj’s tendency to ‘celebrappeal‘ has been another bone of contention for a couple of former Australian captains Mark Taylor and Michael Clarke.
Celebrappeal refers to bowlers charging towards their teammates to celebrate after assuming they have gotten a batter out (mostly LBW) without checking with the umpire first. Siraj did so against Marnus Labuschagne on Day 2 of the Adelaide Test when replays showed the Australian batter had got an inside edge before the ball hit him on the pad.
Taylor feels that Siraj needs to be talked about his tendency.
“I didn’t like the send-off from Mohammed Siraj. My biggest concern with Mohammed is this desire to assume that umpires are going to give dismissals,” Taylor told Nine.
“I don’t like him running down the pitch when he hits a guy on the pads, going past the batsman, assuming he’s going to be given out, without showing respect to the umpire and the game to at least have a look at the decision. I think Mohammed … someone needs to have a chat with him about that,” he added.
On the other hand, Clarke is surprised that Siraj hasn’t been fined for his actions having been guilty of them multiple times during the ongoing tour.
“Siraj should be fined for keeping on appealing for LBWs and not asking the umpire. He hits the batter on the pads and just runs down like they’re out. I’m surprised the ICC haven’t fined him because I remember when I was playing, you get fined every time,” Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast show.
“Brett Lee was the worst at it and they told him, ‘If you don’t turn around and ask the umpire, you’re going to be fined’. I’m more worried about that from Siraj than him and Travis Head. Siraj did it in the first Test as well. You’re OK to appeal for anything you want, but you’ve got to turn around and ask the umpire. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t been fined,” he added.
Siraj was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for his send-off to Head. Taylor isn’t averse to opponents showing aggression on the field but feels a line has to be drawn.
“I love the combative nature of Head and Siraj, but it has to be kept in check,” Taylor said. “Because the last thing we want to see in this game is that developing into a batsman maybe whacking a bowler. They get close together in that sort of situation and you don’t want to see that. So the administrators need to keep a check on that, and so do the two captains.”
