Is Winning Everything? Let's Talk

    • indiatimes
    • Publish Date: Apr 2 2018 12:31PM
    • |
    • Updated Date: Apr 2 2018 12:31PM
Is Winning Everything? Let's Talk

Cheating by Australian cricketers prompts SUMIT PAUL to wonder if we are not all offenders

Ebbing away of the cricketing or sporting spirit is the reflection of a universal moral crisis, ” wrote the legendary cricket scribe Ray Robinson of Australia in an article in 1981 when Trevor Chappell of Australia bowled underarm to win a match against New Zealand at Melbourne Cricket Ground. This was the most disgraceful incident in the history of the ‘gentleman’s game’. Years have passed and the crisis in the gentleman’s game has deepened and become truly universal. The latest ball-tampering episode by Oz players Steve Smith,  David Warner and Cameron Bancroft has validated as well as vindicated what Robinson observed years ago.  

“Sports reflect the best of human spirit and cricket reflects this in the most telling manner, ”opined the great West Indian cricket scribe C L R James. While the whole world is condemning this dishonest incident,  we conveniently forget that more or less we all have this streak of knavery embedded and inveterate in us.  Just because they were caught, they are being condemned because this is the age of snooping social media and hypersensitivity.  “Sports and human lives are intertwined, ” said Garfield Sobers,  one of the greatest cricketers ever to have played cricket. 

The moral question is:  Is winning everything? Should one resort to unfair means to win at any cost? This is extended to life as well. Should we forfeit and shelve all human values and principles to succeed in life? Is there no place for moral rectitude and ethical correctness? It’s the voice of conscience that stops us from indulging in things and practices that are morally unjust and unfair. When South-Bombay born Douglas Jardine of England made Harold Larwood and Bill Vose target indomitable Donald Bradman and his teammates in the notorious 1932 Bodyline series, Stan McCabe of Australia asked Jardine after the series,  “Mate, what have you finally achieved by defeating us 4-1?” Mortally embarrassed Jardine had no answer.  

This is a classic moral question,  “What have you achieved by winning (dishonestly)?”What do we all achieve in life by stooping to ways unbecoming of being a human? Who remembers and values this kind of success built and based on dishonesty? These are the questions all morally sane and upright people are asking and pondering at the moment.  Why is a defeat so important to us that we can do anything to avert it? Why can’t we accept it gracefully instead of trying to win by hook or by crook? Smith, Warner and Bancroft’s heads may be on the chopping block. 

But aren’t we all guilty of the same questionable behaviour? We’re all closet offenders.  It’s time we asked ourselves, where have we erred and what happened to us that made us dishonest, unscrupulous and unethical. It’s easy to pass summary verdicts on these Oz players. But look inward and introspect. We’re all tarred with the same brush and only a revolutionary change at the collective level can cure us all of this malaise.


Do You Agree?

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Comments

simridhi makhija DL DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL(SHALIMAR BAGH)

Who would not want to win? But, resorting to unfair means for this, is really a bad idea. One should have a sense of what is correct and what is not. Also, if a person is sure about her/his skills, then such a situation of using unfair means for winning, is unlikely to prevail. Therefore, lets try and polish our skills!

A SANJAY Sree Narayana Vidya Bhavan

No of course by winning we can feel happy but it is not every sometimes we lose but we should not feel we should overcome

Sanika Sawarkar NARAYANA VIDYALAYAM NAGPUR

On my personal point of view Losing encourages children to reflect on their actions and attitudes. They are forced to evaluate their performance to look at areas for improvement, preventing complacency. Children can evaluate whether or not they need to put in more effort or practice, and may question their own level of dedication, and the effect this has on results.

Sanika Sawarkar NARAYANA VIDYALAYAM NAGPUR

On my personal point of view Losing encourages children to reflect on their actions and attitudes. They are forced to evaluate their performance to look at areas for improvement, preventing complacency. Children can evaluate whether or not they need to put in more effort or practice, and may question their own level of dedication, and the effect this has on results.

Sanika Sawarkar NARAYANA VIDYALAYAM NAGPUR

On my personal point of view Losing encourages children to reflect on their actions and attitudes. They are forced to evaluate their performance to look at areas for improvement, preventing complacency. Children can evaluate whether or not they need to put in more effort or practice, and may question their own level of dedication, and the effect this has on results.

Ishita Singh MOUNT CARMEL SCHOOL(DWARKA)

Yes I do agree with this article. Winning through unfair means is winning on the outside but at the same time losing on the inside. Karma always deals with people who do this blunder to themselves and they should now that the bill always comes due. In the case of ball tampering affair the repercussions came just after the action but we all must remember that we have the right to make choices but we are not free of the consequences of our choices.

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