Marriage breakup playing on Slater's mind?
The one match suspended sentence for a six months period imposed on Michael Slater caps a miserable last few weeks for Australia's opening batsman.
According to the Australian journalists covering the series, Slater has been in a poor state of mind on this tour with his marriage to childhood sweetheart Stephanie ending in divorce shortly before the team left for India last month.
The visiting reporters have however by mutual consent agreed to keep a tight lid on Slater's problems. One though made a pertinent comment during the three-day match against the Board President's XI that ended in a draw on Thursday.
"Isn't it strange that the media is full of stories of the personal problems facing Sourav Ganguly (the Nagma affair) and yet Slater's marriage breakup is not being commented on?"
Slater has been having a miserable run of scores and at the Kotla looked like he was desperately trying get out virtually every ball or else hit himself out of trouble.
"He looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders when he walked back to the pavilion in the second innings (after scoring 26)," according to one Australian journalist.
Ironic indeed that Slater should first escape with a mere warning after his showdown with umpire S Venkatraghavan and batsman Rahul Dravid in the Mumbai Test. Slater's appeal for a catch was turned down after the third umpire consulted the replays. And now he finds himself punished by the same ICC Match Referee Cammie Smith for publicly defending his actions to a radio station in Sydney to which he is contracted.
Slater claimed the whole incident had been blown out of proportion by the Indian media and that at no time did he use foul language. This is however contradicted by replays of the incident in which he can be seen using the dreaded 'F' word at Dravid.
"Slats (Slater) is in denial mode", said Jim Maxwell of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after word filtered out in the press box about the interview.
The slap on the wrist initially imposed on Slater by Smith had come in for severe criticism with even the normally patriotic Australian media coming down heavily on the opening batsman whom they describe as being "emotionally volatile" at the best of times which this obviously is not.
The feeling was that it was a bit too much to expect a batsman to 'walk' in today's cricket. This was best illustrated by Slater himself staying put and being given not out in the first innings at Mumbai after he had clearly edged Agarkar into the wicket-keeper's gloves.
Slater has also had 50 per cent of his match fees deducted. The suspended sentence comes into effect from March 9. His act of speaking out violated clause six of the ICC code of conduct and regulations.