KARACHI: In 2004, acclaimed comedian and actor Tina Fey wrote the film Mean Girls, which not only turned out to be a huge hit but is also considered a particularly insightful look at how social cliques in high schools affect young people. What Tina Fey might not have realized at the time was that her film was also a very useful analogy for understanding the context to Sunday’s World Cup match between India and Australia, which the former won by 36 runs.
Australia, the team that has historically been the most successful in world cricket, is clearly Regina George, the attractive, popular and vicious character from Mean Girls who was the school’s chief bully. She also created something called ‘The Burn Book,’ a collection of salacious rumors and secrets about students at the school which George used to her advantage. Australia, which also always enjoys getting its own way in cricket, has its own version of ‘The Burn Book’: sledging — a form of verbal abuse that preys on salacious rumors and secrets about opposition players, something Australians justify as a tactic for causing ‘mental disintegration.’
In contrast, India is similar to Cady Heron, the likeable and sweet lead character who initially befriends nerds and outcasts but changes as soon as Regina takes an interest in her, ditching her less popular friends and transforming into a spiteful, superficial, spitting image of Regina herself. Indian cricket has seen a similar transformation. It used to be a de facto leader of the resistance from cricket’s poorer, weaker boards against the excesses of sport’s historical powers, England and Australia. Yet over the last fifteen years or so, its swelling riches has seen it transform from an ally of the rest to the Grand Poobah itself. Much like Cady with Regina, India has become very much the sort of bully Australia has always been.
Some people might object to this labeling of both these sides as bullies, but it isn’t exactly unfair.
The English bowler James Anderson once wrote that “a bully waits until they are in the ascendancy to pounce on people. That is what Australian teams do.” Anderson’s depiction wasn’t an isolated one. Even former Australian captain and Aussie-ideologue Mark Taylor admitted that “bullying is not a bad term” for the actions of Australian players. Indeed, an independent inquiry into Australian cricket in 2018 described a “toxic culture of arrogance and bullying” within the male team.
India, like Cady, are newer to bullying but they’ve taken to it with aplomb. Its players have successfully resisted globally accepted changes like the decision review system, and forced broadcasters to drop commentators they felt weren’t praising them enough. Like Cady abandoning the nerds to join Regina’s gang, in 2014 the Indian board forced through a new revenue-sharing model for the ICC, cricket’s governing body. Instead of equal shares between all members like before, the changes meant India, England and Australia would keep most of the ICC’s wealth while leaving peanuts for the rest.
More recently, India had this World Cup’s schedule altered so its players could get more rest. And then it pointedly resisted the ICC after it ruled that a player wearing Indian Army logos on his gloves was a violation of its policy on political statements. As journalist Parth Pandya noted, “this should ideally have been a trivial matter put to rest with a piece of formal communication. However...the BCCI chose to resist the ICC’s orders and make this an issue of national pride.”
Given this context, the question for neutrals on the eve of this match was: who do you root for when two bullies take on one another? Since both teams losing wasn’t an option, many might have preferred to see some good cricket instead. Unfortunately for those neutrals, the match at the Oval was damp squib. India didn’t quite mop the floor with Australia, but they won comfortably nevertheless.
Prior to the toss, the Australian captain Aaron Finch noted that “we saw in the latest series we played against [India] that regardless of what the scoreline might be, whoever turns up and produces their best on the day will win.” His Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli, chose to bat first after winning the toss and noted that “the batsmen will feel scoreboard pressure”, a reference to Australia chasing the target.
It was a bold claim, since the last time Australia had lost a World Cup game while chasing it was still the last millennium. But India’s much hyped batting lived up to its billing, and led by a century from opener Shikhar Dhawan, they piled a mammoth total of 352/5 from 50 overs. The innings showcased the incredible poise of the Indian top order, as the openers started cautiously knowing that they had enough firepower to come strong later in the innings, and the team did just that.
In reply, Australian opener David Warner attempted a similar approach, except he got out before he could launch his attack. Warner’s torturous innings took up almost a third of Australia’s allocated overs, and it meant that the rest of the batting had to compensate heavily for his effort. They failed to do enough, but the fact that they stayed in the hunt for a long period in the match showed the incredible tenacity that defines their team. And while it ended up as a pretty resounding defeat, there was enough here to remind the rest of the tournament that Australia remain a threat.
In Mean Girls, Cady eventually realizes what a bully she has become, and after inflicting serious physical and social damage to Regina, she repents and goes back to being more nerdy and less popular. In cricketing terms, that would mean that India’s win over Australia here would cause the Aussies to lose their confidence and flame out, while India itself would later go on to lose to another side and help break these two sides’s hegemony over the World Cup (no other side has won it since 1996). But unfortunately, this tournament’s script is not being written by Tina Fey or anyone else from Hollywood, and so expect one, if not both of these teams to be vying for the title of Queen Bee when the tournament final rolls around.
As for Pakistan, they now face both of these opponents back to back. They were recently bullied 5-0 in a series by Australia, and India has been tormenting them for over a decade. The only sensible approach is to fight back.
India defeat Australia in ‘Battle of the Bullies’
India defeat Australia in ‘Battle of the Bullies’
- India, leader of resistance from cricket’s weaker boards against excesses of powers England and Australia, has become the Grand Poobah itself
- Pakistan now face both of these bullies and longtime tormentors back to back; the only sensible approach would be to fight back
A look back on a dramatic end to the Saudi Pro League transfer window
- Karim Benzema’s fallout with Al-Ittihad triggered a domino effect across the league’s top clubs
- Questions remain regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s status with Al-Nassr
RIYADH: One would have been forgiven for thinking this was the quietest transfer window of the Saudi Pro League since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in early 2023. Most of the signings before the final 48 hours were minor reinforcements, with the most expensive transfer being Murad Al-Hawsawi’s move from Al-Khaleej to Al-Hilal. By the end of the transfer window, 40 new transfers had been completed across the league, representing 45% of the window’s transfers.
The seeds were sown on January 26, when Al-Nassr announced the signing of Hayder Abdulkareem from Al-Zawraa in the Iraqi Stars League to bolster the midfield. Out went Wesley on loan to Real Sociedad, to free up space for the young Iraqi.
Three days later, L’Équipe reported that Karim Benzema’s time at Al-Ittihad was nearing an end after a contract proposal from Saudi Pro League director Michael Emenalo was deemed a significant step down.
“This offer, considered insulting, was taken as a sign of disrespect by the player's entourage, as it would amount to "playing for free," they explained, in addition to his image rights,” wrote Hugo Guillemet.
This led to the Frenchman withdrawing from the matchday squad ahead of Al-Ittihad’s clash with Al-Najma, further fuelling uncertainty over his future in the Kingdom as deadline day on February 2 approached. Less than 48 hours before the window closed, rumours emerged of Al-Hilal looking attempting to swoop for Benzema.
Al-Ittihad, accepting that Benzema’s departure was imminent, prepared to offload N'Golo Kanté to Fenerbahçe in exchange for Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri as a replacement.
However, the biggest development did not come from either Al-Ittihad or Al-Hilal. Fabrizio Romano reported that Ronaldo would not feature in the squad for Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh. “His absence is not related to any physical issue nor to workload or fitness management,” Romano tweeted.
It later emerged that the Al-Nassr captain was unhappy with his club’s activity during the transfer window: Al-Nassr had only added Abdulkareem to the squad in January.
By contrast, Al-Hilal brought in Pablo Marí, Rayan Al-Dossary, Sultan Mandash, Murad Al-Hawsawi and announced the signing of Mohamed Kader Meïté from Rennes — while also pursuing Karim Benzema.
While some fans sympathised with Ronaldo’s concerns over the contrast between the two windows, Paul Williams, co-founding editor of The Asian Game platform and a freelance journalist who has covered Asian football for more than 15 years, held a different view.
“I’m not even sure his concerns are valid,” Williams told Arab News. “Let’s not forget just 12 months ago they made one of the biggest signings in the new SPL era in Jhon Durán, and then promptly shipped him off on loan six months later. When you factor in Ronaldo getting his way in terms of management of the club, his own new mega deal and his reported part-ownership of the club, then there’s no shortage of investment in Al-Nassr.”
With reports emerging that Ronaldo was frustrated with how the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were handling matters related to Al-Nassr, Williams believes responsibility lies elsewhere.
“Perhaps the anger should be directed at the mismanagement of the club, rather than at the PIF who have gone out of their way to help Al-Nassr have success,” he said.
Indeed, Al-Hilal would go on to complete the signing of Benzema and welcome Saïmon Bouabré from NEOM, taking their winter transfer activity to seven players at a reported cost of $83.56 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Al-Nassr, meanwhile, loaned Haroune Camara back to Al-Shabab and brought in Al-Hilal’s backup striker Abdullah Al-Hamdan as cover. For Ronaldo, it appeared to be insufficient.
Portuguese outlet Record reported on February 2: “Cristiano Ronaldo is unhappy with the treatment Al-Nassr has received from the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund (PIF), the state body that acquired the majority stake in the country's four main clubs in 2023: Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli.”
It added: “The Al-Nassr captain feels that the PIF is hindering signings at Al-Nassr to prevent the team from winning the title.”
Further reports claimed Ronaldo did not attend Al-Nassr training sessions and had travelled back to Portugal. While Record suggested “the striker is unhappy at Al-Nassr and could leave the club in June,” Pedro Sousa, executive director of Correio da Manhã Rádio, said earlier on Wednesday: “Cristiano Ronaldo did not miss any training sessions. FIFA is burying its head in the sand and allowing an illegality.”
That illegality related to developments at Al-Ittihad. After paperwork was not completed in time via FIFA’s TMS system, the swap deal between Fenerbahçe and Al-Ittihad failed to go through.
Fenerbahçe later released an official statement on X, stating: “However, due to the erroneous entry of the relevant TMS information by the opposing club, the procedures could not be completed within the transfer registration period independently of our club.”
The statement added: “Accordingly, an extension was requested, the necessary discussions were conducted with FIFA by our club, and all steps have been taken to resolve the process.”
That situation was ultimately resolved after the deadline, with both Al-Ittihad and Fenerbahçe receiving approval after deadline day concluded, fueling more discussion between fans and further frustration for Ronaldo, whose availability for Al-Nassr’s clash with Al-Ittihad on February 6 is still uncertain.
While much of the drama unfolded off the pitch, there remains plenty at stake on it. Just four points separate Al-Hilal at the summit of the Saudi Pro League and Al-Qadsiah in fourth place.
“The impact on the title race we don’t yet know, but on face value it would appear to be significant,” said Williams. “Al-Hilal lacked a consistent goalscorer since Aleksandar Mitrovic departed the club. The punt on Darwin Nunez hasn’t paid off, and it appeared Marcos Leonardo was going to be out the door.”
Al-Nassr remain just one point behind Al-Hilal, with 15 matches still to play this season. But with Ronaldo’s future up in the air, what could this mean for the future of Saudi football?
“I don’t think the league is doomed, although there is no doubt its metrics will go down after he leaves, that’s only natural,” Williams responded.
“But I think the league is a lot more established now on its journey, we’ve got dozens of names, both old and young, that are now flocking to Saudi Arabia because they see the value in it.”
