So Chris Broad had ‘a word’ with Mohammad Aamer over his celebration after dismissing Ricky Ponting on the first day of the Lord’s Test. The match referee (Broad) said it was not an official warning, just a quiet word since this was the second time Aamer (nearly) crashed into the batsman. Fair enough. What, in my humble opinion, is not fair is that only Aamer was spoken to by Mr Broad.

Before I am labelled a ‘whiny Pakistani’ and bashed all over internet forums by the cricket ‘experts’ that be, let me ensure you all that I do know that Aamer did collide with Michael Clarke in the Twenty20 match. What followed was an apology from Aamer and a friendly pat by Clarke and that was that. Here, though, the 18-year-old charged his way down the pitch and just before he would collide with the Australian captain, he turned away. Ponting, meanwhile, extended his elbow in the general direction of nobody (Aamer) and managed to catch the bowler. Perhaps he was stretching his arms after the dismissal in an attempt to ‘warm down’ before heading to the pavilion? Or maybe he was practising a shot he should have played instead of the one he did play. But in no way was he intending to make physical contact with the prodigal speedster, who had dismissed him before he could break his Lord’s jinx. Was he? Nor did he mean to create a situation by speaking to the umpire about it on his way back to the pavilion. Or did he? It was all Aamer’s fault. He was the one who ‘invaded the batsman’s personal space’ in his youthful exuberance.

If, however, the roles were reversed so might have been the match referee’s action. Ponting is no stranger to sledging. He has been involved in some of the choicest sledging incidents down his career. He has denied being a sledger but has also promised to tone it down…only to break his own rules again.

Personally, I don’t care if the great Australian batsman has issues. I don’t care if he Sreesanth’s his way down the pitch or reminds the opposition players about the members of their families. All I care about and expect is fair treatment from the match officials. They have all the right to speak to adrenaline-charged bowlers, but what about Ponting? And his outstretched elbow? Shouldn’t he also be spoken to before the matter is closed (as far as the officials are concerned)?

Hafsa Adil is a sports editor at Dawn.com.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the comments that follow do not necessarily reflect the views of the Dawn Media Group.