The Opinion Polls

[Wicked Lester]

What do we think about the opinion polls? I must admit I've been staggered at the strength of anti-Australian feeling expressed in some of the online polls in particular. So much so that I doubt their integrity.

From discussing the matter with a cross section of friends and acquaintances (some of whom are cricket tragics some of who are not) the online polls do not seem to be in step with public opinion. Then again, perhaps they are.

Is there any suggestion the online polls have been manipulated by an appeal to vote against the Australians?

I should explain where I sit on the issue. I have for many years felt the Australian team was guilty of boorish behaviour on occasions. However - and with some degree of irony - I've felt on field behaviour has, if anything, improved under Ponting (certainly compared with his predecessor). If current standards were applied to an incident such as the McGrath/Sarwan spat where the Australian captain just stood by and watched, Punter would be hung, drawn and quartered.

To put it simply, in the context of the Sydney test I'm not certain what their actual crime has been. One things for certain, Kumble, having made the claim he did at the press conference, has condemned his team to an unprecedented level of scrutiny going forward. Any Indian who commits any questionable act on the field (not walking immediately, questioning the umpires decision, over-appealing, claiming questionable catches, sledging etc - any of these from this moment on will be amplified due to his statement that one team was not playing within the spirit of cricket. From now on the Indian team's shi% best not stink, or rank hypocrisy will be evident to all and sundry and it will be brought to the public's attention.

Anyway back to the topic I'd like to raise; do the online opinion polls reflect a broader community view, or are they simply the view of a fired up and very vocal minority?

[Hicham]

It's wise to take virtually no notice of online polls. Their integrity can be comprimised quite easily in many obvious ways.

One poll I noticed the other day on an Australian news site had a question regarding Ponting's captaincy. During most of the day the poll was running fairly slowish with around 80% of 5,000 or so respondants opting to stick with the current man. Then, after a matter of an hour or so, the poll had a huge influx of votes. The result then became 75% against Ponting with over 50,000 votes in bank. Interesting that there was also a sizeable number of comments left in the article attached to the poll, many with noticably sub-continental titles and "wedy wedy bad" English.

It only takes a forum like this or an email to get people voting for a cause, and given that the web is a global product, it certainly won't take much to get a heap of furious Indians to lash out on Australian websites.

Also be aware that during this time where the character of the Australian team is being questioned, you're likely to hear much more from those who hold a negative view than those who don't, mainly because those who don't can't be arsed getting caught up in something they see as a non-issue. Those who have been agitated by the Australian for many years, for whatever petty reasons, see this as their chance to go nuts and be heard (see: Spanky Roebuck).

Although these people profess to be the majority, i'd be willing to wager my lefty that in reality the vast majority of Australia's cricketing public don't support their views and are well and truly over the mental nutcases infesting our print and TV media. The last line of your post pretty much sums it up too.

[Deenamite]

I was totally surprised at the amount of people that apparently wanted Ponting sacked, but the poll was featured in the age after Roebucks article saying he should be sacked so who knows.

[rusdid24]

Ignore all the polls on news.com.au and The Age websites. People who have no idea about cricket and are actually influenced by the shite that people like Peter Roebuck write vote in those.

There's a poll on baggygreen.com.au asking whether Australia plays in the spirit of the game. Well well, what'd you know but 85% say yes, with over 100,000 votes being cast. And those votes being cast are from the type of people who actually know the difference between a bat and a stump, unlike those who trawl the news websites.

[smoovy]

I know through some of the forums there has been a concerted effort by Indians (remember thet are 1 billion of them) to influence these online polls.

[Joffaboy]

Ignore all the polls on news.com.au and The Age websites. People who have no idea about cricket and are actually influenced by the shite that people like Peter Roebuck write vote in those.

There's a poll on baggygreen.com.au asking whether Australia plays in the spirit of the game. Well well, what'd you know but 85% say yes, with over 100,000 votes being cast. And those votes being cast are from the type of people who actually know the difference between a bat and a stump, unlike those who trawl the news websites.

Wow the Indian supporter groups that have been targetting the online polls in their thousands (as reported by Peter Lalor in the Australian - had in his possession emails from supporter groups mobilising their supporters to rig the polls).

The online polls have been corrupted by Indians except for the above. Dont let the Indians know, they will attack that one as well :rolleyes:

[rusdid24]

Wow the Indian supporter groups that have been targetting the online polls in their thousands (as reported by Peter Lalor in the Australian - had in his possession emails from supporter groups mobilising their supporters to rig the polls).

The online polls have been corrupted by Indians except for the above. Dont let the Indians know, they will attack that one as well :rolleyes:

You won't see any retractions in the newspapers though.

[King Elvis]

Wait until the Test tommorow, and you'll see how passionate the majority is in supporting our team.

[Wicked Lester]

Wait until the Test tommorow, and you'll see how passionate the majority is in supporting our team.

Yes, I'm suspecting much the same thing.

Do you think if there are any banners in the crowd denouncing Roebuck channel 9 cameras would show them to us, or will the media close ranks from this moment on?

[Kirby]

If you believe in the results of online polls you may as well believe in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

They are notoriously unreliable and extremely easy to manipulate.