It has now been reported by Australian press that the English-born Australian cricket journalist and commentator took his own life, falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Cape Town after being questioned by police regarding an alleged sexual assault.
Peter Roebuck was 55.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/writer-questioned-then-fell-to-his-death-20111113-1ndwa.html
Roebuck was probably the one Australian journalist I respected. He had this ability to turn cricket matches into poetry. He was from a different era of writers - when the news was news and not propaganda.
Here was Peter Roebuck's last ever article (courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald):
Knives sharpening after Cape Town calamity
South Africa's bowlers killed the Australians and the batsmen buried the corpse. On a pitch suspected of more treachery than Kim Philby the local second-wicket pair began circumspectly and as the target came within range began to expand to toy with their opponents.
Before long they were in complete command as Hashim Amla unfurled some exotic strokes and his more ungainly partner dispatched the ball to the boundary. It all looked alarmingly straightforward.
Long before the end the visitors were in a state of shock. Presumably the batsmen watched events with an embarrassment that rapidly turned into shame. Convinced that the track was a stinker and that survival was well nigh impossible, they batted without skill and sense.
It was a dreadful display that turned certain victory into abject defeat. With only a paltry total to protect, two accomplished batsmen at the crease and the sun blazing down upon a pitch falsely accused of all manner of offences the Australians needed their opponents to implode. Instead they calmly completed one of the game's greatest turnarounds.Needing to grasp every catch the tourists rejoiced as Amla probed at Harris and snicked to first slip.
Joy turned to despair as Shane Watson spilt the opportunity. Since Watson had taken five wickets in the first innings it was rough justice. It was an early warning, too, that it was not going to be Australia's day. Needing everything to work in their favour, the visitors next appealed loudly as Amla worked across an off-cutter sent down by Harris, the team's best and most injury-prone bowler.
With the inquiry rejected, the touring captain consulted his colleagues and asked for a review. It was not a time to keep aces up the sleeve. The decision review system has been as busy as the scorers and within a few seconds confirmed the tourists' worst fears, that the ball was missing leg peg.
Clarke has suspected as much but dared not wait upon a better opportunity. Hardly 20 minutes had passed and already the game was up. Before long Graeme Smith was tucking into leg-side offerings with the relish of a bon vivant at a dinner table. Presently Amla was driving the ball past the bowler and through covers.
South Africa has a long and proven order and many of its batsmen are at the peak of their powers. Several of the Australians are on the downward spiral whilst others remain works in progress. Among them only the captain, Watson and Shaun Marsh are playing their best cricket. Clarke's choice of bowlers was telling. After 40 minutes he finally tried Mitchell Johnson, once the trump card.
Hitherto the lanky lefty had been given eight overs in the match without taking a wicket or looking much like doing so. At once he enticed an edge from Smith but the ball escaped the cordon. Johnson did pick up a wicket as Amla rushed towards the target but it was too little, too late.
It's hard to change a team on tour but as the ceremonies were completed, the sound of sharpening knives echoed around the ground.All too soon the Australians were trooping from the field, beaten and bruised.
It is one thing to lose a match, another to throw it away. John Inverarity and his new selection panel take over next week, and already they have plenty to think about, not least their supposed strike bowler, greatest batsman, batting order and gloveman.
RIP Peter Roebuck (1956-2011)
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