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The course of the English tour of India has seen many in the press shower plaudits on Nasser Hussain's captaincy, and it must be admitted that they were, for the most part, deserved. Hussain has, within the past year, imparted shape and a steeliness to an English team that was once just a vague, misshapen blob under Michael Atherton. But the process of making his team edgier has, it appears, realised some unexpected side effects.

As a column writer on the subject, I personally could not have hoped for a more fitting climax to what has been a notably ugly touring spectacle. With five runs to defend and a series to square, Andrew Flintoff castled Javagal Srinath and then, in an act of such startling immediacy that it must have been premeditated, proceeded to rip off his shirt and careen about the ground in a wilful imitation of English on-field football brashness.

Aside from springing a few more yards of lily-white flab on unsuspecting Mumbaikars than they bargained for, Flintoff's action perfectly capped off a forgettable performance by the England team - not in terms of results, for we shall not inaccurately grudge them that, but in terms of being ambassadors for their country and the sport of cricket.

Reliable recyclers of hoary cliches, ever since Cronje-gate, have not missed many opportunities to tell us that cricket has ceased to be a gentleman's game. Maybe, then, that je-ne-sais-quoi spirit is no longer present. But the laws still are, and the ICC Code of Conduct's rule about "bringing the game of cricket into disrepute" can still be invoked if the spirit of the game fails to measure up.

Clauses C1 and C2, ironically enough, were in recent memory most notably applied against the Indians in the second Test in South Africa. The match referee on that occasion - Mike Denness - was accused of being heavy-handed, and Denis Lindsay, his replacement for the next game - the unofficial "Test" - could only have been chosen for a more marked reputation for leniency.

Lindsay proved that in full during this one-day series; indeed, if he were any more light-handed, he could carve out a lucrative career as a pick-pocket. As the commentators stated at the end of the last one-day international, not one player was hauled up for any offence during the six-match series.

This is not to say that there were no breaches of Rule C2. The notoriously long memories of the Indian cricket fan will recall, years hence, Flintoff and other bowlers hurling epithets after dismissals, Hussain jumping up and down, screaming abuse, as Harbhajan edged a boundary between wicket-keeper and first slip in those crucial final stages of the sixth match, wanton bodily obstruction of sprinting batsmen by some of the quicker bowlers - and of course, Flintoff's Half (thank heavens for small mercies) Monty.

One can only infer, considering that each of those offences was filmed and replayed many times over, that Lindsay is a less conscientious user of videotape than Denness. His complete ignorance of these incidents was abetted by the umpires, 11 of the 12 having officiated in less than 11 one-dayers and not about to nip their burgeoning careers in the bud by lodging complaints against a touring side.

Perhaps the feisty attitude did help the English perform better, for they fought back admirably to square the one-day series. But they would do well to remember that the world's best cricketer is also in contention to be the world's foremost gentleman. It was a relief beyond words to hear, as the culmination of a very un-pretty series, the polite and measured tones of Sachin Tendulkar as he collected his mammoth Man of the Series award. With his shirt on.

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