Monday, August 1, 2011

Spinning a spectacle - The Ian Bell run out



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Had India not run-out Ian Bell in the first place, only then it could be argued that India and their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had upheld the spirit of the game. As things stand, they did run him out, which they were entitled to within the laws of the game and then had a change of heart. Rahul Dravid terming it as the 'right thing to do'. Implying that running him out, in the first place, was the wrong thing to do.

To credit India with upholding the spirit of the game is thus wrong and misplaced. Only a naive eagerness to find some good in a team that has let themselves and their supporters down by showing the most scant regard for the trophy they are playing for, by turning up under prepared and unfit. 

To compliment and thank England for their role in the episode, the way the ICC did yesterday is infuriating and exasperating, as well. I can't digest the news that during the tea interval captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower met Mahendra Singh Dhoni and asked him to reconsider the appeal. Why would anyone defend a grand display of sheer ignorance of the law by one of their players? Or are the English so desperate that they will even beg for a few wickets to be reversed.

You know an action is in the 'Spirit of the game' when you see one. I saw this and all I saw was ignorance, indecisiveness and and finally an attempt to generate some goodwill. 

When Courtney Walsh did not run out Saleem Jaffer, when the latter was backing up too far down the pitch, with the 1987 World Cup finals berth on the line...that was in the spirit of the game. You saw it and there was a unanimous, instinctive and spontaneous acknowledgement and appreciation of what Walsh had done.

What happened yesterday at Trent Bridge was just a spectacle. Lets not dig for deeper narratives. Lets not fall for misleading advertisements that Test cricket is so eager to offer these days. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said! It seemed more like a PR exercise for Dhoni and the Indian team than anything else...I'm not implicating Dhoni of cheating, but I would've been more happy if he had just stuck to his decision!

Golandaaz said...

thanks offcutter! for stopping by

yes absolutely a PR exercise. Drama all over. England were not above it either....

And finally the ICC pushing down the 'Spirit of the game' advert down our throats...