PlayBack 2013 – Final Part – Opinions

Part Four Here

Is Cricket a gentleman’s game?

David Warner punching Joe Root during Ashes, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli getting on top of each other during IPL, Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels getting into a heated exchange during BBL, Ravindra Jadeja annoyed with Suresh Raina during India’s tour to West Indies, Denesh Ramdin falsely claiming a catch against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and Stuart Broad refusing to walk during Ashes are few instances last year which makes one think whether cricket still remains a gentlemen’s game.

The tag – ‘gentlemen’s game’ – is lost long ago with competition getting bigger and duration getting shorter. Players like Dravid and Kallis reminded us of what it takes to be a sportsperson. Now, with legends retiring, will the sport lose it charm? What punishments can be handed out? Should this be taken in the same sense as fixing?

David Warner was sent away from the Ashes in England to play with the ‘A’ team. Punishment to this duel wasn’t taken in a serious way by Warner as he involved in sledging with South Africa ‘A’ wicket keeper Thami Tsolekile. Warner said that these heated on-field exchanges were friendly banter. Warner was banned and fined.

BCCI warned both Jadeja and Raina for their improper on-field conduct (Jadeja was annoyed after Raina dropped a couple of catches of his bowling. According to reports, Jadeja told Raina that he had probably lost interest in fielding after he lost captaincy). ICC charged WI wicket keeper Denesh Ramdin with a level 2 breach of the ICC code of conduct and banned him for 2 ODIs.

The incident took place at Oval, London, when Ramdin “caught” Mishbah off Kemar Roach. Umpire Steve Davis initially gave out but the square leg umpire Nigel Llong preferred a review. Replays showed that while Ramdin had, initially, caught the ball, he had subsequently allowed it to spill out of his grasp.

In Broad’s case the issue was not with the player’s conduct but with the umpire’s decision being a wrong one which eventually questioned Broad’s character. Michael Holding called for Broad to be banned and urged ICC to view this in the same light as Denesh Ramdin falsely claiming a catch.

One wonders where did the ‘spirit of cricket’ go when it was very well there during Bell’s recall during India’s tour to England in 2011. Lehmann accused Broad of blatant cheating and urged fans in Australia to make sure the all-rounder “cries and goes home” during the return Ashes series. ICC fined 20 per cent of the coach’s match fee for his comments.

How good is the hot-spot and the Decision Review System?

During the first Ashes test at Trent Bridge, on field umpire Aleem Dar ruled Jonathan Trott not out which was reviewed. Third umpire Marais Erasmus overturned the decision despite the fact that the side-on Hot spot image of the dismissal was not available. Trott was given out leg-before despite edging the ball on to his pad.

England were baffled and coach Andy Flower demanded explanation from match referee Ranjan Madugale. Host broadcaster explained that Trott dismissal was missed as it was replaying Root’s exit a ball earlier and Hot Spot inventor apologized for an ‘operator error’ and said that the operator did not trigger the system in order to provide for the Trott delivery. Instead the operator sat on Root’s delivery to offer a replay.

Many such misses by Hot Spot provoked Australia former keeper Gilchrist to comment as ‘starting to understand India’s DRS reluctance’. The return Ashes tour in Australia initially decide to not have Hot Spot but later accepted with real time snicko being employed with Hot Spot.

It’s not just Trott dismissal, the Broad-refusing-to-walk scene irked many and questioned the functioning of Decision Review System. Former umpire Daryl Harper commented on the DRS as “The DRS is flawed. You must remember that it is a system operated by humans. Sometimes they forget to reset the system as in the Trott dismissal. Sometimes they simply replay the wrong delivery to the third umpire, as occurred more than once in the 2011 World cup. If this current system is the best we can come up with then something is wrong. If the reviews were taken out of the players’ hands and given to the umpires then eventually the stronger performing umpires would emerge and be identified by the lesser number of reviewed decisions”.

At the end of the first Ashes test, ICC admitted to 7 umpiring errors but they are satisfied with the increase in the number of correct decisions from before DRS came into play. ICC’s chief executive Dave Richardson admitted that the DRS technology was not foolproof yet and said that ‘the BCCI does have its own reasons for opposing the controversial DRS’. Even in the second Ashes test at Lord’s, Hot Spot failed to pick an edge but third umpire relied on stump microphone.

Can you cheat the Hot-spot?

Post the 3rd Ashes test at Manchester and after a series of DRS going against Australia with Hot spot failing to capture an edge most times, Australian media created flutter by claiming that ICC was probing batsmen for using silicone tape to cheat the technology but the ICC denied those reports. Australian batsman Steve Smith replied to these comments that he has never heard of anything as silicone tapes and nor was anyone aware of cheating the hot-pot.

Lack of elite panel umpires from nations other than Australia and England

With 10 back to back Ashes, ICC was in a fix in appointing umpires. With 6 of the elite panel umpires belonging to Australia and England, nothing could be done other than appointing the remaining 4 for all 10. It was a tuff task for the on-field umpires given the importance of the 10 matches.

With lots of howlers after the first Ashes test at Trent Bridge, voices were raised for quality umpires. Post Ashes in England, Billy Bowden was removed from the elite panel but he was brought back for umpiring duty for the Ashes Down under. With cricket reaching many remote areas of the globe, ICC must take measures so that its member nations contribute effectively and bring out great umpiring talents.

Celebrating a victory

Which is the sporting way of celebrating a victory – a gangnam style dance or urinating on the pitch? Sachin Tendulkar saluted the pitch after his retirement but what England players did at The Oval after the fifth ashes test was world known. Legends are not made but born. But the born legend to remain a legend depends upon how he behaves. The Oval incident involved Pietersen, Anderson and Broad.

What happened to the ‘Sporting’ Crowd?

During an IPL match at Mumbai, Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli, known for his temper tantrums on field, was in for a rude shock while playing against Mumbai Indians. After Ambati Rayudu’s run out dismissal, who the crowd thought was obstructed by the bowler Vinay Kumar, Kohli was continuously booed by the Mumbai crowd, who called him a ‘cheat’.

An upset Kohli later complained that the crowd probably forgot that he plays for India too and such behavior promotes hatred amongst players. RCB skipper may have got offended by the rough treatment the Mumbai crowd gave him last week but CSK coach Fleming is all for partisan crowds and hostile home environment.

“It’s great for the league that there is home and away advantage. It really adds to the competition. When it’s a tough game and a tough crowd, the victory, if you can achieve it, becomes even more special,” the former New Zealand captain said.

Keeping the stump mikes on

Everyone knows that there will be many sledgings and heated exchanges between opposition players on-field. But whether those conversations are worth sharing and are the fans, who pay to watch the play, entitled to know what’s happening every moment? The decision will be tricky.

In the recent Ashes test at Gabba, Michael Clarke was fined 20% of his match for the ignorance of the operators. Reason – Clarke sledged Anderson as “to get ready for a broken arm” between deliveries. This comment is not supposed to be recorded but it happened.