Diverse views on Bell clanger
Source: Agencies |
August 2, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IAN Bell's controversial "non dismissal" during the second test between England and India in Nottingham subverted the laws of the game and had nothing to do with the Spirit of Cricket, former England captain Michael Atherton said yesterday.
Bell was run out in farcical circumstances off the last ball before tea on the third day of the second test at Trent Bridge, when the England batsman walked off assuming partner Eoin Morgan's previous shot had gone for a boundary when in fact Praveen Kumar had fielded the ball just inside the rope.
With the ball still alive Abhinav Mukund removed the bails and India's muted appeal was upheld and Bell given out for 137, prompting boos from the fans and a show of dissent by the departing batsman.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni then chose to withdraw the appeal when asked to by his England counterpart Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower during the interval. India's players were greeted with a chorus of jeers as they returned to the field for the final session but when centurion Bell re-appeared, the boos were replaced by an ovation for the tourist's sportsmanship.
Atherton, however, believed it was the wrong outcome.
"Dhoni will be hailed as a great sportsman for his actions and there is no doubt that by withdrawing his appeal, he rescued what has so far been a hard-fought and good-spirited contest," Atherton, wrote in The Times yesterday.
"Things might have deteriorated had he not done so. Which is not to say he was right to do so. Bell was guilty of doziness and of forgetting the first rule that any young batsman is taught: you don't leave your crease while the ball is still live.
"In this instance, some spurious notion of the spirit of the game has actually subverted the laws of the game, and, therefore the natural progression of the game."
Atherton went further, suggesting that if anyone had brought the Spirit of Cricket into question, then it was Bell, who was eventually out for 159 to put England in a commanding position to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Spirit of Cricket
"Surely, at the heart of the Spirit of Cricket is respect for the umpires and the decisions they make," Atherton wrote.
While Dhoni's gesture was lauded by the International Cricket Council and the England and Wales Cricket Board some raised questions about it.
"...Dhoni reverses his decision at tea break - politics in sport or the right thing?" spin great Shane Warne, hugely popular in India, wrote on his Twitter page.
However, Dhoni's former captain Anil Kumble, known for impeccable integrity, hailed him for making the right call. "I think it was the right decision. I'm proud of the way they played the game in the right spirit," the retired leg-spinner told CNN-IBN channel.
India slumped to 68 for 6 in its second innings at tea on the fourth day yesterday, needing a world-record score of 478 to win the test after England was all out for 544.
Tim Bresnan took 4-17, with Sachin Tendulkar not out on 35.
Bell was run out in farcical circumstances off the last ball before tea on the third day of the second test at Trent Bridge, when the England batsman walked off assuming partner Eoin Morgan's previous shot had gone for a boundary when in fact Praveen Kumar had fielded the ball just inside the rope.
With the ball still alive Abhinav Mukund removed the bails and India's muted appeal was upheld and Bell given out for 137, prompting boos from the fans and a show of dissent by the departing batsman.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni then chose to withdraw the appeal when asked to by his England counterpart Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower during the interval. India's players were greeted with a chorus of jeers as they returned to the field for the final session but when centurion Bell re-appeared, the boos were replaced by an ovation for the tourist's sportsmanship.
Atherton, however, believed it was the wrong outcome.
"Dhoni will be hailed as a great sportsman for his actions and there is no doubt that by withdrawing his appeal, he rescued what has so far been a hard-fought and good-spirited contest," Atherton, wrote in The Times yesterday.
"Things might have deteriorated had he not done so. Which is not to say he was right to do so. Bell was guilty of doziness and of forgetting the first rule that any young batsman is taught: you don't leave your crease while the ball is still live.
"In this instance, some spurious notion of the spirit of the game has actually subverted the laws of the game, and, therefore the natural progression of the game."
Atherton went further, suggesting that if anyone had brought the Spirit of Cricket into question, then it was Bell, who was eventually out for 159 to put England in a commanding position to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Spirit of Cricket
"Surely, at the heart of the Spirit of Cricket is respect for the umpires and the decisions they make," Atherton wrote.
While Dhoni's gesture was lauded by the International Cricket Council and the England and Wales Cricket Board some raised questions about it.
"...Dhoni reverses his decision at tea break - politics in sport or the right thing?" spin great Shane Warne, hugely popular in India, wrote on his Twitter page.
However, Dhoni's former captain Anil Kumble, known for impeccable integrity, hailed him for making the right call. "I think it was the right decision. I'm proud of the way they played the game in the right spirit," the retired leg-spinner told CNN-IBN channel.
India slumped to 68 for 6 in its second innings at tea on the fourth day yesterday, needing a world-record score of 478 to win the test after England was all out for 544.
Tim Bresnan took 4-17, with Sachin Tendulkar not out on 35.
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