|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 22
|
I am a cricket lover, so I therefore long to procreate heavily with Sachin Tendulkar. After his walking today, I wondered whether a thread should be made to celebrate the walkers, and curse the cheats, as and when they go or stay. As it were.
Of course, maybe India just wanted to avoid the Aussies in the quarters, but I think Sasha would have walked anyway! So...
Walker-Sachin.
Cheat-Michael Clarke. (Not very current, but just saw a replay of his clipping the ball off or to KP in the Ashes!)
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 22
|
Argh, meant to add...
Cheat-Ponting!
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 19
Location: Brisbane
|
From my amateur level I am a firm believer in not walking. For a couple of reasons:
- The umpire is there for a reason, he gets paid, let him do his job
- Swings and round-a-bouts – you get enough bad decisions go against you, you need to take the bad ones your way
- You see batsmen walk, but you don’t see the opposition call you back if you cop a rough LBW. I hate it when they say “bad luck” as you walk off. It makes me want to ask why they appealed in the first place.
If a player walks, good on him. That is his prerogative though. It shouldn’t mean that the next guy has to, or that the walker has the right to preach about how everyone should go. And if he wants to be known as a walker, he should make sure that he isn’t selective in his decisions as well.
At the same time, the bloke who doesn’t walk loses the right to whinge about the rough ones he cops. Finger goes up, walk off and say nothing - ok maybe a little whinge to your team mate but don’t bang on about it.
I have more respect for the bloke that walks off without whinging than I do for the walker.
At international level I have no problems with non-walkers, Same rules apply as above I reckon, except maybe more-so. Especially in these days of referrals. If you hit it, the 3rd umpire will show it. If it is too close to call, even if you probably did hit it, then the benefit of the doubt belongs to the batsman.
That might be just my Aussie temperament though.
|
|
|
Rank: Club  Joined: 3/17/2011 Posts: 14 Location: The Internet
|
Great post Mickey, I've no problem with non-walkers either. It's certainly not cheating. I've also no problem with walking - it's entirely the batsman's decision.
My main beef with Ricky, however, is that he keeps saying things like:
"There were no doubts about the nick, I knew I hit it, but as always I wait for the umpire to give me out. That's the way I've always played the game,"
While on other occasions, i.e. when he feels like having a moan because this same attitude is being used against him, he has said things like:
"I think it's an absolute disgrace the spirit of the game is being treated like that. It is within the rules; it's just not within the spirit of the game."
Prick.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/22/2011
Posts: 4
|
I'm a walker. The level of cricket I play means that your own team are umpiring when you bat and I don't think it is fair to make them make a hard decision.
I also disagree with Micky about it not leveling itself out, as a walker and as my team know I am a walker (as I encourage all of them to play honestly too) if I don't walk after a caught behind appeal they don't give me out so I limit the bad decisions against me. Also I think other teams do appreciate it and in fact last year after I had walked for a very fine edge that the umpire wouldn't have given the keeper thanked me and later in the game called one of our players back for an LBW which was given out by the umpire but the keeper knew it was an inside edge.
Just goes to show if everyone was to play the game in the 'right' spirit it can work, therefore I will continue to walk and just hope more teams follow our example.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 22
|
Whilst I agree with a lot of Mickey said, and I certainly don't wish to condemn a 'non-walker', we will still be talking about when Kallis walked and when Sasha walked etc with respect for a while to come, whereas I don't imagine even the hardiest of Aussies will be talking with pride about when Clarke smashed one off KP-not an edge but off the middle and didn't walk! In the age of replays and referrals batsman know we are going to know and judge them as we wish!
It may be old fashioned, but I still want there to be a spirit of honesty about cricket. It sets it apart from other sports. Or it should. I know that had Athers not walked against DOnald we would have been deprived one of cricket's greatest moments, but when a player plays honestly and within the 'spirit of the game' I feel a love for the game above the norm.
The Australians, under their current captain have become ridiculed. They play dirty and are disliked for it. The series in India a couple of years ago was shameful. Is that what we want? Well, actually maybe cos we all (as Brits) enjoy laughing at Punter. But I would hate Strauss to lead a clique ridden, win at all costs team.
This post makes no sense, due to me having Man Flu.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 19
Location: Brisbane
|
The thing about the Kallis one (if it is the one that I am thinking of) is that he asked if the player caught it cleanly. He had to interrupt a very jovial group hug at the time to do that. I think that it kinda said “I caught it cleanly or I am the biggest cheat around”. Kallis should have either turned on his heals accepting the massive celebration as the “I caught it cleanly” version, or waited for the umpires decision if he thought it might have been the “I am the biggest cheat in the world” alternative.
Tendulkar just turned and walked even though the umpire gave it. That is how to walk. Don’t think twice, just go. I think that is where Clarke was caught out. He kinda started to go and then stopped. I reckon he thought that if he walked after hesitating, then he would look a like a bit of a dick. He might be right there but truth was that he looked that way for not walking after starting to and smashing it.
|
|
|
Rank: Club  Joined: 3/16/2011 Posts: 9 Location: 5/5/2019
|
As a specialist number 11 batsman, I never walk for the simple reason that I need every single dang ball that I can get.
"In the Spirit of the Game" for me usually means not being yelled at by ten other people for it being my fault when obviously if they had all done their job properly, I wouldn't have been out there in the first place.
Actually the only occasion that I can think of where I would have been able to "walk" was when a bouncer clipped my forearm and the keeper caught it. I was yelled at by the slips cordon and I still didn't see a thing because I was shielding my head from a ball which was coming at me doing 70 odd miles an hour.
... spent the next hour or so in a 62 run tenth wicket partnership of which I made 3 runs YEAH, WINNING!
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 7
|
I know it is often said, but I don't know that walking is really backed up by the Spirit of the Game at all. It's allowed in the Laws, but the preamble, the codification of the Spirit itself is very explicit about the importance of the umpire's decision. The umpires are the arbiters of order in what would clearly be a confusing game without them. Much of the fairness of the game is to simply play it as the standing umpires see fit. To overstep your role, for better or worse, is not entirely helpful.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Club
Joined: 3/30/2011
Posts: 1
|
I'd like to think that I walk and think that its perhaps even more important, at amateur level, to do so.
Where I play, when I bat, one of my team mates will be umpiring. Thus at some point I will have to umpire too, not the easiest of jobs at the best of times. Maybe it's niave but honestly I would expect a teammate to walk if he thought he had edged a ball that I missed when umpiring. I have been in a few games that degenerated because of stuff like this and, when you're on the losing side at least, its awful. Weekend ruined.
I understand that the review system assists both sides when a bad decision is suspected. But personally, I was sad to see Ricky not walk. He's a hero of mine and thought he looked a bit foolish at the time. Ok I was watching on a dodgy streaming feed, but I thought he hit the cover off that ball. I concluded at the time that the umpire must have been temporarily deafened by crowd noise. I understand that RP has a poliy of not-walking - but even when it's obvious to everyone but the ump ? Tut tut.
* suggestion for the the next ICC WC - no white wicket keeping gloves (as Ukmal was wearing) - maybe this also contributed to the bad call?
|
|
|
| Users browsing this topic |
|
Guest
|