Sunday, February 10, 2008

Cricket -> played with the right spirit??

Cricket was invented by the English and for long, it has been called as a Gentleman's game. But as the days flew, it became a game that was professionally fought and in the present scenario, it has become one of the most ugly games. In the past decade or so, Cricket has undergone a very very lean patch. A lean patch is usually undergone by a cricketer, but in this case, what I have observed is that the game itself has undergone a lean patch of sorts. The umpiring standards have hit a new low and instead of questioning the umpires, it is now time to question the spirit of cricketers.

What happened at the Sydney test match was a good example of players playing with bad spirit. The Aussies are always used to playing cricket the hard way. The biggest question arises usually when a batsman is given out when it seems pretty unsure whether the fielder had caught the ball cleanly or not. There have been many examples of a fielder faking a catch and this happens with most of the teams. So, the spirit of the fielder is typically bad.

One of the biggest question arises when a batsman, having nicked the ball, instead of walking, stands his ground, and waits for the umpire to make a decision. I feel that this is not at all good for cricket. So far, I have seen just a few cricketers walking after they think they have nicked the ball. They include, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Graeme Smith and some other Indian players too. Graeme smith went one better above the others when he walked for a lbw decision. Seemed hilarious but true. There have been many players like Symonds, Steve Waugh and a few others who have always stood their ground instead of walking.

Today, I witnessed a match which was eventually won by India who beat Australia in a ODI in MCG after 21 years. Indeed a great achievement. But, I din't feel proud of this win though I am an ardent Indian fan for the past 5 years or so. This was because, Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest and most gentlemanesque cricketer nicked a ball but din't walk. This made me feel really bad although he deserved this wrong decision as he has been suffering for a long time because of bad decisions. Usually, he is a sort of batsman who walks when he feels that he has nicked it. But, maybe, today he din't because of the fact that he hadn't realized that he had nicked it because it was the faintest edges and he was going for an expansive shot. I have also witnessed quite a few decisions like this and most of them featured an Aussie which is one of the biggest insults to one of the greatest teams. So, now, I am almost sure that the spirit of cricket will be questioned. So, what do you people think about this? Is it right, on the part of a batsman to walk if he feels that he has nicked the ball? Have your say!! Cheers!! Btw, Men in Blue rocked today!! They rock forever!!!

Yours Sachin fanatically,
VJ

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

A very hot topic indeed and the most needed one now too..spirit of the game has gone down these days..technology has not been conclusive enuf to giv a decision..umpiring standards hav become very poor too so its impt tat players leav the grnd if they think tat they hav nicked it..today sachin's act was bad..i ws disappointed being a big of him..finally,its in the hands of players to restore the spirit of the game again..hope it happens so tat ardent fans lik us enjoy the game wit as much spirit..

ramesh said...

hey i have told u bout tis...
yu want me to comment again...????
i wil blast at u...

Anonymous said...

Yes you said the right words; cricket should be played with right spirit. Nowadays many cricketers are playing it to earn money and fame. Due to all this the seriousness of the game is diminishing.

venkat said...

Yeah i too heard the news from many more.Players want to diminish these kinds of acts.

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