England vs India

[Spy Bee]

Well thankfully your captain does believe in the spirit of the game. I am totally in favour of playing hard cricket, but I think it is vital that we retain the spirit of cricket.

[Yozzer]

Well played Bell.

[Indian Red]

He gave in to pressure. And spirit of cricket means different things to different people. Lets say now Sachin gets a nick onto his pads and gets given LBW, but he goes to Strauss and says look mate you know I nicked it, please withdraw yer appeal, will that happen. Fuckin stinks this. You fuck up and we are supposed to do things by how you see fit. If we dont, its just not cricket the so called gentlemans game.

 

Fuck that. Spirit of cricket my arse.

[Spy Bee]

The LBW analagy is not a fair one. LBW's have always been an area of the game where the umpires call is final. We could have DRS which would correct the mistake in that you outline in the scenario with Tendulka, but India chose not to have that feature available.

 

One of the great things about cricket is the spirit of the game. Dhoni deserves a lot of credit for maintaining that.

 

You seem like quite a balanced guy, you have a chip on both shoulders.

[Yozzer]

He gave in to pressure. And spirit of cricket means different things to different people. Lets say now Sachin gets a nick onto his pads and gets given LBW, but he goes to Strauss and says look mate you know I nicked it, please withdraw yer appeal, will that happen. Fuckin stinks this. You fuck up and we are supposed to do things by how you see fit. If we dont, its just not cricket the so called gentlemans game.

 

Fuck that. Spirit of cricket my arse.

 

If Tendulkar nicked it onto his pads, then there is no way Strauss stood at first slip would see it. That decision would be the umpires fault and has nothing to do with the spirit of the game. Unless you expect Strauss to become umpire from behind the stumps.

[lifetime fan]

He's out now anyway.

[Pidge]

Cricket to us is very similar to f00tb@11 to you.

 

What, ruined by unsporting idiots?

[Spy Bee]

Nice swing there from Kumar. Shows how hard it might be to bat against the new ball.

[Jairzinho]

The LBW analagy is not a fair one. LBW's have always been an area of the game where the umpires call is final. We could have DRS which would correct the mistake in that you outline in the scenario with Tendulka, but India chose not to have that feature available.

 

One of the great things about cricket is the spirit of the game. Dhoni deserves a lot of credit for maintaining that.

 

You seem like quite a balanced guy, you have a chip on both shoulders.

 

Hang on, the umpires call should always been final, Shirley?

 

I'm all for sportsmanship, and love the fact that in this regard its absolutely nothing like the game which we can't speak of, but essentially we've seen some utter stupidity from Bell (of which the penny dropped about halfway down the wicket).

 

Whats needed is consistency, and its incredibly hard to find any if we don't apply the laws of the game unequivocally.

 

I think I'm happy with the outcome of what has happened here, and I mean as a cricket fan, rather than as an England fan (which I am), but it still leaves a sour taste. You wouldn't get away with it in a club game.

[Yozzer]

The ball is hooping around everywhere.

[Indian Red]

Replace Strauss with the fielder at short leg. Spirit of cricket works both ways. I dont expect any of you to get that though.

 

@ Pidge naa I mean wanting to win at all costs if within the rules. If Stevie was blatantly offside against the mancs and they stopped but the lino dint flag would you want him to go on and score or not? If you want him to stop, yer a better man than I am. Per the rules he doesnt have to stop unless he`s flagged.

Likewise, the rules said he was out, nowt cheating about it. That is what I was getting at when I said they are similar. If we are beating someone without cheating, I dont want to give that advantage away. Shankly had similar sentiments regarding the offside rule gaining advantage, etc.

 

Which is why I am fuming. I reckon he gave in to the pressure being booed and all. He is our captain, he shouldnt pander to your requests when you fuck up. That is how I see it and I stand by it. Neg away for the footy analogies, unsporting attitude, etc. The whole scenario stinks for me. I dont buy the whole spirit of cricket-english game and all of that bollocks. If the roles were reversed, I am sure Strauss would have acted very differently and I would nto have begrudged him that.

[Joe Le Taxi]

Indian Red there is still a difference between what has happened and your shit analogies. Remember God against Arsenal where he claimed it shouldn't have been a penalty? The right decision can be made and yet both teams can still keep their integrity.

[Yozzer]

If you go up to the Umpire as a fielder and tell him his decision is wrong regarding a LBW decision then you are questioning his decision making ability which is against the rules of cricket.

 

It's a sad day when I start considering Cricket to be on a par with football regarding integrity and sportsmanship.

 

If the roles were reversed, I would have wanted the same decision to be made (unless it was Sreesanth)

[Spy Bee]

I've already answered your LBW scenario. It's a moot point. You are acting like a child.

[PiranhaBill]

Just for the record, Indian Red is 100% correct. Strauss going to ask them is one of the most embarressing things I've heard any sportsman do let alone an England Captain.

 

Players take advantages of opposition mistakes to win games - Its frankly the basis of every sport. Ian Bell, if he had the spirit of the game at heart, should have said thanks but no thanks and took his pads off. He messed up and should learn from it. All he actually learnt is that if you whinge you get let off.

[PiranhaBill]

If you go up to the Umpire as a fielder and tell him his decision is wrong regarding a LBW decision then you are questioning his decision making ability which is against the rules of cricket.

 

It's a sad day when I start considering Cricket to be on a par with football regarding integrity and sportsmanship.

 

If the roles were reversed, I would have wanted the same decision to be made (unless it was Sreesanth)

 

Stepping out of your crease before the ball is dead is a rule in cricket too. Or do you own a cricket rule book that has "unless you're stupid" after every rule. Bell was stupid. Tough shit.

 

Strauss has gone against the spirit of the game by appealling within the dressing room.

[Spy Bee]

You wouldn't get away with it in a club game.

You absolutely would. Whether a captain of a club side had the good grace to withdraw their appeal is another matter.

[Yozzer]

Stepping out of your crease before the ball is dead is a rule in cricket too. Or do you own a cricket rule book that has "unless you're stupid" after every rule. Bell was stupid. Tough shit.

 

Strauss has gone against the spirit of the game by appealling within the dressing room.

 

He used a comparison of a fielder telling the umpire that his LBW decision was wrong and the situation we have with Bell. One is questioning the integrity of the umpire, the other one required common sense and thankfully the correct decision was made by Dhoni. If he really believed that Bell should have been out then he would have stuck with his decision as he is a strong enough character to do so.

[Jairzinho]

You absolutely would. Whether a captain of a club side had the good grace to withdraw their appeal is another matter.

 

I've probably seen a similar occasion happen five or six times. Every single one of which was given out with very little moaning from anyone. A general acceptance that somebody was very stupid, and punished for being so.

 

If I'd done what Bell did I certainly wouldn't expect to be given any grace by the opposition's captain. I'd feel like a complete twat, and probably apologise to my own captain.

 

India were undoubtedly a bit sneeky. They exploited the batsman's poor judgement. What I don't understand is the expectancy that Dhoni should have withdrawn his appeal. He did, under some pressure from Flower and Strauss it would appear, and should be applauded for it, but a grey area remains within the game, and this will inevitably cause more problems in the future.

[Spy Bee]

You don't go off for tea in village cricket, so there is no direct comparison. I think most sensible people think this has been the correct outcome in the end.

[Jairzinho]

You don't go off for tea in village cricket, so there is no direct comparison. I think most sensible people think this has been the correct outcome in the end.

 

Have you ever played cricket?

[Spy Bee]

Yes. Wherever I have played you bat for fifty overs, or until you are out, then have tea at the change of innings. Maybe it is different depending on your location?

[Spy Bee]

Great knock this from Prior.

[PiranhaBill]

He used a comparison of a fielder telling the umpire that his LBW decision was wrong and the situation we have with Bell. One is questioning the integrity of the umpire, the other one required common sense and thankfully the correct decision was made by Dhoni. If he really believed that Bell should have been out then he would have stuck with his decision as he is a strong enough character to do so.

The correct decision for England was made by Dhoni after being pressurised by the England management team in England which had no effect on his decision at all. It was the wrong decision in the end no matter how much you dress it up. You talk about challenging the umpire's authority when we've just seen 3 umpires come to the correct decision but be over-ridden by a deal behind closed doors after the event.

 

Basically, the rules of cricket are now abandoned if you claim to not understand them? or take advantage of the oppositions error of judgement?

[Joe Le Taxi]

Spy Bee ruling here.