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That’s barely controversial, absolutely brain dead from Bairstow there. I hate the English media and ECB whining about the spirit of the game for something like this
He can only blame himself but its an outrageous circumstance and its easier to aim that outrage at opposition/officiating.
I must admit, I nearly turned it off at that point in frustration/protest. Glad I didn’t.
Yeah agree about it being easier to direct the outrage elsewhere. I think the fan response to the spirit of the game is becoming more important than what actually happens on the pitch.
I mean it would obviously be a bit hypocritical as a Kiwi to say the Aussies were wrong given we’ve got people out in similar fashions. But clearly Bairstow goofed here; the ball wasn’t dead and he just wandered out. Its a dumb dismissal sure, and but its equally dumb that he did it, and that the Aussies appealed it. Either way, appealing to the spirit of sportsmanship or cricket or whatever has long gone.
I’m English. Think it was just stupid from Bairstow.
I don’t think the English would have withdrawn I’m the same circumstances, no matter what they say.
Yeah didn’t we have a run in at one point where there was a collision between batsman & fielder and Collingwood appealed for the wicket? I can’t remember if it was eventually withdrawn or not but I know our kiwi players were steaming at the time.
- Bairstow was an idiot for walking down the pitch before the ball was clearly dead
- If the Aussies were good sports, they would have withdrawn the appeal
Both these things can be true.
I just don’t get why they’d withdraw the appeal or why anyone would try and coax them into it. It’s not a mankading. He walked straight out, and Carey threw the ball directly at the stumps after catching.
I’d say the spirit of the game is about things like walking after you’ve nicked the ball, or admitting you didn’t catch a ball. If Carey had waited for Bairstow to leave this crease and then stumped him I think there’s a better case for the ball being dead but also for the spirit of the game argument. But that’s not the case here
Yeah but the latter requires an arbitrary interpretation of the spirit of the game which is dependent on outcome
I don’t think so, personally. He clearly was not trying to go for a run. He thought it was dead ball.
Aus were completely entitled to go for the dismissal, and the English reaction is way over the top. But it’s hardly good sportmanship. They got a wicket not through playing well, or even the other side playing poorly, but thru someone misunderstanding the state of the game.
He thought it was dead ball.
Exactly. Bairstow made a dumb mistake and as a result, he got out. The ‘spirit of cricket’ doesn’t mean you get a second chance if you do something dumb, otherwise Khawaja shouldn’t have been out when he shouldered arms and was bowled. “Oops that was silly of me. Can I have it over again?”
There was nothing deceitful about this - it’s not like they claimed a catch when they knew it hit the ground. The batter made a mistake and lost his wicket.
Not the same thing. One is a misjudgement that is part of the game (judging where your off stump is is a fundamental part of cricket).
One is a misjudgement about the state of the game, and doesn’t really relate to the core skills of the game.
As I said, Aus were will within their rights to do what they did. But other teams have withdrawn appeals in similar situations, and that is considered good sportsmanship. You can debate whether that has a place in the game or not, but Aus could have withdrawn their appeal, it wouldn’t have been unprecedented, and would have reflected well on them, at least from neutral’s perspectives.
Batting isn’t just the skill of hitting a ball, it’s also the athleticism and tactics of running. The batsman’s position in relation to the crease is a fundamental concept in batting tactics. This is absolutely not a case where the batsman would generally be considered ok to absent-mindedly wander outside the crease, such as for the off-strike batsman during a bowler’s run-up. There is no substance to the principle argument like with a mankad-style dismissal, just the vague suggestion that the fielding team should reasonably allow the batsman to self-determine whether the ball is live or dead.
It’s really not a neutral-sounding argument. McCullum has dismissed the same way, Bairstow has attempted to dismiss the same way, yet you’re holding Australia to this imaginary standard of sportsmanship which none of the involved parties can hope to live up to.
There’s no controversy here, or at least, there shouldn’t be. What was he walking down the pitch for?
Jarrod Kimber’s summary includes the runout I referenced in my earlier reply; but also sums up pretty well the Bairstow situation
