Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi slides over the boundary rope to save a boundary and then runs out Ed Joyce from the following throw in. (Photo: Cricket Europe)
Recently at Stormont, we saw the type of incident that even the international umpires had difficulty in dealing with. A player slides to the boundary, the ball appears to have been stopped, then agonisingly rolls to the rope and the player’s reaction is to stop it. But he has touched or slid over the rope? With TV cameras, umpires can check in slow motion but for umpires fifty meters away, it is not easy. The umpire asked the player who assured him that it was a fair stop ………but the photographic evidence showed otherwise. The captain was asked by the umpires whether he wanted to the appeal to stand and he confirmed he did.
Unfortunately for Mohammad Nabi, the ever alert Barry Chambers caught the moment on camera which led to the Level 1 report and an official reprimand for the player.
The running out of Ed Joyce changed the course of the game and often such incidents do - Irelands best batsman in the series was out. With official umpires it helps, as the decision is taken away from the players who want to win.
Without official umpires, it falls back on the players to show respect for their fellow players; cricket has been based on the mutual respect and honesty of the players and it is one of the few sports to do so. Other sports use respect as a mantra for competitions but in cricket there is the Spirit of Cricket by which all players, no matter what, should abide. So whatever happens, the Spirit of Cricket should prevail. Somewhere between a honest mistake and cheating, there is a player who is just not sure. There is nothing wrong with admitting that one is not sure and letting others decide.
Properly marked boundaries by a line or a rope should be provided as this avoids interpretation of where the boundary is.
Our club games in the lower divisions without official umpires, need to have issues resolved between the players in the Spirit of Cricket and it is up to the clubs and captains to set the standards that are expected of their players. The longer clubs and captains ignore their role in maintaining standards, the more that the Spirit of Cricket will be undermined.
Derek Dockrell. 23rd July 2016