England V India ***Clash of the Heavyweights*** Test, T20 and ODI Series

That's a load of *******s if you ask me. If it was the other way around England would have taken the wicket too.

Bell made a mistake and got away with it. Look at Morgan's reaction, says it all....

Spirit of the game?

Out is out.
 
Why was Morgan still there then? The sweater was given after the incident so the ball was dead after the incident. It's up to the batter to be 100% sure and that is why Morgan waited.

DAnDan said:
Agreed on that point, the blame lies solely with India for causing the whole debacle to begin with, but as it's been resolved we can move on.
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No the blame lies with Bell for assuming the ball was dead.
 
Alpherah said:
It should have been dealt with on the pitch, thats the fact of the matter.
He saw sense in the end, which is good.
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Genuinely, I'm not convinced Dhoni grasped entirely what had actually happened until they got off pitch. I looked like a massive cockup on bells part though.

Pity the indians were booed out, but the crowd didn't know Dhoni had done what he did. Credit to the Indians imho.
 
sigma said:
Spirit of the game?
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I was equally critical of Strauss for refusing Smith (i think?) a runner back when.

Call me old fashioned but the spirit of the game should be upheld because its the only thing separating it from descending into another hatred driven sport like Football.
 
Fair play to Dhoni for withdrawing the appeal. OK it was a legal appeal but not within the spirit of the game. Loved Atherton's comments on Sky Sports that Dhoni went from villain to hero in 5 seconds. :D If Bell is correct in saying the umpire(s) called 'over' then they are the cause of this mess and India just took advantage of it.

manic111 said:
Much as I respect Dhoni for that, I'd have loved to have seen the aftermath of the day's play if Bell had remained out. Would have been utterly mental.
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Would have been utter hilarity. :D
 
Alpherah said:
I was equally critical of Strauss for refusing Smith (i think?) a runner back when.

Call me old fashioned but the spirit of the game should be upheld because its the only thing separating it from descending into another hatred driven sport like Football.
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How were they acting against the spirit of the game, they did nothing wrong? Ball wasn't called dead, no batter in the crease.

What would England have done? Exactly the same....

Morgan's reaction says it all.
 
sigma said:
How were they acting against the spirit of the game, they did nothing wrong? Ball wasn't called dead, no batter in the crease.

What would England have done? Exactly the same....
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And as i said, it would have been equally <swear>ish if England did the same.
Everyone thought the ball was dead, so it should be considered to be.
 
sigma said:
No the blame lies with Bell for assuming the ball was dead.
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Not at all, anyone watching/on the pitch could see what was happening, it's simply bad play and completely against the spirit of the game (as much as I hate that phrase, cricket is one of the few times where I feel it's genuinely applicable) to do what they did. Obviously India saw it too when they had the chance to view the replays over dinner, otherwise they wouldn't have retraced their appeal.
 
Alpherah said:
And as i said, it would have been equally <swear>ish if England did the same.
Everyone thought the ball was dead, so it should be considered to be.
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:confused:

If everyone thought the ball was dead why did they take the wicket?

The bowler didn't move, the slips walked towards the wickets and the keeper caught the ball.

Where is this spirit of the game written then? Where does it start and where does it end?
 
It would do well for anyone who is questioning whether the 'spirit of the game' is something to abide by, that the Preamble to the Laws of Cricket makes specific mention of this very fact.

Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game.

Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself. The major responsibility for ensuring the spirit of fair play rests with the captains.
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It is pretty clear that getting a wicket by inadvertent deception is not within the spirit of the game - and Dhoni did exactly the right thing IMO.
 
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Hmmm...the more I watch it, the more I do wonder. If Morgan thought the ball was live, Bell should have done as well. Over hadn't been called, and Bell really should have stayed in his ground. Careless.

At the same time, Bell was clearly going off for tea, and if that happened at any other point during the match Bell wouldn't have left his ground. Really difficult. No idea who's right. Bell's out under the law, and I think the question of the spirit of the game is more grey than is being made out here.

What I do love is that cricket can do this. There would have been the potential for a political row over this, let alone a cricketing one. No other sport in the world is tied that greatly into politics. Remarkable.
 
sigma said:
How were they acting against the spirit of the game, they did nothing wrong? Ball wasn't called dead, no batter in the crease.

What would England have done? Exactly the same....

Morgan's reaction says it all.
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He was at fault for sure but only a fool would consider he was attempting a further run. He was making for the pavilion, wrongly I agree but in the spirit of the game you don't capitalize on an error of that nature.

You might disagree but I would say that you don't therefore know cricket.
 
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