Mac attack off target
Why Canes had every right to ask if Ross changed his line
PREACHING your beliefs on the Spirit of Cricket is like preaching God in the bus mall — not everyone will come with you on the journey, and you might even get a banana skin thrown at you.
So when Brendon McCullum leapt high into the air and landed on his trusty steed named Righteousness — whose mane could reach the moon — to pour the holy water of cricketing spirit upon the freckled forehead of George Bailey, he must have known that the position of he and Righteousness would be questioned.
“Personally I don’t think it was the right decision. We are not righteous in our stance on the spirit of the game BUT every now and then you get a chance to stand up to the spirit of cricket and tonight George and the Hurricanes missed that opportunity.” So says McCullum, while using Righteousness as a shield.
It’s like when you start a sentence that is set to do no more than disrespect someone with “no disrespect”.
It is the single greatest foil for disrespect. It leaves you open to say whatever you damn well want.
And on this occasion McCullum used it to ensure Bailey felt uncomfortable with the decision to allow the dangerous Alex Ross to walk off the ground, having been dismissed by way of obstructing the field.
Unfortunately for Brendon, it was Righteousness that blinded his view from the fact that George was well within the rights of common sense to ask the umpire if Ross had in fact changed his running line.
For those who are unaware, the rule was reworded only recently, and if you put yourself in a position where you change your running line to be in the way of the stumps and get hit you are in big strife.
Only three years ago, as playing coach of Glenorchy, I was teaching our first-grade group to run in the target line (stumps) of the thrower. Why?
Obviously, better it hits you than the stumps. And second, by engaging a little cunning, you have the chance of your
It’s like when you start a sentence that is set to do no more than disrespect someone with “no disrespect”. It is the single greatest foil for disrespect.
bat “accidentally” making contact with the ball, sending it to the boundary.
Of course, you wouldn’t take any extra runs if you made contact — hey, gotta respect the Spirit — but if it goes for four, then you got the chance to sing songs of your cunning brilliance.
This rule change was made to simply negate those with no affiliation to the spirit of the game.
Those dirty scoundrels who are looking for ways to exploit the intricacies that make our game so unique.
Like the well hidden bottle top; clicking your fingers from the cordon as the ball goes past the outside edge of the bat; calling yes from the cordon to confuse the two batsmen into running; getting hit above the knee roll and rubbing the inside of your thigh; sliding metres over the boundary line to save four when you are alone on the far side of the ground and the like.
Had that ball not propelled from Ross’s bat and on to the stumps, it would have most definitely reached the boundary. And what happens then?
In the games I played, and made contact with bat on ball from the throw, there was most definitely uproar and cries of it being an intentional act.
How would McCullum and his horse react to that?
About as well as then Captain of Kingborough, Adam Maher, I’d imagine.
And no, I am still not sorry, Ranbuild Man.