Published: Feb 10, 2016, 10:52 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 10, 2016, 10:52 AM (IST)
Brendon McCullum will probably be the last person to be accused of violation of game’s spirit but that is what happened after end of the third ODI against Australia which saw New Zealand win and in turn sealing the series 2-1.
Tempers run wild and tension prevails every time Australia and New Zealand meet on the cricket field, especially in New Zealand. The Kiwis don’t appreciate their big neighbours, and this is no secret. The crowds get behind their team and don’t mind launching a vicious attack on the Australian players. The same spirit rubs off on the players of these two teams at times and the third and the last ODI of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy was a good example. ALSO READ: Brendon McCullum exits with Chappell-Hadlee Trophy; Mitchell Marsh angry, Steve Smith booed: Twitter reactions
The wicket of Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who was given out caught and bowled by New Zealand seamer Matt Henry despite umpire Ian Gould had not hearing an appeal and a slow-motion replay on the giant screen triggering the decision, started it all. Skipper McCullum asked the umpire to refer the decision to the TV umpire after watching the replay, which according to many was against the spirit of the game.
By the time the replay had appeared on the screen, Henry had already reached to his bowling mark and was preparing for the next ball. All Henry did was a gentle appeal and according to many Australian fans the Kiwis had not appealed. The dismissal lead to a furore as Marsh left the field frustrated and bewildered. Australian wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade too then had a heated verbal exchange with New Zealand’s Grant Elliott.
Prominent English journalist Mark Reason, who now lives in New Zealand, didn’t mince his words in criticising the outgoing Black Caps captain’s actions, and the process that led to Marsh’s dismissal. He wrote in his column for stuff.co.nz, “The players and the umpires did not decide the Chappell-Hadlee one day series between New Zealand and Australia. A hometown television producer and a baying mob pressed the requisite buttons.”
“And when press came to shove, when tempers were on edge and the match was on the line, the Black Caps and their captain abandoned the spirit of cricket and showed it to be ‘the Great Sham’ that some of us always knew it to be.” Ironically, McCullum had won the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket award last year for fair play. The result notwithstanding, this was certainly not the way he would have hoped to end his career.”
However, in the end the right decision was made and even Australian captain Steve Smith admitted that but the process was questionable. Maybe the Kiwis have set so high standards for themselves that this incident is pinching others but Australians should be the last people to complain, isn’t it?
