Published: Sep 08, 2015, 12:35 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 09, 2015, 12:07 AM (IST)
Former Australian cricketer and the current coach of the Yorkshire county team Jason Gillespie has said that England captain Eoin Morgan has ‘contravened’ the spirit of cricket by questioning the decision on Ben Stokes during the second One-Day International (ODI) at Lord’s. Stokes became the first England cricketer in the history of ODIs when he was adjudged OUT for obstructing the field as Australia sealed a 64-run win to take a 2-0 lead in the ongoing five-match series. Stokes’ dismissal sparked an angry response from the English camp, with many claiming that Australian skipper Steven Smith should have withdrawn the appeal and have recalled the batsman. SCORECARD: England vs Australia, 2nd ODI at Lord’s
Gillespie, who was in race to become England coach a few months back, has extended his support to Smith, saying the Australian captain was right in making that decision. ALSO READ: Trevor Bayliss wants England to move on after contentious incident
Gillespie wrote in his blog for The Guardian, “I don’t think this was immaturity from Smith, as some have claimed. If he was a wise old pro at 36 or starting out as captain at 26, as he is now, I fancy he would have had the same conviction in sticking to the appeal. In doing so, Smith believed himself to be going with the decision of the officials and therefore operating within the spirit. Smith has been very harshly treated by those criticising him and also the supporters who booed him at Lord’s. He was playing according to the laws of the game and that is within the spirit. Others will say: ‘Dizzy, you’re wrong, he was out of order to stand his ground’.” ALSO READ: Ben Stokes dismissal: England’s handling of the situation was dismal
“And this is it, the Spirit of Cricket — which, judging by the reactions, is something greater than the preamble to the laws we have at present – means different things to different people and countries. You could, for example, argue that the England one-day captain, Eoin Morgan, was contravening it by questioning the decision of the officials and the integrity of his opponent at Lord’s on Saturday evening,” he added.
The former pacer said Stokes was OUT, and had he been the umpire, his decision would have remained the same. ALSO READ: 8 instances when cricketers were dismissed ‘Obstructing the Field’
“We are going to need something more specific than the mystical Spirit of Cricket if incidents like the dismissal of Ben Stokes on Saturday are not going to erupt into a war of words in future. First, the wicket. Stokes, for me, was OUT by the letter of the law. It’s a case of interpretation, of course, and in this instance the two on-field umpires said not out but the third umpire, Joel Wilson, overruled them. Like me, he believed Stokes’s arm had no right to be where it was and therefore he was obstructing the field,” he said.
He continued, “There are different readings of Law 37. The wording is grey and opinion is divided. That is fine but what frustrates in these instances, given we are supposed to accept the decision of the officials, is when the Spirit of Cricket is used by some to suggest Steve Smith, the Australia captain, should have recalled the batsman and by not doing so, he was somehow damaging the game.”
England and Australia will resume their rivalry on Tuesday, when they will clash at Manchester in the third ODI. Australia lead the series 2-0 after two impressive wins at Cardiff and Lord’s.
