Murali's run out and the spirit of the game.

[PhoenixFire]

I'm sure that by now most of you will be aware of the controversional circumstances in which SL's Muttiah Muralitharan was run out today, but were NZ right to run him out, and does the 'Spirit of Cricket' hold any meaning any more?

 

[grecian]

It was a disgrace IMO, all involved could see he wasn't going for a run.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I'd have done it. It's a Test match; you just don't wander out your crease and expect to get away with it.

Had a similar instance in an U13 game last year actually, batsman struck on the pads (not LBW) and then just stood out of his crease as the ball rolled to slip... who wandered up and flicked the bails off.

 

[adharcric]

Pathetic but so was Murali.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Pathetic but so was Murali.

What about him was?

 

[BoyBrumby]

Yeah, no issues here. To draw an analogy with football, I'd say it's roughly the moral equivalent of a striker having an open goal to aim after an opposing keeper has slipped whilst taking a goal-kick and accidentally passing the ball to him. It would be unprofessional for the attacker not to put the ball in the empty net & it would've been remiss of McCullum not to whip the bails off.

 

[adharcric]

What about him was?

His being stupid enough to leave the crease to celebrate while the ball was still in the outfield.

 

[Goughy]

I didnt like it but that doesnt make it wrong.

 

[adharcric]

I didnt like it but that doesnt make it wrong.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[silentstriker]

Murali's fault. The spirit of the game is bunch of BS anyway. I mean do you hear what the players say to each other out in the middle?

 

[archie mac]

Personally I thought it was a disgrace

 

[silentstriker]

Although, from now on, no NZ'er can ever complain about the underarm bowling.

 

[nightprowler10]

Was the ball still mid-air during the return throw when it happened? If so then Murali should've stayed in his crease, simple as.

 

[silentstriker]

Was the ball still mid-air during the return throw when it happened? If so then Murali should've stayed in his crease, simple as.

Yes, it was. I was one of the few people that watched it live. The SL dressing room was classic...Jayaurya literlaly said, "What the ****?"

 

[nightprowler10]

Yes, it was.

Well in that case I don't think McCullum did anything wrong at all. The whole 'spirit of the game' thing doesn't apply here as far as I am concerned. It goes along the lines of the Perzynski incident that year when the White Sox won the World Series.

 

[PhoenixFire]

The thing was though, was that he clearly wasn't trying to steal a run or anything, just congratulating Sangakkara.

 

[age_master]

Id have run him out too, it wouldn't have hurt him to wait a few seconds for the ball to become dead.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

This is the way the modern game is. Australia knew that Andrew Strauss wasn't out in the Second Innings at Adelaide but they happily appealed and sent him on his way. If there was such a thing as "spirit of the game" that wouldn't happen either.

(NB. I'm not singling out Australia or making out that it cost England the game, that was just the most recent example.)

 

[grecian]

Yes I watched it too, and Murali clearly tapped his bat down, before walking out to congratulate Sanga.

 

[The Baconator]

Don't really have any problem with this, Murali should have known better. Must also say I've done it myself before, when a guy was out off a no-ball but didn't realise, luckily for me he was only a spinner though so there was no retaliation later in the match.