The Fine Line: Would You Walk?

Surely every cricket aficionado has witnessed or experienced an instance of the umpire getting a call wrong.

As a batsman, you edge the ball and are caught by the keeper but the umpire doesn't signal anything. Keeping the circumstances of the match in mind, do you stay or walk?

On the other hand, a batsman is adjudged LBW but it's obvious to the fielding side that bat was involved. As the captain of the fielding side, do you bring the batsman back or take the gift from the umpire? Do you follow the path of "integrity" even if you're confident that the opposition wouldn't do the same when it was your turn to bat?

Just wondering what your stances are on this issue.

This season i'm goign to take the moral high ground and walk, not coplain at the umpires decision or sulk after not getting a bowl.

My stance normaly is 'you not allowed to stay at your crease when you know you haven't hit it so why should you walk when the umpire says you haven't?'

Im not a regualr player but twice when I played in my youth I walked when I knew I was out without waiting for the Umpire. One of my teammates gave me some stick in the pub after the game but the rest of the lads stuck up for me and they respected my actions.

I dont question Umpires so I would not question his decision in the feildng scenario.

Then again....staying the crease and shouting "F**k you" to the bowler you has just got you seems to be the way to go

I usually walked, but one match I smacked the cover off it down the leg side and didn't walk, as the match was close and I was captain.

I was out two balls later. Damn karma.

No chance

I've walked - bowlers don't get enough encouragement as it is.

Never walked in my life. I need as many runs as I can get.

It always depends on the circumstances - the score you're on; the situation of the match; your opponents; your place in the team; if you've copped some poor decisions recently etc. They're all factors that come into it for virtually everyone, I dare say. Very, very few people would be totally unconditional walkers.

If I could see it was clearly out I would always walk, but anything close, or that I wasn't 100% convinced I was out, I would wait for the umpire. My conscience is probably too high for me to be able to stay at the crease knowing I'd hit the ball, particularly in a tight match. I do not have a problem with players not walking or walking.

Besides, most of the time I don't even get anywhere near the ball.

In the first match of last season we were sent in on a greentop, I opened up and we were 4 down in quick time.

I batted to about 30* after about and hour, hour and a half maybe, and I edged one through to the keeper. It was a rather windy day and the umpire didn't hear it, and I stood my ground. Copped a lot of stick and eventually got out for 48 [I actually got out in the 40's 7 times this season, and didn't go past 50. ]

So, in short, no, I don't walk and never will.

no way do i walk, mind u theres only 1 time in my life i can think of when i was given not out when i knew i was out and theres probably 3 dozen times i could name when i was given out when i clearly wasnt...

As howardj said, it depends on the circumstances. I can't conclusively say I would walk every time, but I try to be honest.

A couple of seasons ago I was at the crease on 20-odd (which took me two hours), we were nine down needing another 60 runs or so chasing 330. Medium pacer came on to bowl, I missed an attempted drive off the front foot and didn't have my back foot behind the line. The 'keeper appealed for a stumping but the umpire gave me not out on the basis that my foot was on the line (though not behind it). There was some confusion in the fielding side with some insisting that on the line is out, and some saying that it wasn't. I knew that I should've been given out, but didn't walk. The next ball I attempted the same shot, got an edge and walked without waiting for the umpire, though to be fair it was a pretty obvious edge and there was little chance that we'd make the required runs.

So to answer the question - I don't know.

From personal experience i would never walk under any circumstances and would never call a batsmen back unless the decision was extremely unfair- this only happend once.

Not sure. Never really had a chance to. The one time that I think something came up, we were 8 down with two bunnies to come (if they're batting behind me, they're bunnies), and we needed to bat out about fifteen overs to tie it. I was bowled a yorker that hit me right on the foot, dead in front of middle stump, and my bat was nowhere near it in my mind, and I definitely didn't hit it. The umpire laughed off the halfhearted appeal, with everyone but my partner at the other end fairly sure it wasn't out. I almost walked, just because I thought he'd have given it out. But he didn't, and I sure as hell wasn't going to. So I guess no, I wouldn't walk.

I've always walked, whatever the situation. I have no problem with non-walkers though.

Pedro Delgado said:

I've always walked, whatever the situation. I have no problem with non-walkers though.

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What if you get selected for England and face Australia in the World Cup final next year? 2 balls remaining, scores levelled, Australia will win in the case of a tie, you're the #11 batsman. (yes, anderson got dropped) McGrath bowls a good-length delivery and gets a faint edge. You know you should be out but Rudi Koertzen misses it because of the noisy, raucous Bridgetown crowd. The entire English CW community is waiting to either worship or kill you based on what you do. You gonna walk?

adharcric said:

What if you get selected for England and face Australia in the World Cup final next year? 2 balls remaining, scores levelled, Australia will win in the case of a tie, you're the #11 batsman. (yes, anderson got dropped) McGrath bowls a good-length delivery and gets a faint edge. You know you should be out but Rudi Koertzen misses it because of the noisy, raucous Bridgetown crowd. The entire English CW community is waiting to either worship or kill you based on what you do. You gonna walk?

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A ridiculous scenario, but yes I would walk without a second thought. You either walk or you don't, walkers walk whatever the situation otherwise what's the point?

No walking for me.