Renowned commentator, Harsha Bhogle has given a new turn to the ‘Spirit of the Game’ debate that sparked last weekend. It all started after Alex Carey’s smartness stumped Jonny Bairstow stumped before the Lunch Break of Lord’s Test on Day five. The English wicketkeeper batter left the crease before the umpire could call the over.
Carey, who is claimed to have watched Bairstow leaving a few times before, threw the ball on the stumps via underarm. Notably, the incident sparked an unusual behavior from the MCC members at Lord’s. Some of them started heckling the Aussie player in several videos going viral. Since then, the cricket fraternity has been divided over the matter. On the other hand, there are several videos of former and current England keepers doing the same have been going viral.
I cracked the Hypocrisy code: Harsha Bhogle’s friend
As the conversation has been going on, Bhogle entered the chat with a different insight. Although this particular insight is not very surprising, the renowned commentator’s friend has said that the English media and the players are ‘crying’ over the issue only because the result went against their favor.
“A childhood friend of mine, a professor in the US has, I think, got it absolutely right on this Bairstow issue: “I figured it out!!!! I cracked the Hypocrisy code You have to invoke the ‘Laws’ of Cricket when the decision is ‘IN your favour’ You have to invoke the ‘Spirit’ of Cricket when the decision is ‘NOT in your favour’,” Bhogle wrote on Twitter.
Notably, in between the old videos of English wicketkeepers stumping out batters in unusual ways (that might not come under the Spirit of the Game) have been viral, one particular video in relation to Bairstow has been going viral. The video is from Day Three of the Lord’s Test. In this, he tried to stump out Marnus Labuschagne in the same manner but failed miserably.
This is how Twitter reacted
Sir with all due respect, it doesn’t take a professor in the US to figure out England team’s ethics standards! ?
— Sanjeev (@geniusparadox) July 4, 2023
Be like 'Good Blokes' NZ, Accept that everything is by cricket law and walk away with your spirit high instead making a fuss about it. pic.twitter.com/PEZX2myYV2
— CriXpert (@CapsNClaps) July 4, 2023
Let’s uplift the spirit of game by giving a second chance to the batsmen who edge it to the slips. C’mon, cricket is a gentleman’s game ?
— Nirmal Jyothi (@majornirmal) July 4, 2023
Absolutely on point Sir. Laws of Cricket and Spirit of Cricket are two different things. It's totally up to the team captain which way to go and in the end we all should respect the final decision out of both outcomes. Because, both are valid when it comes to the game ?. #Ashes
— Rajesh?? (@iamrajeshjena) July 4, 2023
Problem is that the laws are not based on values and spirit of the game. They are made such that you could use them to your convenience. How is a law bereft of value and spirit.
— Rahul Taneja (@RahulTaneja69) July 4, 2023
Cricket, like any complex institution, is built upon a duality of principles.
Balancing these two dimensions is an art in itself, requiring a deep understanding of the intricacies of cricket and a genuine appreciation for its ethos.
Let the soul of cricket shine through!
— Amit Misra (@amit6060) July 4, 2023
It can be called the 'Rule of Convenience ' 🙂
— Modern Kabir (@VinayakSapre1) July 4, 2023
Wrong Harsha. Australia was winning the game. They should have just let this go
— Joshydgr8 (@joshydgr8) July 4, 2023
Bingo !!!
— Chef Meghna Kamdar ?? (@MeghnaFoodMagic) July 4, 2023
100% true
— Amitabh Verma (@amitabh26) July 4, 2023
