Lord's Day 5 and Fallout!

You could not have written a script for what happened today. Even Aaron Sorkin would have struggled, though there would have been some great dialogue if he did. 

Speaking of dialogue, it seems like we won't be hearing much of it from the NRL in the coming week, as the players' association have placed their players in a media ban as part of their protest in the stalling of negotiations in the NRL collective agreement. Is it just me, or has that protest done much of the viewing public a favour as we don't have to hear "we'll take it one set at a time", or "credit to the boys", or the seldom heard "I couldn't possibly go out on the cans with the boys after that win, I've got to drive home and do some chores around the house". But my favourite quote involving the NRL this week has to be this one from Rhino Harris:

I agree. Sports journalists need to stay in their lane - particularly that one. I know Buzz's piece was one of opinion (article here) but seriously, Australia's most famous sporting events are not about sportsmanship over winning. Journalists - possibly the only profession that if my son came home and told me he wanted to be one, I would disown him, perhaps the other might be car salesperson. More appealing jobs in my opinion, male pole dancer, bus driver, real estate agent, or the guy who spray paints crosses on road kill (we've seen a lot of those at the snow this week).

But I'm beating around the bush. Day 5 of the test had more swings and roundabouts than Disneyland crossed with Canberra. After Du#$%it's reprieve at the end of Day 4 with Starc's "catch", he continued to shoot from the hip, with Bent Spoke playing a support role. The first hour say more than a run a minute added. England were helped by the odd strategy of the Aussies to bowl short despite the willingness of the 5th wicket batters to play shots. But Hazelnuts got a ball through a little quicker which caught the batter's glove and AC took a brilliant leaping catch to claim the 5th wicket on the score of 177 and D#$%it for the second time fell short of a Lord's ton.

In walked CuddlyBair, and Australia knew it was just one wicket from Draco and the start of the longish tail that England had with more than 190 to win. One would say the Aussies had it in the bag for a 4th innings. While in retrospect, English fans said the game was in the balance. I guess we'll never know, because 16 runs later when Jonny was on 10, this happened: the link to the Bairstow stumping.

Was it out. Yes. Was it in the 'spirit of the game'? That depends. I always thought the spirit of the game was to respect your players, the opposition, and the umpires - but that is pretty grey. What I do object to is Baz, Bent & Bair saying they wouldn't share a beer with the Aussies in a hurry - possibly slightly hypocritical given coach and keeper have claimed dismissals in similar ways.

The disappointing thing is that from the time the English were 6 for 193, the captain either decided that there were no recognised batters left, or he felt so slighted by the grubby tactics of the Aussies, that he hit out and decided to win the game on his own bat - ala Headingley 4 years ago while batting with Jack Leach. Stokes absolutely bludgeoned the ball to all parts of the ground - he was helped by the now tiresome short ball tactics of the Aussies. If someone is giving themselves room to free their arms and swing for the fences, why would you bowl short to them?

I know there has been a lot of talk about the run out, and while I feel the term "spirit of cricket" gets bandied about by those who feel victimised by the laws of the game, I'll leave the final work with respected former ICC Umpire of the Year, Simon Taufel: 

"Was Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lords a breach of the Spirit of Cricket? This is a question I have been inundated with, so I thought it best to share my thoughts publicly by asking everyone a question or eight to consider… 1. Have you seen any umpire tell a fielding side that the keeper standing back is not allowed to attempt a stumping? 2. Was there a complaint from anyone when Bairstow tried to stump Marnus exactly the same way in the first innings? 3. What has Jonny Bairstow said about his dismissal? He has been very quiet. Why? 4. My experience is when people don’t like a dismissal under the Laws of Cricket, they cite the Spirit of Cricket to support their view. 5. Which part of the codified Preamble (the Spirit of Cricket) was breached by the fielding side? 6. What did the fielding side do in effecting a legitimate dismissal that unfairly impacted the ability of the batter in their attempt not to be dismissed? (Did they run into him or distract him or prevent him making good his ground?) 7. Should a batter be immune from dismissal as per the Laws by simply being negligent (and leaving his ground too early)? 8. Did England retire Ben Duckett when they disagreed with the Starc catch decision as per the Laws and umpires’ decision? The hypocrisy and lack of consistency from some people and groups is quite interesting and concerning for the future of our game. Maybe I am the odd one out here?

The good news is that we are actively engaged with Test cricket, the best form of the game."

Cannot wait until Test No. 3 at Headingley.

England battling to stay alive.

There are guaranteed changes for either side due to injury (Gaz and Boniface)

Smudge playing his 100th Test.

It's going to be EPIC.

JT