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The Betfair Debate: Should India have withdrawn their appeal over Ian Bell's run-out?

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"You guys did the right thing, Rahul" Ian Bell seems to be saying when he's finally dismissed

"That’s a lot of cricket and it would be unbearable for it to be played by two sets of men who disliked and distrusted each other. Heck, it may even have gone beyond cricket. Bodyline, anyone?"

It was one of those "Where were you when..." moments and one which could have changed the face of Test cricket. But did MS Dhoni do the right thing in inviting Ian Bell back to the crease or should he have stuck with the original appeal?

Yes

By Jamie Pacheco

That’s what makes Test cricket different.

There are 22 guys out there who for five days will do all they can to win the match.

But when the bails come off at the conclusion of the match, it’s important that in the game of cricket how you win still matters. There’s a feeling that if you’re not going to win in the right way, it’s probably not worth winning at all.

The repercussions of MS Dhoni not giving Ian Bell a reprieve would have gone pretty deep. The message would have been that India were more concerned with winning the game at all costs than playing the game in a fair and gentlemanly manner. And if that was the case, you might as well not bother playing at all.

But aside from the spirit of cricket, there are other reasons why Dhoni had to do what he did. There are two more Tests, a T20 and five ODIs still to be played during this tour. There are future tours and future clashes in major tournaments. There are television rights and sponsorship contracts. There are sold-out grounds and there are fans who live and breathe the game. That’s a lot of cricket and it would be unbearable for it to be played by two sets of men who disliked and distrusted each other. Heck, it may even have gone beyond cricket. Bodyline, anyone?

Ian Bell is not blameless in all this. We all know what he was thinking but technically, just technically, he should have been given out. So thank goodness the Indian skipper had enough common sense to ask the Warwickshire man to resume his innings. Test cricket dodged a massive bullet in the process and we were reminded that the values upon which the game are based still stand.

No

By Dan Thomas

The Spirit of Cricket is undoubtedly part of the sport’s charm and appeal, up there with the ability to sit in the sun and drink all day without getting dodgy looks.

But, as former England captain Mike Atherton rightly points out, at the heart of the Spirit of Cricket is respect for the umpires and the decisions they make.
India’s decision yesterday to withdraw their appeal for the controversial run-out of Ian Bell is the latest challenge to the authority of the men in the middle. While I think the Decision Review System has largely been a success, players now feel that they have more right to try and overturn decisions.

Bell himself admits he was “stupid and very naïve” to take it upon himself to walk off for tea after scoring what he thought was a boundary. I think he realised his mistake earlier than he has acknowledged. Note his slightly nervous look to the right as he went to touch gloves with Eoin Morgan and then anxious claims to third umpire Tim Robinson that Asad Rauf had “called over”.

Rauf had said nothing. He did not call four and he did not call tea. So MS Dhoni and his team were perfectly within their rights to appeal. And while I accept that withdrawing the appeal was laudable, Bell was the one at fault (in comparison to, say, New Zealand’s Grant Elliott who was run out by England in 2008 when Ryan Sidebottom knocked him to the ground).

This was one occasion when the grey area between the Spirit of Cricket and the Laws of the game was stretched too far.


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  1. Tinu | 01 August 2011

    After calling Bell back, he should have given his wicket away by hitting the wicket on first ball to keep the spirit of the cricket