Monday, November 21, 2005

The Run Out Of Inzamam-ul-Haq

Pakistan are in a dominant position in the second Test, as they restricted England to 113-3 in reply to Pakistan’s impressive 462. However, England’s task would be more daunting had Inzamam-ul-Haq not been given out incorrectly.

The rules clearly state that a batsman cannot be run out if he is within his crease and takes evasive action to avoid being hit by the ball thrown towards the stumps by the fielder. The umpires’ misinterpretation of this rule is a mystery, but it is possible that the third umpire was only asked if the batsman was out of his ground when the stumps were broken. Modern technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands and today’s use of the television replay ensured that an inexcusable mistake was made.

It could be argued that the three top scorers in Pakistan’s innings would not have been given out had the technology been used correctly; although I believe that Afridi was accurately adjudged to be caught by Trescothick at slip, Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq have genuine grievances.

It remains to be seen if these mistakes will matter. It looks probable that England will take the pressure off the umpires by losing the match.

5 Comments:

Blogger Reem said...

I just feel sad that a team which won the "spirit of cricket" award and whom I supported in the Ashes, didn't have the courage to reinstate Inzamam and make a fantastic statement to cricket worldwide.

The run out... was just not cricket.

7:13 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Here's a question for Bill Frindall: "when has a Test match captain ever withdrawn an appeal after the batsman has been given out?"

It was the umpires who made the mistake, not the England players, who could have only realised the error after seeing the same footage as the (Pakistani) third umpire.

10:09 pm  
Blogger Reem said...

Hi Pat,

I agree, the umpires are to blame.
But my point is that English cricket should show they are the best team in the world not just in terms of skill, but also with regards to sportsmanship.

I've seen the replay, and the thing happened so quickly, that Vaughan couldn't have noticed that Inzamam was taking evasive action. So, I agree, Vaughan is blameless.
But the umpires (especially the third umpire) should apologize for the ghastly decision.

By the way, what Afridi did to the pitch was as bad as the Inzy run out and he deserves the ban.

But, I've always felt that England epitomizes fairplay in sport and should maintain that standard.

7:19 am  
Blogger Stuart Helwig said...

"... Vaughan couldn't have noticed that Inzamam was taking evasive action" What else could Vaughan have possibly thought had happened?!? That was poor by everyone concerned - umpires and England.

If the Aussie's did this - imagine the uproar!!

England clearly not the best in the world. England clearly no better than anyone else when it comes to sportsmanship.

10:42 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

Not sure how seriously to take your comments Stu as they are bordering on the Wind-up Merchant variety.

I am not aware of any Test skipper ever withdrawing an appeal. In these circumstances players need to leave it to the umpires. The England players are blameless.

9:40 pm  

Post a Comment

<< Home