TON or NOT

So it is now open season on Suraj Randiv, who bowled the no-ball that ‘denied’ Virender Sehwag a century he truly deserved (In contrast to those knocks where he blazes away from ball one, on this particular occasion Sehwag absorbed the loss of his colleagues at the other end, battled with the demons of the pitch and atmosphere, revealed an unsuspected ability to do the grind, and fulfilled the fantasies of millions of Indian fans who, ever since the swashbuckler made his debut, have lusted after the possibility that one day, he will bat through an innings). It is also open season on Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain, who if the transcription of words picked up from the stump mike is to believed, reminded Randiv, just as he prepared to bowl the decisive ball, that “If he hits it, he gets the run”.

Digression: Consider Randiv’s brains, or lack thereof. If Kumar was in fact instructing his bowler, was that instruction to bowl a no-ball? Ridiculous – a batsman can and, in this instance did, hit a no-ball. A more canny bowler would have bowled a wide – because it is the wide that, by definition, you cannot hit.

But back to cases: So everyone, from the Sri Lankan cricket board to sundry Indian stars of yesteryear, have been banging on about the Lankans’ lack of sportsmanship (If there is any irony in Mohammad Azharuddin, who was banned from international cricket for match-fixing and related activities, talking of the spirit of the sportsman, ignore it, please – it is also the silly season).

What strikes us is how the public discourse, and wall to wall ‘exclusive’ coverage on television channels, misses the point: Sehwag was denied his century not by the Kumar-Suraj combine, but by scorers and umpires who were clearly asleep and/or ignorant of rules that, incidentally, have been framed so ambiguously as to convert a fairly simple proposition into a complicated situation.

Here is what happened, pure and simple: Randiv bowled. The umpire called ‘no-ball’. There is a reason the umpire calls it as soon as a bowler bowls one – it is to let the batsman know that there are no real penalties attached to having a go. A batsman, on hearing that call, knows he can have a swing without running the risk of being bowled, caught, declared LBW.

So Randiv bowled. The umpire called. Sehwag had a swing, and despatched the ball over the ropes.

That logically is seven runs added to the total – one to the team total as an extra, the other six to Sehwag, the batsman who was quick to seize on the opportunity. Simple.

This is where the idiocy of umpires and the ambiguity of the rule book come in: How could the game be over as soon as Randiv over-stepped? A ball, to be deemed bowled, has to be delivered; the batsman has to play/miss it; in the case of the former the ball has to be retrieved while the batsman runs, or not…there is no provision in cricket for declaring a result, and ending a match, at some intermediate stage of this process.

Thus, for umpires to declare that the game was over as soon as Randiv overstepped is plain folly. To understand this, consider a hypothetical situation: Randiv bowls. It is a no-ball. Sehwag decides the game is over, lets the ball go and walks off. Sangakkara collects and whips off the bails.

Is the batsman out? Of course he is. The extra run cannot be counted until the ball in question is officially dead; in our example Sehwag left his crease while the ball was in play, therefore he is out.

So, if his dismissal off a no ball counts, why were the runs he scored off that no ball not counted to his name?

The question, simplified: How could the umpires, or the scorers, or both, consider the match over before the ball had completed its necessary course?

Read Law 24 (No ball)

Runs resulting from a No ball

The one run penalty for a No ball shall be scored as a No ball extra. If other penalty runs have been awarded to either side, these shall be scored as in Law 42.17 (Penalty runs). Any runs completed by the batsmen or a boundary allowance shall be credited to the striker if the ball has been struck by the bat; otherwise they also shall be scored as No ball extras.

Where is the ambiguity? The law clearly says that any runs completed by the batsman, or a boundary allowance, off a no ball shall be credited to the striker.

Sehwag ‘completed’ a sixer. His score – unless the scorer is a congenital idiot – should have been 105. End of story.

The key is to understand that a game is not declared over midway through a cricketing action – which is the space between a ball being ‘live’ and being ‘dead’. Consider this example: India needs one run to win. Sehwag whacks the ball high in the air. While the ball is in the air, the batsman cross over and complete a run. The ball comes down, and is caught.

Is the game over, simply because the batsmen had crossed while the ball was in the air, and had not yet been caught? No, the verdict in this case would be, the batsman is out, the run doesn’t count. So clearly, runs and results are not declared at some arbitrary point while the ball is live – such a determination happens only after the ball is ‘dead’.

The fallacy appears to be in the thinking that any runs accruing to the batsman and/or side after a result is achieved do not count. That is equally a fallacy. Here is an illustrative example:

India needs to get one run to win. Sehwag drives, and the batsman race across for a single. The ball then goes on to cross the boundary. Do you award Sehwag one run, or four? Clearly, the answer is ‘four’ – despite the fact that the first of those runs won the game.
It is not the intention of this post to ‘excuse’ what Randiv did, or what Sangakkara asked him to do. That action was clearly unsporting, childish, petty. Here was one of the great batsman of the modern era, in challenging conditions, digging deep within himself to play a match-winning innings that was contrary to type. A gracious opposition would have admired, applauded; instead, the Lankans appear to have conspired to score a childish ‘victory’.

Fair enough. What beats us, though, is this: Why is there, amidst all this noise, no attempt to question the outcome declared by the scorers? Why is there no debate on the central question? Where were the umpires, the match referee? And where, incidentally, was the Indian team management that it did not think to question the scorers’ declared result?
Source: http://in.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/17/sehwag-did-get-his-century/

Sach is the in(m)pact...

‘Failure making headlines’ is a strong indicator of success. At least such (sach) is the case in India (+in = Sachin). Having a cursory look at the media reports in past few days gives an idea how this little (?) man has been under scanner for over two decades now. I was going through a piece this morning on rediff which talked abt the records that this man does not hold until now. And guess what- some of them would soon be in his kitty. That is besides the point here. Conducting oneself for over 20 years without the starry tantrums off the field and consistently scoring on the field are what has made him what he truly is. Take a bow!!! Zahanpanna- tusi great ho...

What I am afraid of, of late- is whether cricket in india will be the same after Sachin retires. On a personal note I cannot even think abt cricket without this great ambassador of the game. I don’t know if I wud follow the game the way i have been doing for over two decades now. It pains when Sachin gets injured or prefers to be rested for a series or a tournament. Imagining that someday he would hang his boots is nothing less than a nightmare.
Being what he is or has been with the changing rules of the game is awesome. I have always hated to compare anyone with sachin or the other way round. But I would never hesitate to add the numero uno tag with his name, no matter what! If he is not then who is !!! I am not quite sure what plans he has in mind before he calls it a day. But one thing I am quite certain that the millions of fans around would want him to score at least a half century of centuries in both the forms, a century of half centuries in ODIs, now that a double ton in ODI is already in his kitty- can there be a test-triple as well?-, and a world cup which has been eluding the most successful ODI batsman of the game..The list is not too big, but then many like me would love to see these ticked sooner than later. There is no denying to the fact that whatever he has achieved so far is unmatchable. But the insatiable fans want to see more against his name even if he thinks otherwise. I can only put these items in my wish list and hope that he ticks them before finally seeing his active days off.