I was disappointed when home fans at Lord's on day 5 of the 2nd Test between England and Australia chanted “cheat” upon the dismissal of Bairstow. Under current rules the batter was out. He should not have wandered from his crease so soon after playing a shot which, on this occasion he missed and the ball sailed through to the wicket-keeper standing back, giving him the opportunity to throw down the stumps.
That said, many batters abandon their crease soon after an attempted shot if the keeper is standing back. The habit is as old as the game itself. The umpire does not tell the batter when the ball is dead, the batter instinctively knows. It happens in cricket the way it does because over the centuries the game has developed an unwritten protocol that suits the players’ temperament and the tempo of the game. It is a silent recognition among players. The best word to describe this is “spirit”, and it is this spirit that defines the joy of sport itself.
Looking at Bairstow’s dismissal and how the spirit of the game was absent, the following can be taken into account. He was not attempting a run. He was clearly in control of his shot. He had moved from his crease in a similar fashion several times in his innings. He had not been given a warning by the opposing captain, which is the decent thing a captain should do.
Bairstow is a dangerous player and the game had the potential to slip from Australia’s grasp and so Cummins, their captain, did not intervene even when he had plenty of time to do so while the matter was referred to the third umpire. He did not cheat, neither did he evoke the spirit of the game but stuck to the letter of the law which, of course, the umpires are required to do.
I am not defending England from defeat. Australia were the better team and deserved to win. But the biggest loser was the unwritten, indefinable part of the game, its spirit.
