Cricket is perhaps the only sport where a player can be called a cheat for merely following the rules of the game. Things came to a head last week during the second Test of the ongoing Ashes series between England and Australia.

During the pulsating last day of the Test when England were making a spirited chase of a formidable target, the quick-thinking Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey ran out English Batter Jonny Bairstow, who had mistakenly walked out of his crease thinking the ball was “dead”. The decision was referred to the third umpire who ruled Bairstow out.

Then all hell broke loose – the England team accused the Australian team of sullying the “spirit” of the game. The crowds started calling the Australian players “cheats” and even the grandees in the Lords Long Room joined the fun and games by barracking the Australian players when they were returning to the pavilion. Not to be left behind, even the Prime Ministers of the two nations weighed in with their thoughts on this “spiritual” issue.

But cricket’s peculiar conundrum is that the rules may sometimes contravene the “spirit” of the game. So merely following the rules is not enough, upholding the spirit is often seen more important. But then what exactly is this “spirit”? It seems more of an emotion or a feeling than something that can be codified in the rule book.

Also that this “spirit” seems to most often be loaded in favour of the batter points towards the unfairness of it all. A non-striker leaving the crease and gaining a few yards before the bowler delivers the ball is not seen as contravening the spirit of the game.

But the bowler running him out without warning is definitely against the “spirit”. That what construes as spirit of the game is often dictated by Lords adds a “geopolitical” tint to the issue. But given the fans’ religious passion for Cricket, these “spiritual” debates are as nourishing to their souls as a delightful cover drive!

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