The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Game must celebrate walkers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 25, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Game must celebrate walkers

What a furore has been created by Adam Gilchrist's decision to leave the crease without waiting upon the verdict of the doddery old gentleman standing 23 yards away and wearing a white shirt and black pants! Really it has been the most astonishing hullabaloo. Gilchrist has been accused of everything short of being rude to a Bollywood star when all he did was depart of his own accord after an edged stroke had been held by an opponent.

No less a personage than Ian Chappell has announced that `hypocrisy is rife', not exactly a revelation calculated to hold the front page. Former England captain Michael Atherton might as well have echoed the words of that great civil servant, Sir Humphrey Appleby, who could constantly "foresee all manner of unforeseeable difficulties". But, then, he is the wretch who refused to clap an opponent's 50!

Steve Waugh provided a list of things that were bound to go wrong in the next few weeks as a direct result of Gilchrist's fit of honesty, a list that surprisingly did not include either the end of the world or the reappearance of Mr. Dan Quayle, though this may have been an oversight.

Bunch of miseries

What a bunch of miseries! Just once it must be possible for even an Australian cricketer to do the right thing without attracting a chorus of cynicism. Not so long ago a New Zealand prop forward stopped pushing in a scrum because he realised that his Australian counterpart had been hurt.

Doubtless the same bloke is not above the sort of raw manoeuvrings that reputedly are part and parcel of life in the front row. He was no saint, just a sportsman doing the right thing. He'd have been worthy of being the Australian of the Year. Bear in mind that this sportsmanship occurred in the semifinal of a World Cup. Nor is it only rugby, or even golf. Soccer players routinely kick the ball into touch when an opponent is injured. It is not all diving Italians and shady deals.

Bolt from the blue

Gilchrist has also walked in a World Cup semifinal. Admittedly it was a bolt from the blue. Had a dodo flown by a moment later the crowd could scarcely have been more surprised. Still, at a crucial moment in a significant match the Australian left the crease without the assistance of a crane. It was a gesture that ought to silence doubts that walking is part of a plot calculated to influence the umpires at crucial moments. What moments? Nothing is more important to Australian cricketers than World Cups and series against India. Englishmen really need to grasp that point.

Everyone sensible realises that the world is not black and white but black and grey. In any case a man knows when he has hit the ball and the rest is guesswork. Gilchrist walks when he touches the ball and leaves everything else to the umpire. He is not an evangelist pitting himself against all forms of cheating. He is just walking when out.

Nor is the West Australian seeking converts. He has not even promised to leave the crease every time himself. Others must make up their own minds. And it is not as if he is alone. Did not Gary Sobers walk every time? Does not Brian Lara? Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh all departed without a fuss in Chennai and the game was better for their gestures. No umpire worth his tuppence will object to conduct of this sort. Nor will any white coat worth his salt allow it to affect his judgement.

Far from decrying `walkers', the game ought to celebrate this timely and unexpected revival of a tradition. Cricketers have always come in all shapes and sizes. W.G. Grace was once bowled first ball and promptly remarked that the delivery had not been bad `for a sighter.' When Justin Langer finds his off stump akimbo he leaves only after asking the met office whether any earthquakes have been recorded in the region.

Gilchrist, Lara, Ganguly and company have raised the game in a time of conflict. Even a single walk, let alone several, ought not to be scorned for it is a sacrifice. Every innings matters to a cricketer, every innings is recorded. Doubtless complications will arise and then the rednecks will shake their heads and say it was bound to end badly.

Instead, let us appreciate the gestures made by players who knew that amidst the deafening din that accompanies cricket in India, their edges might easily have been missed.

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