Long history of dastardly behavior: English batsman Johnny Barstow talks to Australian fielders after being dealt. Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images It was in the midst of almost the same moment as the firing of Johnny Bairstow when the Ashes rivalry was born.
This was the only Trial at the Oval in September 1882. The Ashes did not exist, although almost exactly at this point a wealthy Australian family known as the Clarkes was buying a tiny terracotta urn on the shores of Lake Como to hold the Ashes when a bail or veil was burned the following winter after the Clarks' return home, at the Rupertswood estate near Melbourne.
Like most big matches at the time, this Oval test was low. scoring The transition tactic was to twirl your fingers quickly, and Australia had a master in Fred Spofforth, known as The Demon. It was wiser not to light his fire. This is exactly what WG Grace did.
Australia were 114 of six in the second innings with a lead of just 38 when young batsman Sammy Jones completed the run and took his place at the end of the over. Jones then returned to the field, perhaps to speak with his captain Billy Murdoch at the other end of the field and, of course, to feel the bumps in the field.
WG threw stumps, asking, «How are you?» with his high voice. The referees were Bob Thoms and Luke Greenwood, a former Yorkshire player who played Test cricket for England. Jones, like Bairstow, had to go.
Murdoch, the captain and not the batsman, was furious and is presumed to have meant sharp practice when speaking to Grace. Spofforth, watching from the pavilion, flew into a rage and plotted revenge.
England needed only 84 in the second innings to win, but the damp field was cut, as was Spofforth.
> «It can be done,» Spofforth said in the Australian dressing room. After which he went out and did it.
Spofforth took seven wickets for 44. England were going well until WG pulled out, then grabbed and collapsed. Australia won by seven runs, their first Test victory in England. From this dramatic contest, and Australia's fury at WG's lack of sportsmanship, the Ashes were born, which have continued to burn ever since. At the crucial moment, the Spirit of Cricket did not exist.
Cricket's Cheating
The problem now is that the spirit of cricket is too vague a concept, and of course the game itself is too nebulous, too varied, too close to infinity in its possibilities, for lawyers to be able to define all possible variations.
For example , I played the day after the Trial of the Lord for the Magpies against a school near Taunton. Our first bowler, who plays for the first XI of a strong Somerset club, was very active and took two wickets in his first over. Woman number four came out. I don't know her age, but she was the shortest member of her team, who was otherwise male.
What was the first bowler supposed to do, according to the Spirit of Cricket? But not a word on this subject. Should our first bowler — let's call him Tom — cut back on his run-ups and spins? But this can be regarded as patronizing and disrespectful to the opposition and the spirit of the game.
Tom came running from his usual run, served a little slower and scored the second goal. Tom was not without sympathy: last year he was a member of the school team. But there was nothing in the preamble to The Rules or The Spirit of Cricket to guide us.
Doctor: W. G. Grace strikes. Photo: George Beldam/Popperphoto via Getty Images
All I can recommend is 1. For the MCC Legislative Committee to extend the laws whenever a new event occurs, so as not to leave room for ambiguity, as was the case with the practice of Mankading. 2. For everyone to understand the preambular paragraph which states that the responsibility for fair play rests with the captains and then extends to their teams. This has always been one of the pillars of cricket since the early 18th century when the first laws were formulated.
Captains should talk before the game and agree on parameters to understand how hard they are playing. going to play. Where on the spectrum between outspoken and friendly?
Maybe the judges at Lord's should have given Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins a few minutes time out to decide what spirit the second test would be in? . And then Cummins could have withdrawn the Australian appeal.
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