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The Australia versus England ODI series, much like the stereotype of the shorter formats, played out its role effectively.
Boundaries were hit, big scores were made, and bowlers had a decent competition with the batsmen. However, the series was not short of any controversies, and the most talked about one was the Ben Stokes dismissal.
After seeing replays over and over again, one might end up with a different conclusion as to whether that dismissal was rightfully given or not. There were several issues with the way the incident was dealt with.
First of all the on-field umpires took the decision up to the third umpire to make the call, even though he did not see the dismissal happening in front of him but from quite a distance away. That third umpire was also watching replays over and over again.
Decisions like these are unique, they need to be made on the spot as technology cannot be relied upon. Sure the replays suggested that Stokes was quite far away from the ball and his reaction looked intentional, but anyone with basic knowledge of cricket would know Stokes was not at fault.
Naturally, when the ball is thrown at someone that person will flinch no matter how far away it may actually be. If a person throws the ball in an aggressive manner and you happen to be really close it’s not unnatural to prevent yourself from getting hit.
Replays, and images of the incident, show that Stokes was quite far away from the ball and that he stopped it from hitting the wickets, however that is not true. When one is 20 yards away from a bowler who throws a ball as hard as he can, the first thing that comes to mind is to defend yourself, and that is exactly what Stokes did.
Obstructing the field can be when a batsman purposely kicks the ball away, or does what Inzamam-ul-Haq did against England. He was quite far away from the ball when it was aimed at the stumps, and had enough time to react and get away from the line of the ball.
However, since he was outside his crease and played at the ball to prevent it from hitting the wickets he was out obstructing the field. Stokes’s case was different, he was trying to defend himself and had no time to react in any other way.
These dismissals have now created an issue that needs to be addressed by the ICC. If umpires start giving those out, bowlers will just start throwing the ball needlessly at batsman after the ball has been bowled. It will create a very hostile environment where batsman will be unjustly dismissed for defending themselves, or they will get hit and get seriously injured which will require them to leave the field.
The worst case scenario would be that a batsman would get hit and die, after the Phil Hughes tragedy, Cricket Australia started investigations on how to prevent accidents like that from ever occurring. New helmets were introduced, yet no matter how protective the protective gear may be, it is never enough.
If the ICC truly want to prevent another immense talent to be lost then these sorts of acts by bowlers should be outlawed as they don’t belong in the game. If players want to hurt others just to win they should take it to the streets and start gambling for their lives. People play cricket for fun, as soon as winning at all costs gets in the way we know that there is a problem.
The Australian way of playing cricket is to be aggressive, stare your opponents down, intimidate them, sledge them and at the end of the day have fun playing a game of cricket. There is a limit to the intimidating antics, and the ICC needs to address the issue of safety.
Once cricket is rid of one hazard we can sit back and watch the game we love, and players can play fairly as well.
Simply outlawing might not work, there are implications that sadly grown professionals today do not understand with their behaviour. If a bowler commits such a heinous act, they should not only be fined a match fee but also cop a ban, preferably one full tour including Tests, ODIs and T20s, as well as one season in all Twenty20 competitions.
Being strict is the way to go. We saw that the Pakistani bowlers of 2010 were sent to jail and exiled from playing the sport they loved. But they have done their time and can now be pioneers of cricket, and show people what their mistakes taught them. Hopefully cricket can have less spot-fixing scandals now.
The case here should be similar, if players are banned for throwing the ball back at batsmen then it will not only fix offending bowlers’ attitudes, but it will also set an example for those around him. Only then will we see less injustice done to batsmen.
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