‘What we have learnt’ lists seem to be all the rage at the minute, so in the wake of the day-night Test in Adelaide, and not wanting to miss out on the action, here’s my quintet of points of interest.
2. Peter Nevill and Mitchell Marsh are not Test number six batsmen, but if it has to be one then it should be the former. He played nicely.
3. The ‘Missing in Action’ posters regarding Josh Hazlewood’s recent tour of England can be taken down. He’s back and in some style.
4. See what a bit of grass on the pitch can produce? Three days or not, that was a good, gripping contest and far better to watch than the WACA run-fest.
5. Mitchell Johnson could grow a proper, robust ‘tache. His replacement, Peter Siddle, cannot. Shave it off Peter before someone sees you.
You may have noticed that my number one thing we learnt has been left to the end, and there is a very good reason for that.
1. Nathan Lyon is my new favourite cricketer
Not for his solid and effective contributions as an off-spinner, not for his rags-to-riches groundsman to Test player back story and not for the fact he comes across as a good fella.
He’s top of my list because he managed to get away with the most blatant of edges and as someone who never walked – “You only walk when you miss the f****** bus” as my Wallsend colleague Dave Edwards delighted in telling me back in my Newcastle grade cricket days – I take a certain perverse kind of pleasure in such an occurrence.
Anyone who has stood their ground, been let off, and not experienced a brief sense of unbridled elation hasn’t lived (in cricketing terms at least). But enough about that and back to Lyon.
I was a bit late to the incident itself and was only alerted to its presence by the inevitable outpouring of outrage on social media. In many an instance, the argument for or against centres around which team the respective individual supports. Have a look at Twitter following a disputed goal in the English Premier League and you’ll see exactly where I’m coming from.
But in the case of Australia’s number 10, every comment, with barely an exception, condemned the decision made by Nigel Llong in the third umpire’s cubicle.
In black and white terms – rather ironic given the fact exhibit A in the prosecution’s case was a stark, front-on black and white hotspot image – Lyon was out. The evidence was clear cut and there was no room for interpretation. The ball hit the bat, the ball was caught by the fielder.
Yes? No!
Llong’s assertion that the hot spot, on a bat extended out in front of the batsman, raised above the ground and with no shrapnel in the immediate vicinity, “could have been anything” was so laughable as to be unfunny.
Yes, Nigel, it could’ve been anything just as that light in the sky ‘could’ be a UFO and not a passing aeroplane. However, on closer inspection and with, and I’m going out on a limb here, the benefit of countless television replays and dedicated technology, it shouldn’t have taken the finest of minds to conclude that the mark was caused by the ball.
And if any other factors were to be considered, the sight of the batsman walking off the field once the review process was instigated may have been something of a giveaway.
DRS has had its moments, and it wouldn’t take a great deal of research to formulate a hall of shame, but this was the best, hands down.
Let’s not go down the ‘it cost New Zealand the game’ route because one variable in a cast of thousands does not form a definitive argument and let’s celebrate it for what it was – a batsman getting away with blue murder.
And one can only hope, as this is being written, an entrepreneur somewhere across the Tasman Sea is in the process of printing up some ‘Nathan Lyon is a s**t bloke’ t-shirts.
Darren
Guest
So you just contradicted yourself in one post
Sunshine
Guest
Just as much as a few missed calls cost the wallabies the World Cup.
SP
Guest
David Warner being given out off a blatant no-ball evened things up and gave nz a chance to get back into the game. They were too inept to take to take that chance.
Jake
Guest
Didn't hit the bat. Snicko said otherwise.
Jake
Guest
The schoolboy captaincy, terrible batting and average bowling had nothing to do with it then? It was all the umpires fault. cry us a river.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Maybe not, but I don't recall people back in those days criticising players for not being acerbic enough about the umpire as Spiro suggested the Black Caps should have been in his article yesterday. Who'd want to be an umpire?
Stucco
Guest
* put pressure on the players to show respect to the on-field umpire. Hmmm, remembering some of the incidents that happened before DRS (Colin Croft, Gatting, the Sri Lanka walk-off the field) that hasn't always been the case.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
That's it Johnny B, fascinating reading everyone's view of that incident.
chucked
Guest
ALL FUN ASIDE - the stupidiest thing was Llong saying ' it could have been anything'. NO it couldn't have. We have micro second technology. The effing ball hit the effing bat, he was caught out. He walked. he walked slow, and I wonder how guilty he felt with that slow walk back to the pitch
Darren
Guest
Simoc not sure what my cricket playing has got to do with it. I was observing that the commentators said that Lyon intimated that he hadn't hit it. That suggests that he didn't know he nicked it. The hot spot was more on the back of the bat so that may explain why he didn't hear or sense the contact. Going by your second sentence I would have loved to see you play as you must have been a truly awesome batsman.
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
How ? ... We are after all only talking about returning to a system previously adopted and which worked well since the inception of the game
Alec Swann
Expert
DingoGray I think the Lyon cock-up was made all the better by Nigel Llong offering up such a ridiculous justification. As far as DRS reviews go, it was pretty clearcut.
Alec Swann
Expert
Pope Paul Damn right, you can't let your mum get in the way of the TV!
Simoc
Guest
Obviously you have never played cricket or batted long enough to nick a ball. You always know when you hit it (including Justin Langer) and stick around in case you can get away with it. When you get away with it , you know for certain it is your day and most balls have 4 or 6 written all over them though you need to be discreet to please the comentators. McCallum always bats like that.
Phantom
Roar Rookie
clearly it cost them the game. E O S
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
'Something worse': * was quick and efficient; * put pressure on the on-field umpires to pay attention and make the best calls to the best of their ability; * put pressure on the players to show respect to the on-field umpire. As for the 'not 100% perfect': * wastes time; * cannot be relied upon to be implemented by competent technicians (see the Lyon LBW hawkeye); * takes the pressure from the on-field umpires and dumps it firmly on the third umpire; * encourages players to openly dissent with umpire's decisions. I am not of the view that absolute correctness is achievable or even desirable in sport. What I do believe is that if you don't have the character to cop a bad decision on the chin without going to the ICC and whingeing until they implement a technological review system to bail you out, you should not be playing professional sport.
soapit
Guest
because its not 100% perfect we should go back to something worse? tough selling that logic i reckon
The Bush
Roar Guru
Exactly. He only started walking when the replay showed he had hit it.
Darren
Guest
I don't think this is a `walking' issue. I listened to the commentary on radio and apparently Lyon's reaction was that he didn't hit it. He walked based on the evidence on the screen. However, that is for the 3rd umpire to adjudicate on. I wouldn't be surprised if you asked Lyon did he pick up the nick his answer would be no. I don't think a batsman should interpret the video evidence. Having said all that it was funny that he had virtually walked and was called back.
JohnB
Guest
With Wally Hammond saying something like "that's a lovely f------ way to start a series" The intangible was whether Bradman would have kept playing if out then (in the tens or 20s) instead of going on to 180 odd or whatever it was.