Walk or shut up

by LES EVERETT

I'M puzzled by something.

It seems the only batsman in international cricket who will walk when he knows he's out is Adam Gilchrist. Maybe there are others but I haven't heard.

The argument of the other 99.9something% of batsmen is that the umpire is there to do a job and if he gets it wrong then you should just play on.

Sounds fair enough so far doesn't it?

The problem emerges when the boot is on the other foot.

Take for example Australia's Shane Warne (sorry but it's an example that comes quickly to mind). On day two of the fifth Test match against England he appealed for lbw and showed great displeasure when the umpire didn't rule in his favour (he did something similar in the previous Test, and probably the one before that too).

On day three he came out to bat, raced to 10, gloved a ball to the wicketkeeper, was given not out, happily accepted the decision and went on to make 71.

It seems to me if you're not going to walk when you know you're out then you've got absolutely no right to argue if you're given out when you're not or if even the most obvious decision goes against you in the field.

In the post-Warne era I believe it's time for umpires to reclaim their ground. They could start by not discussing decisions out on the ground. It has become commonplace in recent times for bowlers to demand an explanation particularly after lbw appeals are turned down. Some do this in good spirit, others less so. By engaging with bowlers in this way umpires simply increase the pressure on themselves and that could be part of the explanation for the number of errors we see them make.

Imagine the uproar if umpires returned fire in the way bowlers now do routinely...

Bowler: "Howzat!!!!"

Umpire: "Don't be stupid. It pitched outside the leg stump. You obviously don't understand the lbw law so I really can't take any of your appeals seriously."

The job of the cricket umpire is difficult and impossible enough and it's time they re-positioned themselves.

Players at all levels have shown they're very happy to accept incorrect umpiring decisions if they're advantaged by them. That should be the end of the argument and umpires should concentrate their energies on making as many correct decisions as they can.

18 January 2007

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