BENEFIT OF THE OUT

Michael Clarke: Superficially Clarke was dudded, with Rudy Koertzen accused of not giving him the benefit of the doubt. But. Rudy seemed confident Clarke had hit the ball then decided to check with the third umpire. It was an about-face that allowed the TV vision to introduce an unnecessary element of doubt; as it so often does. Rudy should have stuck with his gut instincts.

El Bee Tee Vee: It would be interesting to see what might happen if there are more appeals than the first two days. Imagine how much time would be added on a skittish track with, say, Harby on a roll in Mumbai. That would be some serious time lost. Or even here at the SCG on Day 5. And how will Shane Warne go? The umps have been alternately generous and stingy over his career. But going on balance, Warne may well have received the same number of wickets had all his dismissals been correct. It could be that LBTV will see him taking wickets at the same rate, but without any doubt over them. Anyhoo, here the LBTV has worked well. Hayden's was high, and Gilchrist's, Watson's and Lara's plumb. Inzi was 50/50 and thus not out, but if it was given out it wouldn't have been an injustice. (Bill Lawry is a fool. The turn wasn't taking the ball away, it had deflected off Inzi's pad.) One concern would be the McGrath appeal against Smith. It was referred to Daryl Hair with both the Nine goons and the radio plonkers confident it was high. But from the side you couldn't see the stumps.

Warngilla: Watching two leggies on a responsive pitch is close to as good as it gets. There's a bonus, too. The above El-Bee business adds spice to what's going on when Warne and MacGill are at work. Trying to guess whether something will be given out is a lark.

Hawkeye: It is right not to use Hawk (and Snicko) to "prompt" the third umpire. But it must gall those who claim it's infallibility. Nine cannot now confidently refer events to Hawk.

The super slo-mo: It is a terrific way to analyse the game. But bowling-wise I've only seen it used with Flinty, and only for one ball. Are Nine being selective? Spanky claims Fred chucks his faster one, but from this one shot the footage shows him to have a dead straight arm as he bowls. How about using it more often? I didn't see it used for Murali, but Tim Lane, writing about the use of technology in today's Age muses:

The whole theory behind the introduction of the third umpire was to seek to ensure that cricketing justice was seen to be done, yet we continue to see other injustices. We also saw a number of times on Channel Nine yesterday a montage of close-ups that included a side-on shot of Muralidaran's bowling action. If his arm didn't straighten, my TV set's got a kink in it. What is Hair to make of that.

The super slo-mo is a super concept. Better than Hawk-eye, Snicko and the sequence of red cherries - they are all reactive. SSM is different, it is an impressive coaching tool. What young bowler wouldn't want a close look at what the test players do with the ball? No go, tho. Is it because of Murali's rank chucking that Nine (in collusion with CA and the ICC) are deliberately depriving viewers of a chance to study a key element of cricket? Could this, in fact, be the reason Australia lack young bowlers?

The delay: Happily there is no delay between the TV and radio transmissions.

The Kat: Ignore the tightness of the decision, Katich was probably out, and focus instead on his tangle with Murali. It has always been common practice for bowlers to sneak in front of a runner and block his path. I once accidently-on-purpose backed into a runner to run him out. It happened to me in reverse. My block (can't speak for the other bowler) looked like an accident, but was 100% intentional. Yesterday, though, everyone in the commentary booth/s fell over themselves to suggest it was an accident. That is hard to believe. Each of those player-commentators would have at one time seen, or even done, the same thing.

Graeme Smith: Michael Vaughan has written that Graeme Smith is a persistent and childish sledger. Smith replied "I think it is pretty sad when things said on the field are taken off the field." This is a welcome change of tack from Smith given his earlier complaints of Australian sledging.

Kerry O'Keefe: KOK is an excellent commentator when he reins in the silly stuff. He knows his cricket and can put it across.

Rest of the World: The ODIs last week at T-Dome weren't boring because the ROTW concept is flawed. They were boring because they were ODIs. This ROTW test is good enough for me. So far, anyway.

Doubt? There is no doubt. Cricket is still the best sport. It doesn't matter whether you like the ROTW concept or not, it is still cricket and as such, it rocks.

UPDATE! Just saw Warne and MacGill on the super-slo-mo. Excellent footage. I look forward to the same from Murali.

Comments

[Tony.T]

Nice work by Gilly on Inzi.

[Tony.T]

Good stuff for Jack-ees Kallis to accept Hayden's call. Vaughan would have called for a replay.

[Scott Wickstein]

Geezus they should have just brought the Poms over en-masse. Pretty weak effort by some over-paid show ponies with the bat.

I know Warne and MacGill are good but still, that was a pathetic effort.

Then again, when you give Graeme Smith the captaincy, what do you expect?

[Vaughny]

Vaughny is a gentleman, who it has to be said is pretty bland, but he does know his cricket.
What about Ponting, remember his legendry call.
'We're gonna have a bowl mate' even Athers found it hard not to show his suprise at that one
Fair comments on Murali, he would make an excellent baseball pitcher ( thats coming from a Lancastrian)

[Vaughny]

Vaughny is a gentleman, who it has to be said is pretty bland, but he does know his cricket.
What about Ponting, remember his legendry call.
'We're gonna have a bowl mate' even Athers found it hard not to show his suprise at that one
Fair comments on Murali, he would make an excellent baseball pitcher ( thats coming from a Lancastrian)

[Vaughny]

So I felt thst strongly I had to post it twice!!!

[Tony.T]

Agreed, Wicky. A soft effort by the ROTW.

Yes, Vaughny, I remember Ponting's call. I remember. It.

[Clem Snide]

It's good to see that Muttiah Meckiff is diversifying his range of cheating. Those of us who queried his flexibility and thought his chucking was the limit of his perfidy have been proven wrong. He is a true all-rounder when it comes to bending the rules. And the commentators, umpires and ICC have really gone the extra yard in gaze aversion and condescension to third world noble savages. It takes a special effort when the cheating is that blatant, and they haven't disappointed. They have well and truly earned a rousing round of one-handed applause.

[Tony.T]

Whenever the excitement of a wicket wears off Murali looks guilty and embarrassed.

[Vaughny]

Cricket IS the sport, no question.
Murali does not look embarassed as to be fair he has a bloody cheek playing the game with his technique.

[Tony.T]

Technique sounds all official and kosher, Vaughny, it is not a word I would use to describe Murali's "bowling".

[Brett Pee]

Any suckers bought Tickets for the 5th & 6th days. Quite honestly, this concept was NEVER going to last the full FIVE days, let alone a ridiculous Six. How about going the full distance and make it a timeless Test- or have the ROTW got a steamboat to catch ?

Graeme Smith is a bloody loudmouth who can't hack some of his own medicine. Remember his outburst against Matt Hayden after his Debut Test ? " Those big bullies abused me and called me names" Diddums. Big Dumb Yarpies i could do without.

ROTW concept is o.k. ( calling them into TEST status is another matter ) Make it a little 2 Test series (5 days), but you can never foretell the ambitions & desires of the ROTW side. To me, they lack team spirit (understandable) and motivation(questionable?) and the Poms look like they have arrived with a huge hangover(understandable) and are treating the Test like a 20/20.

[Vaughny]

Smith is what is commanly known as a gobshite. How he is the captain of ROTW team I have no idea, Flintoff hates him, KP thinks he's a twat and if the rumours are correct on this side of the pond, he is not welcome by some of the other races in the team due to his political views.
All the english lads think he is a tosser which is probably why they look hung-over. Get Lara,Vaughn as captain,they piss all over Smith the mardy bum who cries when a bit of sledging gets rough

[Vaughny]

Technique-Murali, OK point taken TT, they do not sit comfortably next to each other do they
Chucking cheat-Murali, that sounds better

[pat]

"...Murali looks guilty and embarrassed." and like he's up to something devious and fiendish.

I've always felt Murali Chucker has a remarkable resemblance to "Weasel" of Looney Tunes Foghorn Leghorn fame. Check it out and be amazed - download the zip and compare the pics to various Marali poses throughout the day.

[Tony.T]

The Weasel. That's brilliant, Pat. I'm going to use it. Ta.