HUNDERARM

An article and headline in today's Herald Sun about the underarm ball don't exactly share similar sentiments:

Underarm odour lingers

"I feel sorry for Trevor because he had to do it because his captain instructed him," Brian McKechnie said from New Zealand. "Worse for him, the captain was his brother. He had an enormous challenge trying to make his name in the game that his two brothers, Ian and Greg, had dominated. And then this!"

"I certainly hold no grudges. I just would have preferred it was dead and buried. I stopped worrying about it years ago."

"Anyway, Trevor and I will always be remembered - even if it is for the wrong reasons."

To be fair to the Hun, that article (offline) is a teaser to Rod Nicholson's feature article. But even the feature is just dredging up old times:

Underarm smell still lingers after Trevor Chappell's delivery

SEEMINGLY nothing could sap the Anzac spirit forged at Gallipoli - well, not until February 1, 1981.

Despite the tug of war over Phar Lap (he was born in New Zealand but raced in Australia), the Tasman bond has always been tight. But on that infamous day, a solitary delivery in a one-day international cricket match threatened a cold war between the trans-Tasman nations.

The delivery, of course, was the infamous underarm ordered by Australian captain Greg Chappell and delivered by his younger brother, Trevor, to tailender Brian McKechnie.

The most interesting thing about the underarm - to me, anyway - was Greg Chappell's subsequent confessional in which he embarked upon an extravagant mea culpa which reeked of protesteth too much:

"mentally wrung out" "physically wrung out" "fed up with the whole system" "all my frustrations boiled over" "everything that was imperfect in the system after the World Series days impacted on us - me in particular as captain" "no manager, no media manager" "played all the double-headers in the one-dayers and twice as many Tests as usual" "it was all closing in on me" "a cry for help" "didn't really care" "had a gutful" "I needed a break"

Blaming the hectic schedule and the support (what we now call "support mechanisms") must have a soothing effect which is preferable to a simple "I fvcked up". Or maybe Rod Nicholson is a canny journalist who managed to extract more than a simple "my fault". With 20/20 hindsight, it is also interesting to imagine what PR dark arts would have been unleashed on the public if Chappell did indeed have a manager and media manager to tart up his response.

Comments

[Big Ramifications]

With 20/20 hindsight

I see what you did there.

[Big Ramifications]

According to this, Greg Chappell is one of one 3 peeps who have committed a Mankad in ODIs. Class act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_out

[Big Ramifications]

Wow. [from the link above] If you get stumped off a no ball then it's run out. I suppose that makes sense... not sure if I've ever seen it happen.

What happens if you get stumped off a wide? Run out, I guess.

[The Don has Risen]

nothing wrong with mankading.

It was a good law and should still be the law.

It means cheating batsman get their just deserts

[David Barry]

Biggie, you've misread that article. You can't be out stumped off a no-ball, and if it would have been 'stumped', then it's not run out.

You can be stumped off a wide, and it is called 'stumped' and the bowler gets credit for the wicket.

[Big Ramifications]

Anyone ever seen Vinoo Mankad and The Don Has Risen in the same room? Exactly.

Thanks for the heads-up Dave. Save me from repeating that clanger in the physical company of others. I misread this line, I think. I'm still confused.

(3) A batsman is not given out Run out if he can be given out Stumped (or, in the case of a No Ball, could have been so given out were the delivery a fair one).

[Big Ramifications]

BTW I agree with you, Don. I hate it when people play within the rules and yet there's some "not in the spirit of the game" subtheme that gets trotted out every time it happens.

I meant "class act" as in the zeitgeist regard Mandkad, not my personal opinion on Mandkad. Plus I wuz trying to fling a bit of mud. See what sticks.

Er, ya got all that?

[Big Ramifications]

"Within the rules" up to a point. For example, it's within the rules for a fast bowler to charge into the back of an umpire and pretend it was a big ol' mistake. ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Goodall

[RT]

Moral surely remains - Greg Chappell must be a right nasty peice of work. What dickhead gives the Unzeders quasi legitimate right to carp on decade after decade about their Tasman big brother's lack of sportmanship. Agree with McKechnie, Trev unlucky it was his BB who was Colonel Kurtz. If my BB told me to bowl underarm I'd tell him to "get well and truly blogged".

[Lou]

The Chappells never went to charm school. Their father, Martin, sounded like a really hard barsteward.

[The Don has Risen]

The Chappells were very 'competitive' in Adelaide grade cricket as youngsters.

Colin Croft would be suspended these days and so it should be.

Only a wicket-keeper can stump a batsman whereas anyone can run out a batsman.

You can stump a batsman off a wide.

A batsman is only run-out by the wicket-keeper if he is going for a run. You are stumped attempting a shot.

[Big Ramifications]

Colin Croft would be suspended these days and so it should be.

He should have got life. It was cowardly, and fairly violent as well.

Back in the day before cable TV and extra free-to-air channels, we were lucky to get more than a few balls highlights of Aussie touring Tests, let alone neutral games. Only three instances come to mind where a neutral game made the main sports bulletin.

* This incident [at 4:01]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPQUt6NYbBg

* This happenstance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loYyJllsj68

* And the Colin Croft shoulder charge. I need footage. I need it bad.

[The Don has Risen]

I totally agree and that is what would probably/hopefully happen

[Tony]

I remember the day I gave my younger brother out in a house match at school, run out without facing a ball. He's never forgotten that.

[Tony]

Is my depth perception out of whack, or are the keeper and slips close to the stumps in the over Holding bowled to Boycott?

[Big Ramifications]

Is my depth perception out of whack, or are the keeper and slips close to the stumps in the over Holding bowled to Boycott?

A comment on Youtube also references that, and says it's evidence that Lee, Akthar, and The Wild Thing are much faster than the mythical West Indian bowlers of seasons yon.

"Sometimes I think the pace of older generation bowlers is exaggerated.. Granted they were fast and batsmen did not have a lot of protection so they would have been fearsome.. But I think the fastest of all times are still Lee, Akthar, Tait and Steyn. If you look at the keeper and slip fielders here, they are pretty close behind the stumps.. No way can they stand that close if he Holding was bowling at more than 90mph.."