Not guilty, this time (29 January 1999)

29 January 1999

Not guilty, this time

Tony Becca

West Indies captain Brian Lara found himself in the middle of a minor controversy in Durban on Wednesday when his appeal led to umpire Dave Orchard ruling Daryll Cullinan out handled ball.

Although Law 36 states that "either batsman is out handled ball if he touches it while in play with his hands, unless it be done at the request of the opposite side", only one other batsman in the history of one-day internationals has been dismissed for handling the ball, and although there are those who support his action, there are many who believe what Lara did was not cricket and that once again he has embarrassed West Indies cricket.

As far as those fans are concerned, law or no law, Lara should not have appealed - for the simple reason that it is common practice, at every level of the game, for batsmen, including West Indians, to play the ball, pick it up and lob it to a fielder without anyone appealing.

On those occasions, however, certainly the ones I have seen, the ball came to a stop harmlessly before the batsmen picked it up. That was not the case with Cullinan.

In Durban on Wednesday, Cullinan cut a delivery from left-arm spinner Keith Arthurton, the ball hit the pitch, bounced and he caught it. The ball had not come to a stop, it is possible that if it had been allowed to drop it could have spun on to the wicket and although the batsman's action in catching it may have been instinctive and not designed to prevent it from dropping, bouncing and rolling on to the stumps, Lara had every right to appeal.

In condemning Lara, fans say he should have remembered the Durban Test match when Franklyn Rose was run out and Hansie Cronje called him back. That was indeed noble of the South African captain, but although Rose was out, Cronje's conscience probably would have bothered him had he not reacted in that way - for the simple reason that Rose, the non-striker, was knocked to the ground as he took off for the run by the bowler who bounced into him while going for the ball.

There is hardly a captain who would not have called back Rose, or one who would not have appealed against Cullinan. Although Lara would have been protected by the law, although it is time batsmen stop handling the ball, it would have been a different story had Cullinan allowed the ball to drop and stop, picked it up, tossed it to a fielder and was dismissed on the appeal of the West Indies captain.

That, because it has become the norm, would have been an embarrassment - not what happened in Durban. In fact, if anyone deserves to be chastised, it is Cullinan. Had a West Indian batsman done what he did, hardly anyone in the West Indies would forgive him.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)