Spirit of the Game still upheld at highest level
The ICC Champions Trophy had its fair share of incidents which re-opened the debate on fairplay and the Spirit of the Game
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The ICC Champions Trophy had its fair share of incidents which re-opened the debate on fairplay and the Spirit of the Game. Mike Atherton suggested that the preamble to the Laws of Cricket is superfluous. John Woodcock feels that it may need rewriting and Simon Barnes that cricketers are in need of clarification about the game’s moral code. Christopher Martin-Jenkins, writing in the Times, says it is the law in question that needs tweaking, not the preamble, or the spirit behind it.
Once an umpire feels that a few pointed comments have become an attempt to undermine a batsman’s concentration, he is provided with a clear course of action. The preamble, no less clear and concise, also leaves little room for doubt about what is and is not acceptable. It is true that it is pretentious in referring to the game’s “unique” appeal because its beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not everyone reveres it. Nor is cricket different to any other sport in needing honourable conduct as well as a set of regulations.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo