Corrupting the Gentleman’s Sport
Over the years, the sport of cricket has largely been influenced by the unethical practices of those who play this sport
Cricket, the Gentleman’s Game (need to come up with a new term as highly popular among girls too) is one that gives paramount importance to high values, spirit, and sportsmanship. The sheer competitiveness that people witness on the pitch is enough to attract millions of people to worship cricket like a religion. As a lad growing up in Pakistan, I have noticed that people are more likely to know the superstars of other teams such as Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Dale Steyne, Steven Smith rather than knowing the names of the local Governor, Chief Minister or President-those who might matter more in their lives.
But, with the negativity of the modern world, I believe cricket is another victim of the global dilemma of people channeling negative energy into something, poisoning it for those who stay firm with the fundamentals of the sport, turning it from a source of happiness to a source of sorrow.
Cheating, any method where you gain an unfair advantage in tilting the tide of the match in your favor, is slowly but surely corrupting the cricketing circle. Be it Shahid Afridi’s infamous “bite”, Faf Du Plessis with the zip of his pant, or Bancroft with the sandpaper in South Africa. As years go by, the intensity of these mischief increases as the nature changes from being individual crimes to collective action by the team.
Apart from ball-tampering, another thorn is the sly tactics implemented by teams for undue advantage. I still remember as a kid watching the Ashes in England, the emphatic run-chase by England on the last day of the test match as the prospect of bad-light loomed largely. With only 28 runs left in the game, up stepped Starc, the ace bowler of the Aussie side. Starc, rather than attacking the stumps in hope of getting an odd breakthrough, considered it fitting to intentionally slide the balls down the leg side to Brad Haddin. Everyone was baffled as Starc misused the rule that the umpire cannot call it wide in Test matches, consuming overs in a desperate attempt to eat up the remaining limited time. Not so surprisingly, they did manage to draw the test by wasting the remaining overs. Despite being a big Starc fan, that was the day that he lost all of the respect he once had in my eyes.
Growing up, I have seen such actions cause a major rise in the cheating committed by young cricketers who copy the actions of their idols. The easiest way of dominating the opposition is to manipulate the rules according to your own needs. Might is right! That’s the way to go forward! When something goes against you, feel free to bring out the ICC rule book to validate your concerns but when a scenario goes against you, in light of the established rules, feel free to argue how international rules are not appropriate to the given conditions and circumstances. Ironic but very effective especially if the rest of your teams backs your stupidity. As with that, there is a standoff with the other team bound to accept your foul play as they do not wish to see an abandonment of a match. Next, we have the infamous technique that even our politicians use- unnecessarily increasing our voices, crossing lines just to cover up our mistakes. There is always room for banter in a game of cricket. However, when the situation leads to this, there is no point left to fight for a win as you are against morons who deem it befitting to act barbarous rather than staying in a civilized manner meant for civilized people. In our local language, the jargon for this sort of behavior is called “Badtameezi par utar aana” and “Ulta chor kotwal ko dantay”.
Keep the Gentleman’s Sport what it is! Do not corrupt it with your negativity as the world already has way too much of it! Every cricketer wants to win every match he comes across, but that is a futile wish. As much as it is fun to have the last laugh against the opposition, it is equally important to raise the bar of morals, and fair play as, the wish to deceive others for the sake of a victory can have dire consequences. Some people may wish to stop playing, knowing that it is better to live in peace rather than wasting time dealing with crooked folks who rely more on manipulation rather than skill to win a sport of ball and bat.
