‘It’s just not cricket,’ is a phrase that has been used for more than a century to say that something is unfair or dishonest. People expect high standards of behaviour from those who engage in the gentleman’s game.
Cricketers are not only supposed to play according to the Laws of the Cricket but also within the Spirit of the Game. Two former England captains – Ted Dexter and Lord Cowdrey made efforts in 1998 to enshrine the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ in the game’s laws as well. This is to remind the players that they have a responsibility to ensure sportsmanship and to maintain fair play on the cricket field.
Several Sri Lankans have earned plaudits for fair play and sportsmanship over the years. Once such is Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel, the Rector of St. Joseph’s College, who retired on Thursday having reached the age of 60. He will be remembered for a magnanimous sporting gesture where he conceded the Big Match to St. Peter’s College three years ago.
Sachithra Senanayake’s ‘mankading’ of Buttler
In the 82nd Battle of the Saints, with defeat imminent, St. Joseph’s were engaging in time wasting tactics. They had taken some 65 minutes to bowl nine overs. The bowlers holding up play was quite obvious and into the bargain St. Joseph’s fans invaded the pitch frequently holding up play. In the end when bad light brought an abrupt end to play, St. Peter’s were short by seven runs.
Fr. Travis, who has always played with a straight bat during his three-decade long service to youth of our country at various education institutes, knew that what we were seeing at P. Sara Oval was not cricket. Having realized that his charges had robbed St. Peter’s of a well-earned victory, Fr. Travis decided to concede the game. The word soon got to the old boys and some of them demanded not to do that. But Fr. Travis stood his ground.
The following morning, national newspapers hailed his gesture. Not only had Fr. Travis helped preserve the intrinsic values of the great game but had sent a strong message to all those who were trying to harm the reputation of the game. He had also set a benchmark; any youngster who dares to employ time wasting tactics, runs the risk of conceding the match.
Young kids learn time wasting tactics from professionals. England in a bid to draw the Galle Test in 2003 were literally sending the substitute fielder in at the end of each over. Sri Lanka couldn’t dismiss the last pair as Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard earned their team a famous draw. Captain Michael Vaughan at the post-match media briefing said that it was too hot and his players had to change gloves at the end of every over.
In December 2017, Niroshan Dickwella was a thorn in the Indian flesh during the Calcutta Test as he engaged in time wasting tactics and picked a fight with Virat Kohli. Tongue in cheek he told his skipper at the none striker’s end that India were losing the plot by getting into arguments with him. Dickwella surely is not going to get invited to deliver the Lord Cowdrey Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord’s anytime soon.
Former captain Kumar Sangakkara delivered the lecture in 2011 becoming the first Sri Lankan and the first current player to do so. He was invited by the brilliant cricket writer Christopher Martin-Jenkins, who was the MCC President at that point.
The ICC introduced the Spirit of Cricket Award in 2004 with Elite Panel Umpires, Match Referees and the Test captains voting as to which team had played the game in the right spirit during the last 12 months. New Zealand were the initial recipients of the award while Sri Lanka won it in 2007.
Accepting the award from former South African great Jonty Rhodes, another man who always played the game in the right spirit, Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said, “We play the Sri Lankan brand of cricket and we enjoy playing that. There is so much pride to wear the cap for our country.”
Dear Sri Lanka, please stand up!
In 1998, during the Oval Test, where Sri Lanka recorded their first ever win in England, the hosts came up with a strange proposal. Opening batsman Steve James, who is now a journalist, with The Telegraph newspaper, was unbeaten on 20 at stumps on day four.
James was a Welshman and England management asked the Sri Lankan camp whether the batsman could go back home to Cardiff as his wife was expected to give birth to their child that night. Just in case the batsman wasn’t able to make it back to London from the Welsh capital to resume his innings, England inquired whether they could send another batsman in.
History was in the making but Sri Lanka thought about it and eventually Manager Ranjit Fernando, Coach Roy Dias and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga agreed to the proposal. But there was no necessity for any drama as new dad James made it back to London just in time.
