Collingwood's moment of weakness

We didn't quite get the same scene as at Adelaide in 1933, with one captain lying on the massage table complaining about there being "two sides out there, one is playing cricket and the other is not", but the atmosphere between Paul Collingwood and Daniel Vettori was certainly frosty at the conclusion of today's ODI at the Oval.

Never mind that New Zealand had just won, when Collingwood went to knock on the Kiwis' dressing-room door after the game he found it closed against him. New Zealand were miffed, understandably, at the incident near the end of the game when Ryan Sidebottom in retrieving his own bowling appeared to take out Grant Elliott as the New Zealanders scampered a single and then, with his opponent sprawled in the dust, threw down the stumps and appealed for a run out.

If only England's rugby players could have tackled so well against the All Blacks last weekend.

By the letter of the law, Elliott was out but the situation stank. The umpire asked Collingwood as England captain whether he wanted to reconsider the appeal but Collingwood declined. I wonder whether he was carried away by the pressure of a tight match and having his team-mates huddled around him. His mature and contrite comments later suggest that he wasn't happy with the decision.

Oh well, things happen in the heat of battle. In the grand scheme of things this is some way below Bodyline and the Trevor Chappell underarm ball in the list of things that "aren't cricket" and probably on  a par with Brendon McCullum's ungentlemanly running out of Muttiah Muralitharan when the Sri Lankan spinner had stepped out of crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on reaching 100 two years ago.

All credit to Australia New Zealand for closing out the win, though, especially when with three needed off the last over and nine wickets down they could get only one off the first five balls that Luke Wright bowled. It was tense, glorious stuff to watch, a real reminder of how gripping 50-over cricket can be. New Zealand take a 2-1 lead in the series and roll on Saturday!

Comments

[The Pav]

Well I've seen the incident now and frankly if the batsman had run correctly then it wouldn't have happened. It is arguable that the line the batsman took would have deprived the fielding side a run out opportunity.

Frankly not only did Collingwood have nothing to appologise for the batting side should say sorry for getting the way

[Som]

I think Patrick didn't err because
at the end, it was Australia who won. What Sidebottom (recently adjudged Wisden Cricketer of the Year purportedly for the unique juxtaposition of his surname) did was to ape Symmonds (does it have anything with long hair?) who had rugby-tackled -- well that was shoulder charge to be precise -- someone in the middle. I cannot defend McCullum either and all I can say is that the rash is spreading fast enough to reach England by now.

[The Pav]

I can't believe it. In part I'm agreeing with Anne.

I haven't seen the incident on TV (but ignorance is never an excuse for not having an opinion) but on the assumption nobody moved off the line & it was a straight accidental collision & the Kiwi fell over then tough luck.

Perhaps the Black Caps should learn the All Black's side step.

I do think Ann is being a bit hard on dear old Daniel. Of course he's going to chuck a sad. What do expect from a bloke who comes from a land where the top of the line predator is the possum and that wis an introduced species

[John Payne]

Well Well The Halo has slipped again. Once again Those most critical of others have transgressed again ,but of course I read In the UK papers and blogs justification for poor sportsmanship.When will you all face facts your cricket team is and has been as Bad if note worse than most in "bending the rules"

[Oscar the Grouch]

Ann, you are truly magnanimous. As a token of my gratitude, I shall henceforth try my very best, in my bumbling Antipodean way, to avoid the use of irony in future posts.

[Ann]

It's CLOUD, Oscar, but we English forgive you as a mere antipodean ;-)

[Ann]

Tony is talking utter rot. Collingwood was perfectly justified in making the decision. The umpire put it to him, for crying out loud: it follows that this was a legitimate decision.
When a batsman is --accidentally-- hampered in running, this is simply part of the game. He didn't make his ground, he is out: very simple. This is a competitive sport, and has no place in it for whingeing babies.
As to Vettori ... I used to admire him, but not any more. He has learned from the Australians, and become a petulant, whingeing crybaby. What a disgraceful display.

[Innocent Abroad]

Well, Colly's been punished now, although admittedly for something else (slow over rates).

Apparently, if a team is more than two overs short in the time allocated, the whole team is fined 5% of the match fee. This seems pretty unfair on those who don't skipper or bowl (or keep) - how are they supposed to speed things up?

[Mr Grainger]

Tony Chance - get off your high horse; if Sidebottom had intentionally barged into Elliott it would be a different matter. I'm not ashamed by Collingwood, I'm pleased he has the attitude to be a bit ruthless when the rest of the world's against him. If England had won, the apology would have been hollow; just as, if New Zealand had lost Mr Vettori would not have been so conciliatory. Just to reiterate: Collingwood was not cheating. It was bad luck for Elliott and New Zealand, but cricket is full of hard-luck stories.

[Chris Chambers]

A mature and contrite apology? I don't think so. He was backed into a corner and his apology lacked sincerity. How can he claim it was a split second decision when the incident actually played out over a couple of minutes? The last ball comedy win and his 4 match ban are karmic retribution for a dirty cheat.

[Jeet]

You've got to love controversy. Especially when there's poetic justice in the end. I blame KP -our 'vice-captain' but seems to take over half over half the time even when Colly's still on the field. I know Captain Coll should have his own mind, but KP's No.1 in the team and got this Southern Hemisphere ruthlessness - which doesn't seem to extend to Dan Vettori.

Is Vettori the worst 'angry' man in history? He was apologising more than Colly was at the post-match doo-dah. He really is a likeable guy and it was so out of character and just hilarious watching him shouting and cursing on the balcony at the end and apologising profusely just minutes later.

But just as hilarious and truth be told pillock of the day had to go to the DJ at the Oval. As an angry Elliot walked off in disbelief he was accompanied by Oasis' 'Don't look Back in Anger'. Elliot was surely entitled to under Law 5.1 (s)1.393432(b) under Spirit of Cricket to go and bosh the DJ over the head with the aforementioned Oasis record. Which of course they don't use anymore and it's probably an mp3 through a computer, so he should bosh him with the compuer instead.

[SanjayN]

Why couldn't the umpires have over-ruled Collingwood on the spot? The fact that Benson gave Collingwood an opportunity to reconsider his appeal only proves what the umpires were thinking but were powerless to execute.

This isn't the 1st case of a batsman being impeded. Tendulkar's run out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1MrFOOaXcQ) being a good example.

I, for one, welcome the new challenge rule that is going to experimented in the forthcoming India/SL series.

[Oscar the Grouch]

Patrick - a natural mistake, old man, easily made, and we Aussies forgive you totally. Methinks you are are being modest, it was the auto-correct inserting Australia in any sentence incorporating 'England' and 'win', really, wasn't it? But to be fair, underestimating the Unzudders is a bit sloppy - they may be inconsistent but they can produce some terrific cricket when they're all firing.

Surely there needs to be more discretion for an umpire to declare a 'no disadvantage' rule in cases such as this. The 'spirit' is something which, perhaps nostalgically, we hold dearly about Cricket and a genuine accident, as it would appear to have been, should be arbitrated in the spirit..

Collingwood will, I have no doubt, be tied down and allowed to be ravaged by possums next time in the land of the Long White Crowd.... best to let nature take its way...

[cricketwithballs.com]

Show me an International cricket team with no blood on its sleeves and I'll show you a banana eating a monkey.

[Patrick Kidd]

Ah yes, well spotted everyone. New Zealand won that game, not Australia. My excuse? Well, it was 2am... And I've spent most of my life watching Australia beat us.

And no I'm not saying that anything justifies Collingwood, Homer. I thought my disapproval was quite clear. Certainly I spent the last over of the match hoping New Zealand would win. But in terms of it being a silly heat of battle thing (rather than anything moral) then yes, I do think it is the same as McCullum's action. In that instance, as England should yesterday, New Zealand should have withdrawn their appeal.

[Tony Chance]

Palu Collingwood is a disgrace. There is no excuse for such a display of bad sportsmanship. England population 55 million have to resort to cheating to try and beat New Zealand population 4 million. as a Durham supporter i am ashamed that he represents my county

[arun]

Patrice dreaming ??- "All credit to Australia for closing out the win" - it should be NZ man

[James]

All credit to Australia?? Twisting the kiwi's beak a bit, are you Patrick?

Reparability counts with these kinds of things, so you're probably right to rank this one below the Chappell incident. (That was such a blatantly tin-hearted whatever-it-takes decision that Greg C should have been talent-scouted by a major league soccer team at once.) Collingwood got a fair dose of luck by losing the game in the end. If he'd won off this, I think a later apology would be seen as very hollow indeed.

[Dumbo]

It's NZ that won yesterday against the poms not ozzies as you think.

[Park]

All credit to Australia I agree. But I don't think they have anything to do with this tawdry affair. Would Colly have gone down on the Kiwi black list with Greg Chappell if the English won?

[Homer]

Are you implying, Patrick, that there is moral equivalence between the actions of Brendon McCullum and Paul Collingwood and that because McCullum ran out Murali, that somehow justifies Collingwood's actions?

Collingwood is the captain of Engalnd, for crying out loud. And he had much much more time than McCullum had in making his decision - if you had directed your ire at Vettori for not recalling Murali, you might have had a case but McCullum and Collingwood are chalk and cheese.

And aren't Australia scheduled to tour NEXT summer?

Cheers