Source: Daily_Mail
PATRICK COLLINS: Cricket's moral maze lets cheats like Graeme Smith prosper
Whenever two or three cricketers are gathered together, the name of Daryl Harper will be spoken with a snigger. [LNB]The poor chap's fate was sealed on a steamy morning in Johannesburgwhen he sat in his third umpire's room and failed to hear GraemeSmith's snick to the wicketkeeper.[LNB] It is said that the accident-prone Australian had failed to turn up the volume. [LNB] You're nicked: South Africa's captain, Graeme Smith failed to walk[LNB]No matter: the fact remains that in declaring the South Africancaptain not out, he had committed one of those howlers from which therecan be no return. Harper is now a figure of fun. But where does thatleave Smith? [LNB]It is an important question, yet nobody seems to have asked it.[LNB] Clearly, he knew he had touched the ball. Equally clearly, he was prepared to stay put and hope for the best. And it worked. [LNB]He had scored 15 runs at the time and he went on to score 90 runs more. And each one of them was made under false pretences. [LNB]Now, some might call that simple cheating but cricket sees itdifferently. When he reached his century, several England fieldersapplauded, tacitly recognising that they would have done precisely thesame as Smith. [LNB]Old timers rushed to assure us that they, too, had played by that same, dubious code. Nasser Hussain was the most explicit.[LNB] More from Patrick Collins... PATRICK COLLINS: Is it time for Ferguson to ride into the sunset?09/01/10 PATRICK COLLINS: Shame on the men who have made a basket case out of poor old Pompey02/01/10 PATRICK COLLINS: Why sixth is no good to the man from Nike19/12/09 PATRICK COLLINS: At least Jessica won't lose out to an Angel12/12/09 Patrick Collins: Can football really afford to wave goodbye to £70m?05/12/09 PATRICK COLLINS: Portsmouth remains a famous old club but it needs football men to halt the sad decline28/11/09 Patrick Collins: These clowns have turned our World Cup dream into a circus28/11/09 Patrick Collins: Thierry, you cheated and cost the Irish their dream21/11/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE 'I attach no blame to Smith,' he announced. 'He is not the firstbatsman to refuse to walk when he was out and he will not be the last.'[LNB]While Andy Flower, the England coach, furnished Smith with a character reference. [LNB]'I respect him very much as a cricketer, a leader and a person,' he said, with generosity which verged on the saintly. [LNB]The entire incident illustrated the moral maze in which cricket is floundering. [LNB]'Cheating' is the vice which dares not speak its name.[LNB] Instead, they call it 'recognising reality'.[LNB]Almost to a man, those old players and their modern successors will tell you that they never depart until the umpire raises his finger. [LNB]This, they claim, helps atone for all those decisions which have unjustly been given against them. [LNB]It is a slippery piece of self-justification, designed to legitimise duplicity. It is an argument which says: we all cheat, therefore there's nothing wrong with cheating. And when they are asked how the game can be made more honest, they all cite the amazing power of technology.[LNB] Cricketers believe in technology the way children trust in video games. [LNB]The Smith fiasco, they contend, could not have happened had the South African broadcasters equipped themselves with Hot Spot or Snicko or similar machines with nursery names. [LNB]So they cost £60,000 per Test match? So what? Worth every rand. [LNB]It's the only way to get the right outcome. [LNB]Well, at the risk of giving Luddite offence to the great god technology, I suggest that there is another cheaper, more civilised way. [LNB]Model of integrity: Adam Gilchrist[LNB]And I offer the example of Adam Craig Gilchrist, an Australian who was not only a rather good wicketkeeper, but also scored 5,570 runs in 96 Tests at an average of 47.60.[LNB] Gilchrist was that rarest of beings, a walker. [LNB]When he flashed at the ball and missed, he stayed at the crease. When he felt the faintest nick he walked off, whatever the umpire's verdict. [LNB]He just knew it was the proper thing to do, the only way in which the game made sense. [LNB]Of course, he was given some poor decisions, he was occasionally sent packing when he hadn't touched it. But if he stayed, the umpire knew beyond question his cause was valid. There was trust and respect between player and official. A sense of honour. [LNB]The sort of thing that cricket used to take pride in. [LNB]If everybody walked - swallowed hard at injustice and accepted fair dismissal - then the game would work justly and efficiently. [LNB]But that, it seems, is asking far too much. [LNB]Attitudes have changed. [LNB]We now have Graeme Smith, walking into a Press conference at close of play and objecting to questions about his conduct.[LNB] 'It shouldn't be an issue,' he said. 'I came here to talk about a hundred.' [LNB]Of course, he did, because he is a man who believes that ends justify means. [LNB]A man who remains highly respected by the England coach. A man who played against the great Adam Gilchrist, and never even began to understand him. [LNB] Never mind the terror, the team's insuredAt a time when most football clubs seem obsessed by matters financial, it was fascinating to hear plucky little Portsmouth demonstrate their own sense of priorities. [LNB]In the wake of the savage atrocity in Angola, Mark Jacob, the club's executive director, spoke to Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. [LNB]Jacob wanted to bring the four Portsmouth players back from the Africa Cup of Nations. [LNB]'It's most distressing and very, very upsetting; firstly for the players and secondly for their families,' he said. 'But I can confirm, to allay fans' fears, that we've been on the phone to our insurers and our insurance brokers have confirmed that our players are on accident cover.' [LNB]So there you have it: whatever may happen over these next few weeks, Portsmouth's insurers will do the decent thing. [LNB]The sensitive Mr Jacob has spoken. We must hope that the players, their families and all those fearful fans will be suitably reassured.[LNB] Hatton must be rescued from his own deadly follyEverybody seems agreed that Ricky Hatton's plan to have 'just one more fight' is a thoroughly bad idea. [LNB]They cite his devotion to pies and pints, with its calamitous effect on his weight. [LNB]He currently admits to 12st 10lb, but it could be as much as 13 and a half. [LNB]This from a man who fights at ten stones.[LNB] Yet the main objection lies in the memory of that terrible knockout inflicted by Manny Pacquiao last May. [LNB]Even this savage sport was shaken by the sight of the stricken Hatton, lifelessly twitching while frantic attendants sought to revive him. [LNB]Mercifully, he came through, and we assumed he would opt for a safer, saner future. [LNB]For this is a palpably bright man. [LNB] Painful memory: Ricky Hatton lies on the canvas after being knocked out by Manny Pacquiao[LNB]Surely he can recognise reality when it throws a left hook at his chin? [LNB]Apparently not.[LNB] In the course of a sad sales pitch on 'Hatton TV' he claimed that he is fully recovered and ready to fight somebody substantial: 'It's gotta be a champion or a big name.' [LNB]So who can stop him? The answer should be the British Boxing Board of Control, whose obligation is to protect fighters from themselves. [LNB]They must know that they have to tell Hatton that his career is over, but will they dare? [LNB]The signs are depressing. In the Board's Yearbook, the General Secretary Robert Smith wrote; 'Unfortunately, Ricky Hatton's brave attempt to be considered pound-for-pound champion against modern great Manny Pacquiao failed. [LNB]'But Ricky is still one of the world-class operators in a very competitive light-welterweight division.' [LNB]It is dangerous tosh, yet I fear that Hatton will take it as licence to risk his health in the most brutal and unforgiving of all sports. [LNB]As he says: 'We'll soon find out, won't we?' Indeed we shall. And we may be horrified by the answer.[LNB] [LNB]P.S: 'Where did it all go wrong?', tweets Ryan Babel (left), who has spent a miserable season at Liverpool and is being pushed by his manager in the direction of Birmingham City. [LNB]Curiously, the same forlorn question was once directed at another useful winger who had fallen out with his club. [LNB]It was asked by a waiter delivering champagne to a hotel room. [LNB]The player was entertaining Miss World at the time and the bed was strewn with banknotes, following a hugely successful evening at the casino. [LNB]Sadly, history does not recall George Best's reply. [LNB] [LNB]
