Umpires should invoke cricket’s laws and protect England’s tailenders from Australia’s relentless “bodyline” bowling in the ongoing Ashes series, former England captain Michael Atherton has said.
Australia have reclaimed the urn with an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series, their fiery pace battery of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins singeing England’s frontline batsmen in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
The pace trio have not spared the tailenders.
England’s No. 10 batsman Jake Ball was subjected to a bouncer barrage in the Brisbane opener and No. 11 James Anderson suffered a sickening blow to the side of his helmet in the third Test at Perth.
Atherton conceded Australia were clearly the better team and that any side with such ammunition would have attacked the tailenders for practical and psychological reasons.
“That said, I did wonder aloud at the time why the umpires were so reluctant to act to protect Ball,” Atherton wrote in the Times newspaper.
The law states that short pitched bowling is dangerous if the umpire considers it likely to inflict physical injury when measured against a batsman’s skill.
“Test cricket or not, the law and the playing conditions are there to protect batsmen incapable of protecting themselves,” Atherton added. “Cricket is an odd game in that it has three distinct disciplines and, within that, you have the unusual situation where someone who is totally useless in one area can face a world-class performer in another — with potentially harmful consequences.”
“Batsmen who cannot bowl are not required to bowl to great players, but the opposite is obviously the case — precisely why the law is framed as it is, as built-in protection for the incompetent,” he said.
“No one wants to see the game sanitized, but the law is there for a reason. The umpires should make use of it,” said Atherton, who played 115 Tests between 1989 and 2001.
Australia captain Steve Smith found Atherton’s claims “a bit over the top.”
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS