It's only a matter of time before this thread is besieged by those enemies of justice who would sacrifice the sacred laws of our game at the altar of their own misplaced indignation (again).
Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the three umpires for having the moral fortitude to apply the laws correctly, as they are written, despite the risk of being flagellated by the batons of public opinion. They are, each of them, vessels of truth and fairness.
oh good grief
what were the non-strikers gaining when mankaded? 1/10 of a run? what did the bowlers (hope to) gain? a wicket
what was Bairstow gaining when Careycaded? nothing. what did Carey gain? a wicket
what was Mathews gaining by taking a few seconds or 1-2 minutes longer to get to the crease? nothing. what did Bangladesh gain? a wicket
seems to be a common theme there, want a wicket, go for an indirect route to get it. the laws are there to maintain a balance, but ultimately it is a GAME not war, players are human not robots, exploiting the laws can't be justified as "it's in the laws" unless you are a bit of an *ahem*
the game is supposed to be a contest between bat and ball, and played in good spirit with respect for each other and this kind of thing is dragging the game right down. What I find hilarious and offensive all in one is people argue "the ball wasn't dead" or "the non-striker was trying to gain an unfair advantage", both by doing what hundreds and thousands and millions have done before without fear of some smartarse exploiting the letter of the law, and in this most recent farce suggesting "he should have checked his equipment", which even if he had done, or hadn't, wouldn't mean it couldn't break just like that. I've been using same pair of nail clippers for decades, they broke the other day, not something I could have anticipated, it happens (sometimes) that things stop working or break
you are justifying the extremes some go to in order to get a free wicket, play hard, play fair, if you want to get into law(s) become a lawyer.
