The West Indies came close to causing an upset by beating Australia today. Australia batted first and West Indies had them on the ropes before allowing them to recover. Set a target of 289 to win, West Indies fell just short, disappointing many in the cricket world who tend to cheer against Australia partly for being part of the cartel with India and England and partly because Australia practices a vicious form of gamesmanship that extends to even cheating, taking the view that it’s ok as long as you are not caught.
But while Australia were batting, there was a superb catch taken by Sheldon Cottrell to dismiss Steven Smith. Cottrell was fielding on the boundary and in taking the catch, his momentum would have taken him over the line, so immediately after catching it one-handed he threw the ball up while he was still inside, stepped outside and then in again while the ball was in the air, and caught the ball again. It was a beautiful example of quick thinking and timing, appreciated best when seen in slow motion from the back. (Many thanks to ridana in the comments who provided the link below to the one I posted earlier that had been removed.)
Meanwhile, yesterday, Bangladesh also came close to but failed to beat New Zealand while India cruised to a win over South Africa. South Africa has lost all its first three games and will now need to win its remaining six if it wants to make it to the semi-final round. That is a very tall order.
For those who don’t know, he did this because making a catch but then stepping over the line (or even touching it) means the ball is considered to have gone over the line for a scoring shot as if it had not been caught at all; the batsman is thus not caught out but actually scores four runs.
MANU,
I don’t undervalue the Windies Like you do -- them beating or losing to AUS would not be an upset. WI beat England (the present no.1 team) in their last series and were pretty solid in their first match in the world cup.
however this year’s format might be viewed re TV income/power, any of the ten teams could be nay of the others. As an AUS fan, I was pleased that we got a result today and was totally amazed at the catch that got Smithy -- that kind of catch is how my Grandfather got me into watching cricket -- the pure admiration of skill over simple national (or county) support.
I can still remember how he went on about Gordon Greenwich scoring at will against Warwickshire’s attack in a JPS Sunday league game -- at the time I was hurt that ‘my’ team lost and couldn’t understand why he was exultant about the ‘other side’s’ batsman.
I do now.
Ross
Holms @1: I played cricket as a kid in England, but obviously never took in a lot of the subtleties. If the catch is made in bounds, why does it matter if the fielder then steps out? Silly, but potentially clarifying, hypothetical; Suppose the catch is safely made in bounds, but a couple of seconds later, while still holding the ball, the fielder trips and falls across the boundary. Does the “out” then become “not out”?
Law 32: http://www.rulesofcricket.co.uk/the_rules_of_cricket/the_rules_of_cricket_law_32.htm
John @4: Thanks, I think that answers my question.
Beautifully codified laws, though I think a little gender-neutral brush-up wouldn’t hurt.
and the hero of the clip knew all that and made the calculations and decisions correctly
.
If only we could put that power to good use
Ross @#2,
The Windies are perfectly capable of beating any team. But the fact is that they are currently ranked #8 in ODIs, quite far below Australia at #5. So a win by them could be considered an upset.
For those who came in late and found the video removed, here’s (I think) the official one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcBCm6bsKKI
What I want to know is why the boundary line is so wavy? Does it get kicked around during play, and they don’t bother to fix it or what?
Law 19 2(c)(i), ridana.
(It used to be the fenceline, but the rope got introduced for safety considerations; didn’t hurt that the decreased playing area favoured more boundaries. That’s what you are seeing, a rope with padding)
Thanks ridana, I could not fugure out what Mano meant without the clip.
What a move!
I’m not a rabid cricket follower but I was much more impressed by the athleticism of the running bare handed catch than the throwing the ball into the air trick.
Running along and not tripping over the ‘rope’ barrier while catching the ball was a feat. Throwing the ball into the air to regain control was just knowing the rules. I would compare it to the sometimes somewhat convoluted machinations of a baseball catcher putting the batter out after a third strike hits the ground or a basketball player not handling ball after going out of bounds until someone else inbounds does.
Just about every game develops nuances when it’s taken seriously.
It was a truly outstanding catch though.