V V S Laxman’s Stumping by C S Baugh– Absurd and not in the True Spirit of the Game
V V S Laxman’s dismissal in the 3rd Test between India and West Indies being played at Dominica, is absurd, unfortunate and the worst use to which technology has been put to use till date in Cricket.
VVS is on the back foot; he has left the ball and was in the process of getting back to preparing to face the next ball. In that process he slightly lifted his back foot. Laxman was clearly not off balance. The ball was dead as far as the batsman was concerned. Surprisingly the leg umpire referred this to the third umpire even as Laxman and the bowler were wondering what it is all about. In the first place it is ridiculous for the wicket keeper to stump a batsman even as he is preparing to face the next ball.
Even after a technical debate if opinions are expressed that the ball was still in play, circumstantial evidence and replays would clearly show that the batsman was in the process of readying himself to play the next ball. It’s also unfair and not in the spirit of the game for the wicket keeper to have stumped and appealed. When does one see a wicket keeper stump a batsman whose back foot is well inside the crease? The glee and celebration by the West Indians team after getting a positive decision was totally uncalled for. They need to hang their heads in shame and take a leaf out of the great sportsmen spirit displayed by players like Courtney Walsh, who even in a crucial world cup match refused to run out a batsmen clearly out of his ground. What a shame to the game of cricket. A game considered as played by Gentlemen is again tarnished and Laxman who is known to be a true gentleman is now the victim.
Extremely unfortunate since Laxman was clearly focused and would have scored many more runs. He very closely missed hitting two centuries in the previous test match and has now missed out on another opportunity to get a big score.
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