Ten incidents to remind us that Cricket is still a gentleman's game

# 8 -Mahendra Singh Dhoni calls back Ian Bell

Ian Bell had hit a four and thought that he could go to his dressing room for drinks. But, what he didn’t know was that Praveen Kumar who was fielding in the deep had actually cut off the ball before it crossed the boundary lines. So, it meant that the ball was not yet “dead”. Even Praveen Kumar was not aware of this.

He casually threw the ball to MS Dhoni who then passed it to Abhinav Mukund. Mukund, sensing these things, took the bails off the stump, technically meaning that Ian Bell was out. The umpires too confirmed this and he was ruled out. Everything that happened was technically correct, but was not within the Spirit of the Game.

When the Indian team entered the pitch after tea, there were boos all over the place. But,then the boos turned into cheers as the crowd saw Ian Bell making his way into the pitch. MS Dhoni had decided to withdraw his appeal. Sportsmanship prevailed in the end.

# 7 – Batsmen walking without being declared out

“Not walking is not cheating” is a saying that justifies Batsman staying at the crease despite knowing that he is out. You cannot ask a Batsman to walk out but you have to agree that it dignifies the sport.

How many times have we seen great batsmen like Adam Gilchrist and Kumar Sangakkara walking even when they are not declared out.

It shows great sportsmanship and dignity that this sport commands.