It means nothing to modern players

To run or not to run The controversy surrounding Ravichandran Ashwinrsquos decision to take the extra run off an overthrow that deflected off the nonstriker has already divided opinions in the cricket worldShane Warne has spoken and he has labelled it a disgrace This from the man who missed the 2003 World Cup with a drugs ban and was also fined for accepting money from a bookmaker in return for providing pitch information Then there was his shirtpulling incident with Marlon Samuels in a Big Bash game where he made aggressive physical contact with an opponent No wonder Ashwin is indignantItrsquos nonsenseCricket has a decision to make about this Spirit of Cricket nonsense And nonsense it is It means nothing to the modern professional cricketer A vague set of words that contain no real enforcement powers other than relying on some quaint outdated traditions that are opaque and redundant in franchise cricket especiallyCricket is now a pragmatic game in every sense on and off the field It is a business A risk versus reward equation from the squad you lsquobuyrsquo to the player rotationrest policy to whether you abandon a cricket tour because you donrsquot trust local security advice Risk v reward Simple as thatSo as a fielder if you decide to chance your arm for a possible runout opportunity in that split second you make a decision Do I hang on to it or let rip We coach kids all the time to do one or the other based on that splitsecond decision The upside is a runout that can turn a match on its head Downside Overthrows with or without a deflection Risk v reward Whatrsquos so controversial about thatIf it had struck Rishabh Pant and deflected onto the stumps and Pant was caught short would Eoin Morgan have withdrawn the appeal Are we seriously expected to believe that the Spirit of Cricket would have been invoked to reprieve the batter If you donrsquot want to risk overthrows hold on to it then Itrsquos the safe option without the upside or the downside Risk v rewardToo partialThis is the same sport that has no problem with nonstrikers blatantly lsquostealingrsquo ground cheating when they are backing up but there is a moral code that governs the bowler doing a Bill Brown For those who are confused by that reference Brown was the batsman who was warned for trying to steal an unfair advantage by Indian legend Vinoo Mankad and was then run out when he failed to heed the warningThatrsquos why the Spirit of Cricket is now a dinosaur It once roamed the green fields of England when there were pompous notions of ldquofair playrdquo by an Empire that epitomised anything but in their colonisation policy But if the laws still allow nonstrikers to deliberately gain an unfair advantage without penalty and even going so far as to cede them the moral high ground if they pay the ultimate price for deception it is difficult to view this latest incident through a commonsense lensThe game invests millions in technology to determine whether a batter or fielder has touched the line with superslowmotion freeze frame technology We have Hot Spot which senses the tiniest of edges We have the irony of watching a noball being scrutinised to see if a fraction of the heel is behind the line but in the background the nonstriker is already out of the frame Thatrsquos how far he is cheating In athletics it results in instant disqualification In cricket it is the bowler who is vilified for playing by the rules but against the spiritItrsquos about time cricket grows up And the cricketers will follow The unseemly exchanges involving luminaries of the world game from three countries required the intervention of the classy Dinesh Karthik to rescue the situation Thatrsquos what the spirit of cricket looks likeMichael Jeh is a Brisbanebased former firstclass player