Mohammad Siraj’s animated send-off of Ben Duckett might have gotten him one demerit point from the ICC, but old England skipper Michael Atherton has spoken up in partial defence of the Indian seamer’s emotional outburst. Writing for The Times, Atherton highlighted the distinction between burning passion and sheer aggression and contended that a line has to be drawn between declarations of commitment and instances that transgress into improper behaviour.
“Wouldn’t fans prefer to watch players worry too much rather than not enough about Test cricket?” Atherton asked. “Wouldn’t they prefer to watch cricketers who are emotionally committed to representing their country rather than indifferent?”
While defending the overall intensity of the recent Lord’s Test, Atherton did not shy away from calling out moments he deemed unacceptable. One such instance he highlighted was Virat Kohli’s shoulder barge on Australia’s Sam Konstas during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne last December.
“There is no room, let alone for the shoulder barge that Virat Kohli threw in the Boxing Day Test, when he walked into Sam Konstas,” Atherton said. “No one wants fisticuffs or profuse verbal abuse on the pitch. But there wasn’t any of that in this game just two teams playing with passion, talent, and commitment. What a game they gave us.”
Kohli’s act, which occurred on the opening day of the Melbourne Test, was in clear breach of the ICC’s Code of Conduct. The rulebook explicitly prohibits “any form of inappropriate physical contact,” including instances where a player “deliberately, recklessly, or negligently” runs or walks into another player or umpire.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was vocal in his criticism of Kohli’s behavior at the time, saying on Seven Network: “Virat walked one full pitch across to bring that confrontation about no question in my mind.” Former leg-spinner and television commentator Kerry O’Keefe repeated the sentiment on Fox Cricket, adding: “Kohli’s career’s been constructed on arrogance. He appeared to dislike seeing the same qualities in a debutant. I believe he’s in trouble.”
Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee for the act, though it wasn’t new for him to be penalized. In 2019, he pleaded guilty following a similar shoulder barge on South Africa’s Beuran Hendricks.
By contrast, Atherton pointed out, Siraj’s celebration did not enter such waters. He also mentioned another such moment of drama from the Lord’s Test, when Ravindra Jadeja collided with Brydon Carse mid-pitch while the ball was in transit in a close run. In Atherton’s version, the collision was unintentional both players were following the ball and did not spot each other in time.
In a match that had its share of edge, this moment was more notable for the response than the act itself,” Atherton wrote. “Stokes intervened promptly as peacemaker when the two had words. It was more heat-of-the-moment than hostile.”
Atherton also referred to Jofra Archer’s fiery response after bowling Rishabh Pant knocking over the off stump and then hurling a few choice words at the Indian keeper-batter as he walked back.
Looking back at the ferocity of the contest, Atherton encapsulated it by making a comparison with another gripping day at Lord’s:
“Six years ago on the day, this ground saw the most dramatic finish in cricket history- the World Cup final settled on a boundary countback. Once more, Lord’s produced another absorbing finish, with two familiar figures, Stokes and Archer at the very centre of the action. In Test cricket, few outcomes are closer than a 22-run win.”
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