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Brendon McCullum celebrates 'THAT' catch with his team-mates - Source: Photosport -
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Brendon McCullum's contentious catch has already polarised the nation but is he as really as bad as those bloody Aussies? Two of tvnz.co.nz's sport writers debate the incident for argument's sake.
A will to cheat
By Chris Matthews
We always knew that Brendon McCullum was ruthlessly competitive however - make no mistake - he took his bloodthirsty will to win to a despicable level on Wednesday afternoon against Bangladesh.
His catch that wasn't, which dismissed Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan for 87 as the tourists threatened to chase down New Zealand's imposing first innings of 553-7 declared, is out-and-out cheating. No more, no less.
Anyone that has ever played cricket, at any level or any location, be it a beach or a car park, knows when they have taken a catch and there is no way Mr McCullum can tell me that he thinks that piece of theatre was legitimate.
And of course this isn't the first time he has pressed his callous intent. Three summers ago he ran out Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan as he went down the pitch to congratulate centurion Kumar Sangakkara and while it was permissible, it was certainly against the spirit of the game.
That was perhaps the first piece of concrete evidence that the New Zealand wicketkeeper, albeit in the heat of the moment, is willing to do almost anything to win and Wednesday's episode only reconfirms those suspicions.
And while it was by no means as barefaced as the Greg Dyer fiasco or as blatant as many of Brad Haddin's transgressions, at the end of the day, it is all of the same. Hell he may as well be an Aussie.
An honest mistake
By Max Bania
Love him or hate him, Brendon McCullum is never far away from the headlines.
McCullum has few qualms about being the centre of attention but, as he has learned in this Test alone, cricket is a fickle game and adulation can quickly turn to scorn.
Three summers ago, the Black Caps keeper sparked outrage when he quite legitimately ran out an absent-minded Muttiah Muralitharan while the Sri Lankan legend was congratulating a teammate on reaching a century.
On Wednesday, McCullum's contentious "catch" denied Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan a century of which no man in Hamilton's sparsely-populated ground would have begrudged him.
But what seemed at the time like a blatant case of cheating now looks like nothing more than an honest mistake.
Elated as he was at finally ending a record-breaking partnership, McCullum was "not 100% sure" that he'd caught Shakib's thin edge cleanly and referred the issue to the umpire, as he was obliged to do. At this stage, the matter was entirely out of his hands.
Aussie umpire Rod Tucker, standing in his first Test, was satisfied that the catch was clean, and sent the in-form Bangladesh skipper on his way.
It was the rookie's first serious umpiring blunder of the Test, but as Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori rightly points out, is this not the type of incident that the Umpire Decision Review System was introduced for?
Shakib had recourse to the review system but chose not to use it. Maybe because he was unaware it could be used to check clean catches; maybe because he was happy to accept the umpire's word. That's neither here nor there for McCullum.
It's no secret that McCullum can let emotion cloud his judgement at times, but when he receives the full backing of Vettori - one of the most honest and respected figures in the game - that's good enough for me.
Does he need his eyes checked? Possibly. Is he a cheat? Not on his captain's life.
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What argument do you side with? Feel free to comment
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentLeary said on 2010-02-18 @ 20:23 NZDT: Report abusive post
Give the guy a break! He went to the umpires after not being sure and they did nothing.... All explained in his interview - http://www.blackcaps.co.nz/news/international/1/video-interview-brendon-mccullum/6652/article.aspx
pinez4 said on 2010-02-18 @ 20:03 NZDT: Report abusive post
People need to get the facts right, Mccallum asked Vettori who asked the umpire who decided it was out. The batsman has the right to review the decision. Get over yourselves especially journalists who want to make something out of nothing, typical.
neo said on 2010-02-18 @ 16:20 NZDT: Report abusive post
I have played cricket all my life and now umpire cricket. All I can say about this is "You know if yo catch the ball" and "you know if you have not caught the ball". It black and white, there is "NO" grey area.I have not seen the alledged incident, but if McCullum has cheated, and it's proven, he should be made an example of by the ICC. (if they can find a backbone)
Laurie Reid said on 2010-02-18 @ 15:45 NZDT: Report abusive post
Dyer cheated against a very good NZ team. Haddin cheated against a very very good Indian side. McCullum cheated against Bangladesh. It is just embarrassing!
sachin_23 said on 2010-02-18 @ 15:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
the fact that he cheated to beat bangladesh is pretty shameful. Vettori is no better. way to go black craps