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Stop Hiding Behind Your Mates
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Langer Watch!
Coward n. person who is easily frightened Coward Now a Cheat! Justin Langer has been luckily cleared of bringing the game into disrepute after an incident during the third Test in Sri Lanka in Colombo.The Brown Nose Gnome appeared to knock one of the bails off the stumps as he ran passed when changing he fielding position mid over. After the next delivery the Aussie team on mass made a hit wicket appeal against batsman Hashan Tillkaratne after one of the bails was spotted on the floor by captain Ricky Pointing. It was turned down after TV replays appeared to show Langer knocking it off as he walked past the stumps. There was a lengthy hold-up while the third umpire scrutinised footage of the incident and gave Tillakaratne rightly not out Langer insisted he had "no idea" the bail had fallen off, saying: "I'm glad common sense has prevailed." He added: "It goes without saying that had I known, I would have picked it up and put it back on straight away." However a few Questions remained unanswered. Why was the coward running so close to the stumps when moving to a different fielding position? As anyone who has played cricket at any level knows, you shouldn't go anywhere near the wicket if you are not batting, bowling or fielding the ball. Why didn't wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist notice one of the bails was missing as he focused on the delivery after the Gnome had 'accidentally' dislodged it? Isn't it the job of the wicketkeeper to stand behind the stumps and follow the flight of the ball and to watch the movement of the batsman? Surely he should have known Tillkaratne had not dislodged the bail. Finally and most importantly, would another team apart from Langer's Aussies get away with such a crude act of gamesmanship? Langer had been charged under level one, clause two of the International Cricket Council Code of Conduct. It states that players should not "engage in conduct unbecoming to their status which could bring them or the game into cricket into disrepute". He could have been fined up to 50% of his match fee if found guilty. Match referee Chris Broad said Langer had given an "honest and succinct" explanation but had been "reminded" to avoid any such incidents in future. We await further developments.
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