The Bell epoch

A number of questions come about from the bizarre non-dismissal of Ian Bell at Trent Bridge. The main one is: how hungry was he? He was off for tea like a shot, before anyone else was really aware of what was happening. Was he that determined to beat a hungry-looking Jonathan Trott to the sandwiches? That Trott looks like a man who'd be difficult to shift from a buffet table. Either way, Dhoni/Fletcher's subsequent recalling allows Bell to get away with some grade A fuckwittery while completely emasculating Dhoni, the lily-livered lightweight. You really have to see these things through once you start down that path. Fair enough that he should appeal as we all know wicket-keepers are the biggest set of lying bullshitters* known to man and their word should never be taken without a substantial heap of salt.
Sadly, Bell then failed to be consistent when nicking one to VVS Laxman later on. He could at least have checked for the no-ball.

Personally, I blame Shakoor Rana.


* - Kumar Sangakkara notwithstanding

Run out

One of the ten ways of getting out. You are run out if you have not made your ground before the wickets are broken. There have been some great exponents of the run out down the years, most notably Inzamam-ul-Haq, Owais Shah and Geoffrey Boycott.