To walk or not to walk, that is the question..

As much I had restrained from commenting on it, the ugly spat between Craig Mcmillan and Gilly has reignited the debate on walking.The Aussie keeper, a self made cricketer and a consentious one at that set the bar when he started walking when he felt he had nicked one.I recall him doing that a couple of ocassions at least one being the WC 2004 and the recent one in Mumbai test.When McMillan nicked it, Gilly appealed, the umpire
turned it down, Gilly accepted the call but let loose a couple of barbs at McMillan.Nothing unnatural about that.The Kangaroos play hard,let the umpires do their job and usually are up for a couple of beers with the same guy they reminded early in the day,the virtues of using a bat rather than the pads.

Its hard to take sides here.Intl cricket is intensely competitive.Careers are made and broken in a matter of a few tests.Some unlucky blokes never get a second chance, others get dozens and are still on trial and the really unlucky ones like VVS, live under the errie feeling that even after being around for half a dozen or more years or more and putting the best attacks to sword, a failure would set some sort of a witch hunt again.Injuries often mean time away from the field and the insecurity gets heightened when the replacement does a killer job. All of a sudden last seasons hero is no longer a necessity, a sort of player the team no longer needs or cant fit into the new scheme of things.All this plus the financial aspect and u realise that a place in the XI needs to be maintained at all costs.So why would a player walk ? And some players are downright "khadoos".They would ask the local meterologist if it was the local earthquake that removed the bails and not the bowlers delivery himself.

Gilly is the exception that proves the rule.He has never tried to make an issue of his walking habit. He has set a certain way in which he will conduct himself on the field.He does not expect others to walk and certainly isisnt averse from having a go at the batsmen like McMillan who will wait for the umpires call.But when Fleming perceived it as trying to pressurise a player, I think he was getting it wrong.It seems to me to be a reflection
of the state of mind of Intl players these days.Do they have a problem with an honest bloke ? Are they uncomfortable in his honesty ? Would they rather that he played the game in the same way that they do where they will wait for the umpires decision,
thank their stars if he missed the nick or bat-pad sound and mutter a few obsenities if he messed up.

The ICC has appointed professional umpires are on the panel to do their job.The men in white for my money do not seem to be doign a great job and certain teams have come to expect the harsh end of the stick from certain umpires.Ask Ganguly about Bucknor and there wont be too many complimemts I am sure.Bucknor and Shepeherd, just two of the most respected umpires are rapidly loosing their reputations.Sheperd's face might me might cherubic and reminiscent of your charming old uncle, but his standards havent been great in recent times.Perhaps the ICC should look into some newer faces much the way captains look for new blood every now and then.