The ABC TV drama The Slap, based on Christos Tsiolkas best-selling novel of the same name, has raised the debate of smacking your children. It’s not a bad show, based on the goings on at a backyard BBQ.
Amongst alcohol, friendship and a children’s backyard cricket game a man slaps a child who is not his son. The party comes to a sudden halt. The child’s parents are so affronted they vow to take the man to court.
Talkback radio and newspaper editorials have been tossing around arguments for and against smacking children ever since the show started. But I feel, and have done so for a very long time, there’s a far bigger controversy here. You see, in the story The Slap, the young boy who receives the slap has been a right royal rat bag all day at the BBQ and is obvious very grumpy and tired. The straw that breaks the camel’s back for the young fellow is the LBW decision in the game of backyard cricket. When giving out he goes off his nut and refuses to go out. And here is where the huge injustice and consequential controversy truly lies – LBW in backyard cricket!!
I remember, when I was about 8 years old, playing a game of cricket with my brother and cousins. I was in nice touch with bat that day scoring some easy runs, and I had been at the crease for a while. A slower delivery from brother had caught me slightly off guard, missing my bat, but hitting me plum on the
middle of my shin. There was a huge appeal and I was deemed dismissed - L.B.W.!!!
I had absolutely no idea what this LBW rule was – Leg Before Wicket – what was that all about. Of course
your legs are before the wicket, where else are they supposed to be? It’d be bloody hard to defend your wickets if your legs were behind them!!!
I was shattered.
I think this incident may have scared my future cricketing career. And here’s my point – The LBW rule should be completely banned from backyard cricket.
According the MCC and Lords official rulings of the game:
“The striker is out LBW in the following circumstances (a) The bowler delivers a ball, not being a No ball and (b) the ball, if it is not intercepted full pitch, pitches in line between wicket and wicket or on the off side of the striker’s wicket and (c) the ball not having previously touched his bat, the striker intercepts the
ball, either full pitch or after pitching, with any part of his person and (d) the point of impact, even if above the level of the bails, either (i) is between wicket and wicket or (ii) if the striker has made no genuine attempt to play the ball with his bat, is either between wicket and wicket or outside the line of the off stump. and (e) but for the interception, the ball would have hit the wicket.”
How on earth is any of that going to make any sense to an eight year old boy! How on earth is that applicable to game of backyard cricket! And how on earth is a group of over enthusiastic pre-pubescent boys going to adjudicate on that in the backyard!!
‘No LBWs’ should be inscribed into house rules for every backyard game of cricket. Sure we can have ‘over the fence is out’, ‘back fence on the full is six’, ‘on the roof of the house is out’…… etc, etc, it’s about time we said NO to LBWs in the backyard.
So, as we head into summer, keep the controversies in the back yard to a minimum and rule out LBWs. You never know it might even encourage more aspiring and talented stars of future to continue with their dreams, rather than be scared for life after a bad ruling of LBW in the backyard.
Amongst alcohol, friendship and a children’s backyard cricket game a man slaps a child who is not his son. The party comes to a sudden halt. The child’s parents are so affronted they vow to take the man to court.
Talkback radio and newspaper editorials have been tossing around arguments for and against smacking children ever since the show started. But I feel, and have done so for a very long time, there’s a far bigger controversy here. You see, in the story The Slap, the young boy who receives the slap has been a right royal rat bag all day at the BBQ and is obvious very grumpy and tired. The straw that breaks the camel’s back for the young fellow is the LBW decision in the game of backyard cricket. When giving out he goes off his nut and refuses to go out. And here is where the huge injustice and consequential controversy truly lies – LBW in backyard cricket!!
I remember, when I was about 8 years old, playing a game of cricket with my brother and cousins. I was in nice touch with bat that day scoring some easy runs, and I had been at the crease for a while. A slower delivery from brother had caught me slightly off guard, missing my bat, but hitting me plum on the
middle of my shin. There was a huge appeal and I was deemed dismissed - L.B.W.!!!
I had absolutely no idea what this LBW rule was – Leg Before Wicket – what was that all about. Of course
your legs are before the wicket, where else are they supposed to be? It’d be bloody hard to defend your wickets if your legs were behind them!!!
I was shattered.
I think this incident may have scared my future cricketing career. And here’s my point – The LBW rule should be completely banned from backyard cricket.
According the MCC and Lords official rulings of the game:
“The striker is out LBW in the following circumstances (a) The bowler delivers a ball, not being a No ball and (b) the ball, if it is not intercepted full pitch, pitches in line between wicket and wicket or on the off side of the striker’s wicket and (c) the ball not having previously touched his bat, the striker intercepts the
ball, either full pitch or after pitching, with any part of his person and (d) the point of impact, even if above the level of the bails, either (i) is between wicket and wicket or (ii) if the striker has made no genuine attempt to play the ball with his bat, is either between wicket and wicket or outside the line of the off stump. and (e) but for the interception, the ball would have hit the wicket.”
How on earth is any of that going to make any sense to an eight year old boy! How on earth is that applicable to game of backyard cricket! And how on earth is a group of over enthusiastic pre-pubescent boys going to adjudicate on that in the backyard!!
‘No LBWs’ should be inscribed into house rules for every backyard game of cricket. Sure we can have ‘over the fence is out’, ‘back fence on the full is six’, ‘on the roof of the house is out’…… etc, etc, it’s about time we said NO to LBWs in the backyard.
So, as we head into summer, keep the controversies in the back yard to a minimum and rule out LBWs. You never know it might even encourage more aspiring and talented stars of future to continue with their dreams, rather than be scared for life after a bad ruling of LBW in the backyard.
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