The strangest of things have happened on a cricket field, like a batsman being bowled by dragging a wide ball onto his stumps, or a catch being taken off the bottom-edge of the bat, that too after the ball bounces off the batman's boot. Madanlal, the former Indian all-rounder, was once bowled by English seamer Mike Hendrick in a Test in 1974. Now what is so weird about that, you might ask. But what if I tell you that the leg and off-stumps were flattened, while the middle stump remained standing!

The month of November 2005 was marked by three incidents on the cricket field, all of whom possessed a touch of the unusual.
 

Several fast bowlers of yesteryear did not hesitate to swear at the batsman if they were hit to the boundary, or over it. But not all quickies of the modern era endorse this approach. Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar and a few others are aggressive by nature, but there are times when they have applauded and even smiled at the batsman after getting whacked. However, there is one current cricketer who is a devout believer of the 'glare and swear' method. He is Andre Nel, who usually bowls first-change for South Africa after Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini. Not only does he let his feelings be known, but he also makes faces at his opponent.

It was heartening to watch Gautam Gambhir reply to Nel's hot words in kind and with the bat during the Bangalore one-dayer between the two teams. However, one got the impression that the umpires were pacifying Gambhir, when they should have first pulled up Nel for his deplorable behaviour. The least Graeme Smith could have done is speak to his offending bowler and tell him to concentrate on the game. Aggression is generated internally, but an individual should learn to control it externally.

While the India-South Africa series was taking place, two peculiar incidents took place on the other side of the Radcliffe Line.

A cylinder-burst on the edge of the boundary at Faisalabad, venue of the second Test between Pakistan and England, jolted just about everyone present at the ground. Even as the security guards were restoring sanity and the umpires and players waiting for play to resume, TV viewers were stunned to see Shahid Afridi stand on the good-length spot at one end of the pitch, glance at the pavilion, and then dig his spiked boot into the ground. His intention of scuffing up the pitch and creating spots for the bowlers operating from the other end was ridiculously obvious. It was nothing short of daylight robbery. Unfortunately for him, the cameras caught him in the act, and the ICC match referee banned him for one Test and two ODIs.

Afridi's attempt at 'tap-dancing' came on the heels of another bizarre incident on the same day. Inzamam was declared run-out in curious fashion. He drove the ball straight back to the bowler Steve Harmison, who picked up the ball and hurled it towards the stumps at Inzy's end, in what looked like a vain attempt to run the batsman out. Fearing injury, Inzy took evasive action and moved away from the path of the ball. The stumps were broken and an appeal made. The square-leg umpire consulted the 'third eye' and Inzamam was given out!

The field umpires had clearly ignored Law 38.2, which states that a batsman cannot be declared run-out if he has made his ground, and left it subsequently only to avoid injury. The umpires simply passed the buck to Nadeem Ghauri, the third umpire, who pressed the 'red' button. Many people were wondering whether the third umpire had the power to take a decision on the matter. In a way, he did.

According to the standard playing conditions of the ICC, the third umpire, whenever consulted on a doubtful catch, has got the liberty to point out to the field umpire that although the catch was valid, the ball had not touched the bat or the glove and hence, the batsman was not out. Ghauri could have done something similar, but he didn't. Thus poor Inzamam fell to not one, but three umpiring errors.

- By Piloo Reporter