Posted by 2019 Cricket World Cup semi-final, India v New Zealand
As you all know, the greatest umpire face of this World Cup was when Jason Roy flattened umpire Joel Wilson and tried to say sorry and Joel Wilson didn’t really feel that the apology was entirely welcome.
This one was good too though. This was the face umpire Richard Kettleborough made when Martin Guptill hit the stumps to run out MS Dhoni in the semi-final.
Umpires are supposed to be impartial and while the face didn’t actually betray any allegiance, it was an unusually emotive way to signal for a review.
“That’s close,” he was saying. “That’s really, really, super-close and this is very, very important.”
That’s good, we reckon. That’s appropriate. The face was a sign that this was such a big match and such a big moment that even one of the Red-Jacketed Robots of Judgement overseeing the game had felt moved by what was happening.
Umpires are supposed to be all chilled and inscrutable, but cricket is such a colossally powerful and wonderful thing that even Richard Kettleborough is apparently not immune to the occasional inadvertent sharp intake of breath.
Similar deliveries:
13 proper highlights from the 2019 Cricket World Cup (and none are from the final because the final was a whole thing all of its own)
Was Jason Roy’s the greatest World Cup hundred celebration?
Other than one brief flicker from Adrian Holdstock we’ve been massively unimpressed with the standard of umpiring at this World Cup
Third umpire referrals
Try to represent a sharp intake of breath through pursed lips and tight teeth in letters.
Ooppfffhhhij.
There’s a bit of Frankie Howerd in his expression as well.
I wonder what “soft signal” that face might be suggesting?
Guardian headline: ‘India’s Virat Kohli unhappy with Cricket World Cup format after semi-final exit’
First paragraph: ‘Virat Kohli has suggested the International Cricket Council may want to consider changing the format of the World Cup after India’s dramatic semi-final exit.’
Actual quote: ‘Asked whether he would like to see the tournament follow the model of the Indian Premier League, in which teams who finish top in the regular season get another chance to reach the final if they lose their first play‑off match, the India captain said: “Maybe.’
The quote part is of course halfway down the page, where they know most of the comments section won’t have read it.
But….web clicks….
Chris Stocks. What a proper piece of shit.
Virat has accepted the defeat and is obviously hurting now. But you have to write a story that makes him look like a sore loser.
Chris Stocks. What a proper piece of shit.
I, for one, welcome our new Red-Jacketed Robot overlords.
Gotta get the comments section all riled up. Leads to more shares and thus more clicks and more ad revenue.
All this from a newspaper that says they want their readers to ‘contribute’ so that they don’t have to resort to the nonsense that the other newspapers do. Bah.
Was meant to be a reply to Howe. Oh well
Their county cricket liveblog is good though.