You shouldn’t get a runner for cramps, full stop: Strauss

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: September 28, 2009

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Centurion: England may have comfortably moved into the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy when they defeated South Africa by 22 runs and knocked the hosts out of the tournament, but the win has been overshadowed by the controversy during the end of the match at Centurion when Andrew Strauss denied Graeme Smith a runner.

Smith, who battled for 216 minutes in a marathon innings of 141, was clearly disappointed when AB de Villiers was asked to return to the pavilion by the umpires as the South African coach Micky Arthur was seen swearing in frustration. Smith was soon dismissed for 141, and South Africa eventually fell 12 runs short of the 313 that would have given them a mathematical chance of surviving in the competition.

“I was cramping quite badly and I requested a runner,” said Smith later at the post match press conference. “Andrew spoke with the umpires and turned it down. He felt that if you score a hundred, you’re going to be tired. From my perspective, it felt a touch inconsistent. Guys have got runners for cramps in the past, so there needs to be a degree of consistency there. This is the frustration that we have.”

Strauss’s take was obviously very different. “He asked me for a runner because he was cramping,” he said. “The umpires were not particularly keen to give him one. I felt that at the end of a long game, after a long innings, you’re going to be tired. Cramping to a certain extent is a preparation thing. To a certain extent, it’s a conditioning thing. I didn’t feel that he merited having a runner at that stage.”

Smith also suggested that Strauss’s decision may have to do with reports from the media that Strauss was a bit too soft when he called Angelo Matthews back after being given out during England’s match against Sri Lanka. “I’m not going to sit here and slag Andrew and say that he should have done this or that,” he said. “The decision rests with the umpires as well. From my perspective, it’s just about putting it behind me now. The thing I’ve learned from this game is that the world’s round. It’s going to come back somewhere in the game, at some period of time in his captaincy. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it again.”

Strauss was of the view that the refusal of a runner had nothing at all to do with the run out-obstruction incident. “You just go with each situation as it comes,” he said. “I think the umpires were very uncomfortable with it as well. My personal view is that you shouldn’t get a runner for cramps, full stop.”

When it was pointed out that many batsmen had been allowed runners in the past while suffering from cramps, he said, “That’s something for the ICC to look at. I didn’t feel he was cramping that badly either. He was still able to run. That was my view.”

Smith, despite the disappointment of defeat, was still able to manage a smile when he was reminded of the fact that Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan captain, frequently asked for and was given runners. “I don’t know if I want to be likened to Arjuna,” he said. “I think I’ve worked quite hard in the winter [laughs]. From our perspective, it was a crucial period of the game. I was on the field for 95 overs and just felt it was inconsistent, that’s all.”

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