Gods correct the ending
The boos, whistles and catcalls from the crowd told the story, as did New Zealand's refusal to engage in the traditional handshakes that usually signal the end of a red-blooded contest.
The Laws of Cricket can be arcane and are often misunderstood, but 23,000 people knew that something not right had happened when Grant Elliott was run out, having collided with Ryan Sidebottom, with New Zealand 26 runs short of victory.
According to the Laws, the umpires made the right decision. There is no question that the collision was accidental and, given that there was no wilful obstruction, the umpires had no alternative but to send Elliott on his way, once Paul Collingwood had upheld his appeal.
But it did not seem right or just or fair or, to bring in that much-misused phrase, “in the spirit of the game”. It was clear that Elliott would have made his ground but for the collision.
More to the point, had Elliott not done the right thing by getting up and sprinting to the non-striker's end, the umpires would have had no option but to have called dead ball immediately.
England lost the match, but, more important, a good deal of self-respect in that moment. Collingwood will have an uncomfortable couple of days, replaying in his mind the moment that he upheld the appeal until Lord's on Saturday, when the reaction of the most conservative crowd in England will let him know whether he has been forgiven.
Collingwood was outstanding in his honesty and contrition at the end of the game. Although he was slightly disingenuous in that he had more than a split second to come to a saner judgment, he recognised that he had made a wrong call and that an apology was essential. Thankfully, it was accepted.
Imagine, though, if England had won. It is difficult to imagine how Collingwood could have apologised with a straight face; difficult, too, to envisage how the New Zealanders might have felt able to accept it. When Graeme Swann's errant throw missed the stumps and evaded four England fielders, the cricketing gods rendered a judgment of their own.
(Former England captain Michael Atherton wrote the piece for the Times website)
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