Following the tragic loss of his wife Heather in 2006 after a demoralising 5 year battle with breast cancer, the Northern Irishman has understandably struggled for form, with the trauma he experienced off the course clearly taking its toll on his golf. There were no top 10 finishes in any notable tournaments and many thought that the emotional scenes enjoyed at the Ryder Cup just 6 weeks after Heather's passing would be the last highlight of this battling golfer's career.How wrong they were.
Seeing off a late surge from big Phil Mickelson, Clarke held his nerve on the final day, playing some sublime golf that underlined the deserving nature of his Open win. And whilst man-of-the-moment Rory McIlroy was making rather lame excuses, some of the characters of the game made sure to congratulate his compatriot on the win that guaranteed a warranted headache the following morning. Their display of affection towards Clarke proved what a popular win this was, and showed how sport is not always such a cruel mistress.
Fast forward 2 weeks and we arrive at Nottingham, the setting for England's second test of the 4-match series against India, at Trent Bridge. In previous series', England have surrendered 1-match leads here -not this time. An emphatic 319-run win sealed in 4 days puts Strauss' side within touching distance of the long sought-after number one spot. Indeed, one more win from the remaining two tests would guarantee the 2 match margin needed to topple their faltering and arguably worn-out opponents from the top of the tree. So with England being superior in all departments, would it be the much-improved Tim Bresnan, who made a magnificent 90 with the bat and took 5-48 with the ball, (appropriately on Yorkshire Day) that would write all the headlines for this match? Not quite.His brilliant performance was outshone by one of the greatest displays of sportsmanship ever witnessed.
With their out-of-sorts bowling attack desperately missing the expertise of injured Zaheer Khan, India could find no way past Ian Bell, who made another test century with apparently consummate ease. His innings was built on a stubborn defence mixed with perfectly-timed pushes towards the boundary and as tea approached, the Warwickshire Bear looked in no mood to surrender his wicket. But that's exactly what he did in a mistake later described by former England captain Mike Atherton as a 'fundamental error', by leaving his ground prematurely on the last ball before the break. A review confirmed that Bell was run out, and the confused and disappointed look on his face was shared amongst those in the Trent Bridge crowd, who accompanied India's exit with a chorus of undeserved boos.The exact details of what happened in the ensuing 20 minutes will only ever be known by those present, but what came of that conversation in the Indian dressing room will be remembered by many around the world, as M.S. Dhoni acted on behalf of his team and his country to hand Bell's wicket back to him, quoting that the Indian players didn't feel right about the incident. It is worth remembering that India had their backs up against the wall at this stage, and looked nothing like the side that deserved to be number one in the world. They needed any help they could get, especially in their quest to oust Bell, and would have been perfectly within their rights to continue with the game and leave such matters in the hands of the Umpires. But they showed why cricket is different. They showed that the integrity on which the game was founded still exists in the modern game. They acted to uphold what they thought was 'right' and acted in the spirit of the game, and for that there should be no higher praise.
Had the match progressed into a tight contest and his side had come out second best, perhaps with Ian Bell's extra 22 runs making the telling difference, then Dhoni's decision may have destroyed his reputation, and would surely have caused unprecedented dismay back home in India. Ultimately, Bell's naivety and fortune did not significantly alter the course of the match, with other Englishmen, and especially Tim Bresnan, ensuring that the game was well beyond India, thus the incident will forever be remembered as it should be: a great exhibition of sportsmanship. Many in sport would do well to sit up and take note of what happened on Sunday afternoon and re-consider their approach to sport.
To finish, I will include my other favourite exhibit from the sportsmanship museum, from a man who once floored an official, proving that you should never judge a book by it's cover. Ladies and gentlemen, Paolo Di Canio.
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