answered
Q: I hear people talk about the spirit of cricket and would say it means different things to different people.
I’d like to ask what in your opinion is the spirit of cricket?
A: The ideal of fair play is an English one, that also resulted in the English legal system devising the Courts of Equity which is also based on fairness. English and subsequently British legal systems were much more focused on the rights of the individual than those on mainland Europe.
Of course ideals are not always translated into reality but the spirit of cricket is about fair play. The commercialisation of the game since the 1970s has made it much more cut throat which has led some to question if the spirit of cricket still exists. A famous incident was Stuart Broad in the 2013 when a shocking umpire error saw him clearly edging the ball and being caught and being given not out. Many thought he should have walked but that feeling was by no means universal. The spirit of cricket would have dictated that he walk.
