Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Yorkshire Vikings & European Handball
Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT – YORKSHIRE VIKINGS
Cricket is often hailed as a gentleman’s game, but over the years a small minority of the sport have come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
From ball tampering to match fixing, several cricketers have been accused of crossing the sporting line while trying to make personal gains or prioritising a win-at-all-costs policy.
While sportsmanship is at times hard to come by, especially in games between rivals, Yorkshire Vikings displayed amazing spirit during a Vitality T20 Blast match when the team refused to run out Lancashire Lightning’s Steven Croft after the batsman injured himself while taking a run.
With Lancashire needing just 15 runs from 18 deliveries to win, Yorkshire required quick wickets to get back in the game.
By choosing not to run out Croft after seeing him fall onto the pitch, Yorkshire’s actions underlined the importance of player welfare and it should never be prioritised over winning a match – even if that comes in a match of such local rivalry.
In a post-match interview, Yorkshire captain Joe Root said: "As a side we made a very difficult decision under pressure. Croft’s injury looked very serious at first glance. In many ways it was a relief it was nothing serious.
"I am sure there will be many different opinions. Many people would have handled it differently."
Croft's injury turned out to be leg cramp and he was able to continue his innings, going on to score 26 not out as Lancashire won by four wickets with an over to spare.
He said: "Two games in two days at 36 and a bit of sun has done me. I put the brakes on, they worked, and my legs just cramped up. I didn't know where the ball had gone.
"They could have taken the bails off and credit to them that they didn't."
Lancashire were in complete control of the match at the time of the incident and while a wicket would have made things a little more difficult, whether or not Croft was run out was unlikely to have made much of a difference to the result.
Regardless, Sky Sports commentator Rob Key applauded Yorkshire’s sportsmanship in the face of defeat, adding: "When he went down, you don't know if he had cramp.
"All you see is him rolling around on the ground and he can't continue, he can't even try and get back in.
"It's one of those things where people will agree and disagree with and have their point of view."
Roses games between Lancashire and Yorkshire are traditionally hard fought, with a rivalry which dates back to the Wars of the Roses from the 15th century.
Defeat would have hurt badly for Yorkshire, who slipped to third place in the North Group, while Lancashire secured their spot in the quarter-finals with the win.
But Root and his team will have won many admirers for their actions, putting rivalries aside for the good of the game and showing that sporting values are still very much alive.
MISS – EUROPEAN HANDBALL FEDERATION
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter caused an outrage almost 20 years ago when he suggested that women footballers wear skimpier kits to increase the popularity of the women's game.
This outdated, sexist approach to sport should be a think of the past, but women’s handball has encountered similar challenges this week.
The Norwegian Handball Federation (NHF), supported by Sweden, requested that its women play the European Championships in shorts, complaining that the minuscule regulation bikini bottoms were "embarrassing" and making them feel uncomfortable.
The international regulations say that: 'Women should wear a bikini where the top should be a tight-fitting sports bra with deep openings at the arms. The bottom must not be more than ten centimetres on the sides.’
The Norwegian ladies were prepared to pay the fines that violating the rules would incur.
But as the premiere match against Hungary approached, things got more complicated.
"First we were told about a fine of 50 euros per person per match, something that would have landed us a fine of about 4,850 euros. We accepted that", said team captain Katinka Haltvik.
“However, just before the match we were told that we will be disqualified if we play like that. So we had to go with the bikini bottoms."
"So then we are forced to play with panties," team captain Katinka Haltvik told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "It is so embarrassing."
Kåre Geir Lio, head of the NHF, was disappointed with the European Handball Federation (EHF) response to the protest.
"It's so embarrassing and hopeless - we are happy to pay the fine if that was what it was about.
"We have contacted them and worked for this for several years. We have raised it at the Congress and we have been promised that this will be sorted out. Still, nothing happens.
"It's just sad for the ladies to have to deal with this."
The Norwegian team made a point of wearing shorts for their bronze play-off match against Spain with the NHF saying that it would pay their €1,500 fine after it was confirmed by the governing body.
The European Handball Federation (EHF) has said that a commission will look at the changes in the law and present a proposal but in this modern, progressive day and age, it is a sad reflection on the sport that such rules exist in the first place.
“The EHF is committed to bring this topic forward in the interest of its member federations, however it must also be said that a change of the rules can only happen at IHF level,” said EHF spokesman Andrew Barringer.
Despite the lamentable oversight, the EHF could have shown that it understood the situation and how this would reflect not just on them but also on the athletes and the sport in general, by relaxing the rules until new statutes could be put in place.
By refusing to show that flexibility, they showed themselves to be out of touch and stuck in a dark age where equality does not currently exist.
For their organisation and indeed for beach handball to be taken more seriously, the EHF has some serious reputational work to do.