Gamesmanship – cheeky or cheating?
Posted by on 20 Aug 09
The dark art of gamesmanship has been a hot topic of conversation for sports fans this summer. But is it really an 'art' and at what point does a cheeky bending of the rules become no better than plain cheating?
Cries of gamesmanship were sounded (mainly in Aussie accents) following England's defiant last man stand in the final session of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff. With the Welsh night drawing in and the Australians needing just one more wicket for victory, England's Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar – the very definition of tail-enders - had to hold out for 69 riveting balls to secure a draw.
As survival became more and more realistic, so came the cue for the sudden and not-terribly-subtle appearances of England's 12th man to come out to the middle and issue new pairs of gloves to Anderson - twice. Ricky Ponting was not amused and instructions to 'clear off' were delivered quicker than a Mitchell Johnson bouncer. Nevertheless, time was eaten up and the home side managed to hold out and keep the series on a level pegging. Gamesmanship? Absolutely. Cheating? Certainly not, but it was blatant enough to leave England's skipper looking a little sheepish amid the post-match English relief.
'Bloodgate' has been the other big gamesmanship story on the back pages recently. It all kicked off in the Heinekein Cup quarter-final last April between Harlequins and Leinster. With Quins trailing 6-5 in the closing minutes, and desperate to bring on a goal-kicker to try for a last-ditched drop goal, Quins winger Tom Williams was subbed off for a blood injury to the mouth, allowing the club's recognised kicker, Nick Evans, to take to the field.
With bright red blood spilling from his mouth, Williams, was spotted winking at a teammate as he left the field and questions were immediately asked. The injury was later ruled to have been faked, the 'blood' said to have come from a capsule rather than a wound, and the aftermath has been severe: the player banned for 12 months, the club fined $215,000 and the coach, Dean Richards, resigned.
In this case the wavy line between gamesmanship and cheating was certainly crossed and the image of the sport tarnished. The punishment dished out to the club is entirely appropriate – and a ban from this year's Heinekein Cup may follow – however, Williams' treatment seems excessive. If a 12 month ban for faking an injury was taken up by rugby's cousins of the round ball, football, then there would barely be a player eligible for selection come Christmas.
How gamesmanship is viewed is of course often dependent on who is doing it and how. One of the greatest, and self-confessed gamesmen, is the hero of British tennis and casual polo shirts - and still the last home-grown player to win Wimbledon - Fred Perry. Eight-time Grand Slam winner Perry was an unrepentant proponent of what he called "surreptitious gamesmanship". From painting his racket bright white to distract an opponent, to cartwheeling and jumping over the net at the end of a match to show that he wasn't tired, he used all kinds of tricks to gain the upper hand.
The pinnacle must surely be when he 'persuaded' a tournament court marker to move the service line three inches closer to the net prior to a match against renowned big-serving American opponent Ellsworth Vines – who of course then proceeded to rack up fault after fault.
Gamesmanship in sport is everywhere – in every penalty box dive on the football field and piercing grunt on the tennis court. Sometimes it's cheeky, often charming, and other times it can leave a bad taste in the mouth. But there is a line, and once crossed, it's just not cricket.
