Recently, there has been some controversy in the world of cricket. The full details are described well in this piece but the gist of it is as follows. During a game between Australia and England, after the ball had been bowled, the English batsman Jonny Bairstow stepped forward thinking that the game was no longer in play. This allowed the Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey to throw the ball at the stumps and get Bairstow out. As a result, Bairstow had to leave the field and later that day, Australia won the game. Would England have won were it not for this piece of quick thinking from Carey? It's hard to say, but the game certainly would have been a lot closer. So why is this controversial? After all, Carey's actions were completely within the rules of the game and all of the umpires and players agreed that Bairstow indeed out. The controversy stems from a nebulous concept known as 'the spirit of cricket'. The 'spirit of cricket' is mentioned in the preamble to the official Laws of Cricket and broadly encompasses good sportsmanship and fair play. But the fact that it is not properly defined means that different people will have different views on what kind of actions are within the spirit of the game. Pat Cummins, the Australian captain believes that Carey's actions were within the spirit of the game, and the Ben Stokes, the English captain believes that they were not. Various media outlets have taken sides on this issue. To be clear, the 'spirit of cricket' is not just 'good sportsmanship applied when convenient'. Players often make choices that are within the spirit of the game which put their team at a severe disadvantage. Indian player MS Dhoni famously withdrew his appeal against Ian Bell. Within the rules of the game Bell had been run out in a moment of confusion but Dhoni believed that it was not within the spirit of the game, and let Bell come back to bat. The spirit of the game is something that spectators and players genuinely care about. Certain histo