If Andrew Strauss was uneasy about his saintly reputation as England captain, he need worry no longer. Only 48 hours after he was praised for his sense of fair play by withdrawing a run-out appeal against the Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews, he allowed no liberties against South Africa when he refused Graeme Smith's request for a runner.
Smith, whose heroic 141 failed to prevent a South African defeat by 22 runs, and their elimination from the Champions Trophy, was treated for cramp with 72 needed from the final seven overs. An over later, when AB De Villiers walked onto the field as a runner, Strauss refused to sanction the request, causing angry shakes of heads in the South African dressing room.
For Strauss, it was a case of No More Mr Nice Guy, but he was within his rights. A batsman's entitlement to a runner for cramp is at best a grey area, and Smith's cramp was mild enough just to be interpreted as run-of-the-mill fatigue as he reached the end of a three-and-a-half hour innings.
It was an unapologetic England captain who justified his stance as England celebrated a victory that secured a semi-final place. "He asked me for a runner because he was cramping,'' he said. "The umpires were not particularly keen to give him a runner. I felt that at the end of a long game when you have had a long innings, you are going to be tired and that's the sort of thing that happens.
"Cramping is to some extent a preparation thing and to a certain extent a conditioning thing and I didn't feel that he merited having a runner at that stage. My personal view is that you shouldn't get a runner, full stop. I didn't feel he was cramping that badly — he was still able to run.''
Smith's disappointment about the decision remained dignified, as he tried to come to terms with the latest South African failure in a major one-day tournament. South Africa had fallen 22 runs short of victory, and only 12 runs short of the 313 they needed to stay ahead of Sri Lanka on run-rate and retain slim hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
"It's disappointing when you have played a knock like that not to get over the line,'' he said. "I was obviously cramping quite badly, I requested a runner and Andrew spoke with the umpires and turned it down. He felt that if you score a hundred you are going to be tired, but from our perspective it's inconsistent. Guys have got runners for cramp in the past and there needs to be a degree of consistency there. It was a crucial part of the game.
"I am not going to sit here and slag Andrew and tell him what he should have done. The decision lies with the umpires. The thing I've learned in this game is that the world is round and something like this will come back again.
One aggrieved South African reminded Smith that Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning captain in 1996, and a man not much given to sprinting, was regularly awarded runners for a variety of reasons. "I don't know if I want to be likened to Arjuna," Smith replied. "I think I have worked quite hard in the winter."
The controversy could not dampen Strauss's satisfaction over a batting display that he ranked as "the best that I can remember from an England side."
"One of the things we have tried to do since coming here is not to die wondering. I think that has shone through. We can play the shorts. Sometimes it's about our mindset, whether we loosen the shackles enough and take the game too them."
Owais Shah, named man of the match for his 98 from 89 balls, said: "The England batting unit is in a very dangerous place. We have nothing to lose. We just want to go out and express ourselves."
