 Gilchrist has turned walking into something of a habit |
To walk or not to walk - that no longer seems to be the question for Australian batsmen.
Long chided as being competitive to the point of dishonest, the old joke goes that Aussies only walk when the car breaks down.
Not anymore. On their present tour of India, Australia appear determined to stick to a new policy of giving themselves out.
Three batsmen took decision-making out of the umpires' hands on day one of the second Test in Madras - skipper Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz.
Kasprowicz's dismissal was the most notable of the three as umpire David Shepherd had turned down Anil Kumble's appeal for a bat-pad catch.
The veteran English umpire looked utterly bewildered as he explained to colleague Rudi Koertzen that he had "already given him not out".
The practice of walking is virtually dead in all forms of the game, and certainly former Australia skipper Steve Waugh was a staunch believer in only being out if the umpire says so.
But it is familiar ground for Gilchrist, who has come to personify Australia's bid to clean up their image.
 Kumble celebrates the wicket of Gillespie - one of three to walk |
There are not many bigger stages than a World Cup semi-final, but it was there that the keeper-batsman chose to walk against Sri Lanka in South Africa last year.
Like Kasprowicz, Gilchrist over-ruled the umpire (in that case it was Koertzen) and said after the match he did it in the hope others would follow suit.
"I have begun to think it is up to the players to start taking each other's word and be honest with each other again," he said at the time.
It presents cricket - and the professionals who play it - in a starkly different light to the last time Australia played a Test series in India.
Michael Slater lost his cool in spectacular fashion when a third-umpire ruling deemed he had not caught Rahul Dravid in the first Test in 2001.
There was similar disquiet from Australian players when Michael Vaughan refused to walk in the 2002-03 Ashes despite Justin Langer assuring the England batsman he had taken a clean catch.
These and other events led Cricket Australia to introduce a new players' code last October, with tougher penalties invoked for indiscretions such as dissent and racial abuse.
Australia's walking policy would appear more likely to have been a player initiative than an instruction from the cricket board.
But for how long can they keep it up?
Cynics will say it is easy to walk when you hold a 1-0 lead, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the final Test if Australia are looking for a win to wrap up the series.
For now, however, cricket supporters the world over must commend the best team on trying to be the best-behaved as well.
MMIX
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To walk when a game and series is so finely poised takes a lot of integrity
