The Umpire's Decision

And how more cameras probably don't help.

It’s a bit of a rag bag this week. Click on some links for content I’ve been writing and producing elsewhere.

While the England Football team was losing to France, the men’s cricket team were doing rather well in the second test match against Pakistan. This came after a famous and truly astonishing victory in the first test match. On a pitch that promised nothing but a dull draw, captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes conjured a positive result from thin air and dry ground.

England then went on to win the second test match. Winning two matches in a series is something no England team has ever done in Pakistan before in the history of the game. And this is after England just won the T20 World Cup, whilst also being World Champions in the 50 over form. For now, at least, the England cricket fan can say we are actually quite good at cricket.

The Umpire’s Decision

This latest match was marred only by an umpire’s decision that spelt doom for the Pakistani batsman who might have saved the day for his team. Did the wicket keeper take the catch cleanly? Did the ball touch the ground? Replays were inconclusive. The on-field decision was upheld, the batman trooped off and England went on to win the game.

Naturally, fans of Pakistan said it was clearly not out. England fans said that it looked like a clean catch. As usual in these situations, everyone sees what they want to see. You’ve heard of selective hearing? It turns out vision can also be selective.

Over at the Thinking Faith website I wrote about how instant replay feeds our desire to know everything. We can add more and more cameras to sporting occasions, but knowledge isn’t everything. Technology cannot fix the real problem at play in sport – and in life. Why not go and read the short article?

While you’re there, you could also read the article I wrote about the secret formula behind the Christmas movie. It’s an article I am really proud of.

Over on Thinking Faith, you’ll also find an interesting article by Kevin Hagino on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). No, me neither. Apparently, Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon and Gwyneth Paltrow are among a slew of celebrities who have recently been sued for allegedly duping their followers into buying Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Nope, me neither. Again. What’s going on? How did we get here, and why would anyone want to buy random pictures of monkeys?

Fitter, Happier and More Productive

Meanwhile, the latest Cooper and Cary Have Words podcast is a conversation with Reagan Rose from The Redeeming Productivity podcast. He’s all about getting more done for the glory of God. In our conversation, we wonder whether the prospect of "reward in heaven" is a godly motivation for productivity. You know what? I think it is! But we also ask what Cooper was doing with a family bag of Wotsits on a darkened military base in the late 90s.

Oh, and as always, the most valuable thing I do in any given year is make podcasts for Christian families to listen to. If you’ve not heard the Faith in Kids podcast, why not give it a try? You can listen to it in the car with your kids and then have a chat about it afterwards. This Christmas, we’re looking at the weird world of the gospel of John.