Cross-checks are not called in the abundance that you would like because it would grind the tempo of the game down and give entirely too many man-up situations if a referee would simply call a penalty every time a defensive player’s pole makes contact with a offensive player while having two arms attached to it. The cross check rule exists to stop a player from griping the stick at two opposite sides and using the length of the shaft to transfer force harnessed by the respective arms on that shaft. This rule should be interpreted as the skill level of the game dictates, because solid defense includes sitting back in a defensive stance and giving equal pressure back to a driving opponent, while at the same time driving him into an alternative position away from the back pipe. In the photos you are referencing, a defensive player is in a good defensive stance while most likely giving a disproportioned amount of pressure with one hand or the other indicating that the force being transferred is not in the middle of the shaft, bur rather in one of his gloves/arms. This is a good call by experienced officials that know a cross-check when they see it, and know when a player is giving equal pressure back while playing good defense. If you interpreted this rule too closely, you could call it on every play, much like holding in football. Nobody in lacrosse has a problem with it.