A massive controversy erupted during India's Women's T20 World Cup match against New Zealand on October 4. Amelia Kerr was called back after being run out, leading to furious arguments from India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and match officials.
The umpires declared the ball “dead” and did not consider the run-out legal. India eventually lost to the Kiwis by 58 runs. Here’s what happened:
A ball in cricket is considered "dead" under several circumstances, as per MCC. Here are some of the relevant ones to what happened in the match.
First, the ball becomes dead when it is fully settled in the hands of the wicketkeeper or the bowler, meaning they have complete control over it. It is also dead when a boundary is scored or when a batter is dismissed.
If the ball gets trapped between the bat and the batter or inside the batter’s clothing or equipment, whether the ball was played or not, it is declared dead. Similarly, if the ball lodges in the umpire’s clothing, it is also deemed dead.
Other instances include when a fielder returns to the field without permission or if a fielding error results in penalty runs being awarded.
The ball also becomes dead if it hits any protective helmets kept by the fielding team or when the match concludes. The umpire can decide the ball is dead if both the batters and the fielding side have clearly stopped treating the ball as "in play".
An umpire will also call it a "dead ball" in situations involving unfair play, or if a player or umpire suffers a serious injury. If the ball is delivered but the striker is not ready to receive it and makes no attempt to play, provided the umpire believes the striker had a valid reason for not being prepared, the ball is considered dead and does not count in the over.
If the striker is distracted by any noise or movement, whether from inside or outside the match, the umpire can declare the ball dead, and it won’t count as part of the over.
However, to top it all, “whether the ball is finally settled or not is a matter for the umpire alone to decide,” says the official website of the Lord’s.
Catch all theBusiness News, Sports News,Breaking NewsEvents andLatest News Updates on Live Mint. Download TheMint News App to get Daily Market Updates
MoreLess