Just like life, the game of cricket is also not all black or white. There are certain grey areas that cause a dilemma among enthusiasts. Take for instance Ben Stokes’ accidental six in the World Cup finals. Former umpire Simon Taufel also believes it shouldn’t have been declared a six.
In addition, when there was a tie in the Super Over, the rules stated that the team with the maximum boundaries be declared the winner but fans were very unhappy with the decision. They asked for the rules to be amended as they were always unfair to bowlers.
In a video shared by Sachin Tendulkar, another example of the rules being preferential to the batsman was put forth for debate. The ball dislodged a bail from the stumps but it didn’t fall to the ground.
A friend shared this video with me.
Found it very unusual!
What would your decision be if you were the umpire? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/tJCtykEDL9— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 24, 2019
In the match, the batsman was declared not out but the former cricketer thought that the umpire’s predicament was unusual in such a case. The video quickly went viral with everyone giving their two cents on the potential dismissal. The tweet gathered 66,000 likes and 15,000 comments in no time.
One section of fans said that the batsman should be dismissed as the ball moved the bail from the wickets.
According to me the batsman should be given out as the bail has moved from it's groove.
What the on field umpires were thinking? "RAM JAANE"😉
— VINOD KAMBLI (@vinodkambli349) July 24, 2019
Out …. Bowlers r always neglected .. rules need modifications to make the game more interesting
— Dr. srp (@Srpmbbs) July 24, 2019
Out because one of the bail is out of the wicket
— Srikanth Singh (@SrikanthSingh20) July 25, 2019
Don't know umpire's decision
But you would have declared yourself out
And would have left ground honestly. For sure— Abhishek kadam (@AAbhisheak) July 25, 2019
But another section revealed that the rules were clear (albeit harsh). As long as the bails or stumps do not hit the ground, it is a not out.
Not Out Sir, though harsh on bowler. But rules say so, The disturbance of a bail, whether temporary or not, shall not constitute its complete removal from the top of the stumps, but if a bail in falling lodges between two of the stumps this shall be regarded as complete removal
— Prabhu (@Cricprabhu) July 24, 2019
Not Out, Bails should fall
— Syed Moien Hussain (@moienhussain) July 25, 2019
Some people just trolled ICC rules after the controversial decisions taken at the England v. New Zealand final at Lord’s.
England batting -It's not out
New Zealand batting -it's out 👍😉— Vicky சோழன் (@VickyCholan) July 24, 2019
Whoever scored more boundaries…!!!
Nothing else matters…😂😂😂— 🇮🇳 Renu Gadgil 🇮🇳 (@RenuGadgil) July 24, 2019
Out or not out, one thing is for sure, being a cricket umpire is no piece of cake. Even the God of cricket gets confused sometimes so maybe we should cut them some slack, don’t you think?