Bad show in the Australia -v- England One-Day Inernational
Terribly bad show in the Australia -v- England ODI match on Saturday. Taylor loses the chance for a maiden ODI century because the FOUR umpires officiating in the match didn't know the rules.
If you didn't see the incident, England were 9 fa and Taylor was on strike on 98. Hazlewood bowled and appealed for an LBW while Taylor and his partner were running for a leg bye. The umpire gave Taylor "Out, LBW", and in the commotion, Taylor's partner tried to complete the run for the bye, but an Australian fielder ran him out.
Taylor appealed the LBW decision and on review the decision was overturned and he was NOT OUT. At that stage, a "Dead Ball" should have been called under Law 23:
LAW 23 (DEAD BALL)
1. Ball is dead
(a) The ball becomes dead when
(i) it is finally settled in the hands of the wicket-keeper or of the bowler.
(ii) a boundary is scored. See Law 19.3 (Scoring a boundary).
(iii) a batsman is dismissed. The ball will be deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal.
However, the Square Leg umpire accepted the appeal for Run Out and that brought the match to a close. The umpires, especially the Match Umpire, who has overall charge of the match, should be fined and suspended one match for incompetence.
Should Bailey, he Australian Captain, have called the Englishmen back to the wicket? There was no way that England could have won the match as they were 111 runs behind with 48 balls to play. It is likely that Taylor would have got his Century, but getting it might have been a hollow victory for him. He played well enough to deserve a Century. The most likely scenario would be that Taylor scored his Century, then his partner would have been dismissed and Taylor would have left the ground 100+ (Not Out), which would have been great for his Batting Average.
Would Bailey have been criticised if he sought to over-rule the Umpire's Run Out decision? The International Cricket Council suspended him in 2014 because of a Captain's error. He wouldn't want to risk an offence so early in 2015.
For the cricket lover, the best one can say is "Well played, that man."
Old Man Emu
