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In what turned out to be one of the controversial moments of 2023, Jonny Bairstow was stumped off the bowling of Cameron Green during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. With England already 1-0 down, they needed to get over the line in this game to level the series. It was tense. The partnership between Bairstow and Ben Stokes was going to be key.
However, Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey noticed that Bairstow was getting out of his crease early on more than one occasion. He pounced on this opportunity, and after Bairstow ducked a bouncer, Carey collected it and, in one motion, threw the ball towards the stumps. The England batter ventured out of the crease before the over was called by the umpire and was given out after consulting the third umpire.
It certainly did not go down well with the English camp, who deemed the ball to be dead. Moreover, the spirit of cricket was evoked once again, with the UK PM Rishi Sunak too intervening, accusing Australia of not complying with the spirit of the game. “He said he simply wouldn't want to win a game in the manner Australia did,” UK PM’s spokesperson had said.
England eventually went on to lose the match by 43 runs. While what Carey did was certainly within the rules, it seemed like it gave England just the kick up their backside they needed, as they would eventually come from behind to draw the series 2-2.
Angelo Mathews
Timed out
It has been an interesting few months for Angelo Mathews. He was recalled to the ODI side in the middle of the World Cup, returned to T20Is after a gap of three years and then also slammed a ton in the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
We are not going to discuss how, even at the age of 36, he keeps going, but in fact, talk about a couple of bizarre dismissals he has been a part of in the last four months.
In the World Cup match against Bangladesh in Delhi, Mathews was due to walk out following the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama. He did, technically, but did not do so in the stipulated three minutes that are provided to the batters to take strike once a wicket falls.
According to the MCC rules, “After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 3 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.”
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan appealed, and he was eventually given out. There are arguments that Mathews reached the crease on time but did face the ball as a strap on his helmet was not in place, making his dismissal all the more controversial.
Here's an explainer by Anirudh Kasargod explaining everything you need to know about this dismissal.
Hit-wicket
There was no controversy in this. Mathews looked to sweep a wayward ball down the leg side off Qais Ahmed during the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Colombo. He hit the ball well down to fine-leg, but the shot's momentum was so much that he knocked the stumps too.
Mathews had no complaints this time, though, walking back to the pavilion for a well-made 141, eventually helping his side to a 10-wicket victory.
Mushfiqur Rahim
Since 2017, the ICC ruling stated that all handling the ball dismissals will come under the purview of obstructing the field. Someone had to be the first, right? And that turned out to be veteran Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim. Rahim defended the ball well off Kyle Jamieson, and then with the bat not holding the bat, he patted the ball away. New Zealand appealed, and Mushfiqur was given out.
Here is everything you need to know about this dismissal.
Hamza Shaikh
Moving onto the Under-19 World Cup, we saw Keemo Paul run Richard Ngarava out at the non-striker’s end in 2016, which was bizarre back then. Eight years later, in the 2024 edition, we have seen another rare dismissal. This time, England’s Hamza Shaikh was given out, obstructing the field against Zimbabwe in a Super Six game in Potchefstroom.
Shaikh defended the ball down leg, and when the ball was stationary, he picked up the ball and tossed it to the wicketkeeper, which is quite often these days. However, wicketkeeper Ryan Kamwemba, who was on the way to pick up the ball, appealed, as did bowler Ryan Simbi.
37.4 of the MCC rulebook reads, "Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, he/she uses the bat or any part of his/her person to return the ball to any fielder".
Upon inspection, it was given out by the third umpire. Unlike Musfiqur, the ball Shaikh picked up was stationary, which is why this one seemed harsh, but it was within the rules of the game.
Shaikh is only the second player from the Under-19 World Cup to be out in this fashion after South Africa's Jiveshan Pillay against West Indies in 2016.
Hitting the bat twice
In a first in international cricket, Malta's opening batter, Fanyan Mughal, was out hitting the ball twice. Mughal looked to pull the ball, but the pace was too much, and it bounced on the pitch after hitting his body. The non-striker had come down the wicket looking for the run, and Romania wicketkeeper Satvik Nadigotla ran in to collect the ball in a bid to run him out.
However, Mughal batted the ball away when the ‘keeper was just about to pick it up. The players appealed, and the batter was given the ball “hit the ball twice.”
According to the relevant MCC rules, “The striker is out Hit the ball twice if, while the ball is in play, it strikes any part of his/her person or is struck by his/her bat and, before the ball has been touched by a fielder, the striker willfully strikes it again with his/her bat or person, other than a hand not holding the bat, except for the sole purpose of guarding his/her wicket.”
