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New Zealand v West Indies

West Indies review shot down in unusual circumstances due to stump mic malfunction

Ben Gardner by Ben Gardner
@Ben_Wisden 3 minute read

A caught-behind review by West Indies in their second Test against New Zealand was overruled in unusual circumstances, with the stump mic malfunctioning due to an errant throw by a West Indies fielder earlier in the day.

The incident occurred in the 59th over of New Zealand’s first-innings effort, Henry Nicholls being the reprieved batsman. With Jason Holder sending the ball down the leg-side, the ball made contact with something in Nicholls’ vicinity, allowing debutant wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva to take a tumbling catch.

West Indies appealed vociferously, and Holder chose to review the decision just inside the 15-second time limit. The replays showed the ball hitting Nicholls’ shirt, but also passing close to the bat. However, though TV umpire Wayne Knights asked for UltraEdge to be used, no splitscreen replay was forthcoming.

“Ok, we’ve got no UltraEdge, the technology is down so Chris I’m going to get you to stick with your on-field decision,” he said.

“It’s a challenge for the umpires because one of the earlier throws took out the stump mic,” explained commentator Ian Bishop. “So therefore there was no facility to detect an edge or not.”

It turned out it was a throw from Roston Chase, which had just missed the stumps, instead hitting the equipment just behind. Since the review was shot down due to a failure of technology, West Indies retained their review.

At the end of the over the loose cable was reattached, with stump mic having an eventful day. Shannon Gabriel was caught swearing at a teammate after a dropped catch, while just three overs later it picked up another edge, from Daryl Mitchell off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph. This time, however, West Indies opted not to review.

Nicholls, on 70 at the time of the reprieve, went on to finish 117* at stumps.

The incident is available to watch five hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds into the below video.

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