The MCC have issued a clarification following a contentious moment during the final Ashes Test at the Kia Oval, with Steve Smith given ‘not out’ following a run out appeal.
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Smith had seemingly accepted his fate when a sharp throw from sub-fielder George Ealham looked to have caught him short, but TV umpire Nitin Menon took his time over the decision and eventually reprieved the Australia batter.
There were several points of debate. Jonny Bairstow had made contact with the left-most stump before the ball entered his gloves. Menon had to decide whether he had broken the wicket before he collected the ball, whether he did so again after collecting the ball, and whether he broke the wicket while holding the ball before Smith had made his ground.
There was some movement of the bail before Smith made his ground, and debate was sparked over whether this counted as the wicket being broken. An MCC clarification stated that the bail is only completely removed “at the moment that both ends of it leave their grooves”. A close inspection of the replays suggested that the right-most point of both bails was still in place in the last frame before Smith made his ground.
However, a piece of analysis from Ian Ward on Sky commentary shed doubt on Menon’s judgement that the right point of the left bail was still in place when Smith made his ground. He focussed on three angles, and demonstrated how the middle stump was the one pushed furthest back in a side-on screenshot.
Tom Smith's Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, MCC's Official Interpretation of the Laws of Cricket, adds: "For the purposes of dismissal – a bail has been removed at the moment that both ends of it leave their grooves." (2/2)
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That still left open the question of whether Bairstow had removed the left bail before collecting the ball. He looked to have done so partially, but the complete removal did not come until he had possession of the ball. There is an element of ambiguity in the laws on this area, which state that a wicket is broken fairly if a bail is removed completely by a hand or arm holding the ball. The ambiguity is that it is not clear if the entire removal takes place while holding the ball, or if only the last moment of removal is the important one.
According to law 29.2.1, “The wicket is broken fairly if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground…by a fielder with his/her hand or arm, providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used.”
Smith, on 43 at the time, went on to make 71.
