Chaos erupted in the Caribbean Premier League on Thursday night, as Kieron Pollard expressed his displeasure at a controversial overturning of the third umpire's decision against Imad Wasim.
Pollard's Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) had been put in to bat by the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons (ABF), and put up 134-8. Pollard himself was the star with the bat, top-scoring with 47.
In the chase, the Falcons lost Brandon King and Kofi James in the powerplay, before Hassan Khan was stumped off the first ball of the tenth over to leave his side 68-3. Imad Wasim then came to the crease, and the first ball he faced saw controversy erupt.
On-field call reversed
The left-hander was rapped on the front pad by Sunil Narine from around the wicket. TKR's fielders went up in appeal for lbw, but umpire Christopher Taylor was unmoved. After a brief discussion, captain Pollard signalled for a referral of the call, sending it up to TV umpire Nigel Duguid.
During the review process, the umpire checked whether the ball had hit the bat, and despite what appeared to be a significant deflection off the blade, ruled that there had been none. The ball-tracking visuals showed the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps, and Imad was given out as the on-field umpire's decision was overturned.
The batter was shocked at the call, and remonstrated with the on-field umpires. As he was arguing his case, a couple of more replays came up on the big screen at the stadium, and Imad gestured towards them to show there was clear evidence he had hit the ball. But having been given out, he eventually left the field, making his way back to the dressing room.
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Reversal of on-field call reversed
But then, in a strange turn of events, on-field umpire Taylor was given a message (presumably from the TV umpire) to overturn the already-overturned decision of out, and call Imad back from off the field.
This time, it was the turn of TKR to protest the call. Play had already been held up by close to five minutes, with the new batter still not having come to the crease.
Pollard was involved in an animated discussion with the officials, as TV commentators speculated he was making the point that Imad had left the field after being given out, and could not be called back. Coach Phil Simmons could be seen saying the same to the fourth umpire.
After much deliberation and discussion, Imad was eventually allowed to come back out and resume his innings.
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This incident may have exposed a grey area in the Laws of the Game, as there is no explicit ruling on such an incident taking place. Law 31.7 allows the umpires to recall a batter who has left the wicket under the misapprehension of being given out, but in this case Imad had left only after being given out.
In addition, while the correct decision may have eventually been made, Pollard and TKR's case could be strengthened by the fact that the reversal of the TV umpire's initial decision was not made according to any due process, but simply on-the-fly.
After reprieve, Imad Wasim pulls a 'Ben Stokes', earns deflected four
But the controversy did not stop there. Imad batted through the innings to help ABF move towards their target. In the 19th over, with 15 runs required off 10 balls, Imad hit the ball to long-on and attempted to run two.
As he approached the crease after the second run, the throw from the deep struck Imad on the hand, deflecting off him and away to the boundary in a manner reminiscent of Ben Stokes during the 2019 World Cup final. Pollard was not happy with this incident either, and sarcastically clapped in Imad's direction. TKR also used a review to check whether Imad could be given out for obstructing the field, but the decision was not out.
2019 final same today at cpl
— FAKHAR 💚 AMIR 💜IMAD (@hahs4221522) September 20, 2024
Today match had everything pic.twitter.com/IAORyYuc6R
ABF got a total of six runs thanks to the deflection, and three deliveries later Imad took his side over the line to finish unbeaten on 36 from 27 balls. He was not Player of the Match, though, as that award perhaps curiously went to ABF opening batter Justin Greaves. He scored 46 off 48 balls and was retired out by his team at the end of the 18th over to enable them to get a better hitter out in the middle.
When asked about the Imad non-dismissal at the post-match presentation, Pollard channeled his inner Jose Mourinho and simply said, "If I speak I will get into trouble," while winning captain Chris Green called it "chaos, absolute chaos".
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