The contentious dismissal of Amy Jones off a waist-high full-toss in the first Women’s Ashes ODI has sparked a debate over umpiring inconsistency in judging no-balls.

The incident occurred off the final ball of the 20th over of England’s chase, with Amy Jones receiving a high full-toss from Tahlia McGrath, which she swatted straight to Ellyse Perry at deep square-leg. The decision to check for a waist-high no-ball was taken upstairs, with the third umpire reviewing the footage for a considerable period before giving Jones out.

There was plenty of reaction on social media following the decision, with many expressing their unhappiness over the call, suggesting that the ball wasn’t dipping enough to be deemed a legitimate delivery. Some even brought up a similar incident from the Australia-India game last September, when Nicola Carey was handed a reprieve from the umpires following a waist-high full-toss in the final over, which helped keep their Australia’s record streak in ODIs intact.

The decision in the Canberra ODI didn’t come at as crucial a juncture as the Carey non-dismissal but it did spark debate over the right methodology to judge such calls. A few suggested using ball-tracking to properly analyse the path of the dipping delivery, for matches that have a DRS system in place.

The slide continued for England following Jones’ wicket as they eventually fell short by 27 runs. Consequently, Australia retained the Ashes.

 

Related tags:

Series Editorial