Australia received two ‘free’ caught-behind reviews in the World Cup final, with TV umpire Joel Wilson checking UltraEdge for bat-on-ball contact after the onfield umpires had sent a stumping appeal upstairs.
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First, on the last ball of the 30th over, Adam Zampa slid a googly past Ravindra Jadeja’s outside edge, with Josh Inglis whipping off the bails. Replays showed that the ball had missed the edge, and that Jadeja’s foot was safely back inside the crease.
Then, in the 37th over, Glenn Maxwell beat KL Rahul’s bat. Again Inglis whipped off the bails, and again a review revealed no edge, with Rahul’s foot rooted inside his crease throughout.
The perceived tactic is for a team to save their own reviews by utilising the umpire decision review system, rather than the player decision review system, and it has come in for scrutiny before. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, Harsha Bhogle felt that something needed to be done about the strategy.
“The umpires have to find a way to see through the tactic of a keeper taking the bails off and asking for a stumping so that they get to check the edge without wasting a review,” he tweeted.
The umpires have to find a way to see through the tactic of a keeper taking the bails off and asking for a stumping so that they get to check the edge without wasting a review
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 2, 2023
Speaking on Hindi commentary during the World Cup final, Sunil Gavaskar praised Australia’s thinking, but was also critical of the umpires for allowing the reviews to take place.
The onfield umpires, if they are sure a batter is not out stumped, do have the option not to send the decision upstairs. They are also able to review caught decisions, but only to check if there has been a bump ball or if a catch has been taken cleanly. They are not allowed to ask for UltraEdge to be used if they are unsure if the batter has made contact with the ball.
However, as per the ICC playing conditions, Wilson is right to check for a caught-behind dismissal when a stumping is sent upstairs: “If the third umpire finds the batter is out by another mode of dismissal (excluding LBW), or not out by any mode of dismissal (excluding LBW), he/she shall notify the on-field umpire so that the correct decision is made”.
