England thought they had taken the key wicket of Quinton de Kock, and were not best pleased when the TV umpire ruled Mark Wood had grassed the catch on the fine leg boundary.
The South Africa opener had got his side off to a flier, bringing up a 20-ball half-century, but it looked as if his innings had been cut short when he slog-swept Adil Rashid to the man on the fine leg fence. Wood claimed the ball low to the ground and celebrated, but de Kock wasn’t convinced, and the decision was sent upstairs by the on-field umpire.
TV umpire Joel Wilson initially seemed to be leaning towards giving de Kock out. “Fingers are under the ball, but can you give me another angle?” he said, before having his mind changed by a side-on shot. “That looks like it’s on the ground now.”
Quinton de Kock survives 😅
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2024
After the third umpire adjudged Mark Wood's catch to be grounded 👀 pic.twitter.com/6FapHu5Mo2
He went on to say that he felt the fingers were down, rather than underneath the ball, and ruled de Kock not out. England captain Jos Buttler discussed the decision with the umpires, but to no avail. “Wood’s clearly not happy, and neither is Buttler,” said Eoin Morgan on commentary.
Shaun Pollock, also on air, felt the umpire had made the correct call. “Obviously he’s a bit of an eagle-eye is Quinton de Kock because he’s spotted something,” he said. “I think on the replay for me it looks like it’s burst through the fingers and made contact with the ground, so that’s the right decision.”
What does the law say on low catches?
The issue of whether low catches have been caught or not is a thorny one. Law 33 states that a catch is fair if: “the ball is held in the hand or hands of a fielder, even if the hand holding the ball is touching the ground,” but also states that the ball must not be grounded. An influential video segment by Tony Greig demonstrated how a camera effect called ‘foreshortening’ can make low catches appear as if they have been grounded, even if the fielder’s fingers are under the ball.
Also read: Explained: Fingers under the ball vs full control
In the 2023 Ashes, a catch by Mitchell Starc was chalked off due to him pressing the ball into the turf long after the ball entered his grasp, due to him being deemed to be not in control of his own movement.
De Kock was dismissed not long after for 65 off 38.
Follow Wisden for all T20 World Cup updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights and video analysis.
