Watch: During a Sheffield Shield match, Jake Weatherald deflected a throw from Jackson Bird and set for an extra run. Bird was not amused.

After opting to bat in at the Adelaide Oval, South Australia were bowled out for 227 despite Jake Lehmann’s 73 and Benjamin Manenti’s 59. Bird and Peter Siddle shared the spoils with identical figures of 4-51. Opener Tim Ward (82) then held the Tasmanian innings of 245 together even as Wes Agar picked up 4-34.

In the second innings, Siddle (4-45) and Beau Webster (4-39) left South Australia left reeling at 89-6. Their hopes rested on Weatherald, who had opened batting and seen all six wickets fall at the other end. He was joined by Nathan McAndrew. Bird, who had not picked up a wicket until this point, was bowling to Weatherald.

Bird bowled from over the wicket. Weatherald played a forward defensive shot, but the motion of the stroke had taken him outside the crease. Bird tried to throw down the stumps at the striker’s end to run Weatherald out, only to find the latter not only inside the crease but also between the ball and the stumps.

Weatherald deflected the ball deliberately with his bat. As the ball rolled away towards square-leg, Weatherald and McAndrew ran for a single. Bird was not amused, but he seemingly did not appeal for obstructing the field either. Under law 37.2, “a batter shall not be out obstructing the field if the obstruction or distraction is accidental.” Since the throw might have hit Weatherald had his bat not come in the way, he would almost certainly have been ruled not out.

He would not have been out hit the ball twice either, according to law 34.2.2, for the ball had touched a member of the fielding side between his two strokes.

Weatherald fell for 52, but McAndrew (35), Manenti (85*), and Agar (33) took South Australia to 252. The Tasmanian openers, Ward (60*) and Caleb Jewell (43*) then took their team to 104-0 by stumps. They need another 131 on the final day.

Watch the throw and the batting away here:

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