Against Sri Lanka in Galle on Friday, New Zealand opener Devon Conway reviewed an LBW decision given out on-field, only to find himself given out caught instead.
On day two of the second Test between the sides, Sri Lanka resumed their innings at 306-3, with Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis unbeaten overnight after Dinesh Chandimal had scored 116 on day one.
Day two saw the hosts pile on the runs. Mathews was dismissed for 88, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva for 44, but the Mendises – Kamindu and Kusal - saw their side through to a first-innings declaration at 602-5. Kamindu finished on 182 not out, equalling Don Bradman's 13 innings to reach 1000 Test runs and Kusal scored an unbeaten 106.
With 14 overs left in the day's play, New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway walked out to the middle. Latham was dismissed in the very first over, caught in the slip cordon off the bowling of Asitha Fernando.
Conway went next, in the 9th over, but his dismissal was a touch strange.
Devon Conway reviews LBW decision only to be given out caught
Facing left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, Conway was rapped on the back thigh by a delivery that spun into him from outside off stump. The bowler, keeper and close-in fielders all went up in appeal, and umpire Nitin Menon raised the finger.
Conway chose to review the decision almost instantaneously, and he could be seen indicating to Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal that he had nicked the ball. When TV umpire Ahsan Raza went through the process of reviewing the dismissal, there was a clear spike on the UltraEdge as the ball passed the bat before hitting Conway's back pad.
Read more: IPL founder Lalit Modi labels Hundred 'big fat Ponzi scheme' after leaking financial projections
As a result, Conway could not be out lbw, but Raza requested the footage to be played through, in order to see where the ball had gone after hitting the pad. Having edged the ball, Conway could still be out if it had been caught by a fielder before touching the ground.
Sure enough, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva at first slip had grabbed the ball, and after a couple of replays the TV umpire was satisfied that he had his fingers underneath the ball, and that it had not bounced before he took it. On that evidence, Raza ruled Conway out, upholding the on-field umpire's call.
Commentator Mitchell McClenaghan did suggest shortly afterwards that he felt the TV umpire had ruled the catch clean very quickly, and that it perhaps merited consideration from a few more replay angles. Conway did not appear happy with the call either, as he walked off the field.
What do the Laws say about the situation?
Firstly, according to the section 31.4 of the World Test Championship's Playing Conditions, appeals cover all possible modes of dismissal. Therefore, when the umpire ruled Conway out, there is no way of knowing whether or not he had been given out lbw or caught.
Either way, as per Appendix D, section 3.1.1, "A player may request a review of any decision taken by the on-field umpires concerning whether or not a batter is dismissed, with the exception of ‘Timed Out’". This means however he had been given out, Conway was within his rights to review the call.
Also read: 'Made such a big deal' – Shaheen Afridi denies issues with workload
At the start of the review process, as per section 3.3.3.2 of Appendix D, "The relevant on-field umpire shall initiate communication with the third umpire by confirming the mode of dismissal for which the relevant on-field umpire adjudicated the appeal." This means that the on-field umpire communicated to the third umpire that he had given the batter out lbw, in this case.
Finally, according to section 3.3.4 of Appendix D, "The third umpire shall not withhold any factual information which may help in the decision making process.
"In particular, in reviewing a dismissal, if the third umpire believes that the batter may instead be Out by any other mode of dismissal, he/she shall advise the on-field umpire accordingly."
This means the TV umpire Raza, having checked the lbw decision made by the on-field umpire, was not only encouraged but required to further check whether Conway could have been out in any way other than lbw. He duly did so, and ruled Conway out.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
