Watch: A no-shot dead ball call by the on-field umpires denied Worcestershire a boundary during their four-run defeat to Leicestershire during the Vitality T20 Blast on Sunday (June 9).

Watch: A no-shot dead ball call by the on-field umpires denied Worcestershire a boundary during their four-run defeat to Leicestershire during a Vitality T20 Blast game on Sunday (June 9).

The incident occurred during the first ball of the third over in Worcestershire’s run chase of 177 when Wiaan Mulder sent down a delivery down the leg-side to striker Brett D’Oliveira. The ball clipped off his hips towards the boundary for four runs but the runs were not reflected on the scorecard, leading to confusion among the commentators.

It was later confirmed that it was called a dead ball because no shot was offered, despite the striker visibly looking to clip it away from him. “What’s happening? The ball that went for four hasn’t been recorded. Did he not play a shot or something?”, asked a commentator.

“Interesting, but I swear he did play a shot. He tried to clip it away for four,” chipped in his colleague.

A dead ball can be signalled by the umpire if “the striker is not ready for the delivery of the ball and, if the ball is delivered, makes no attempt to play it.”

What led to debates was whether D’Oliveira attempted to play the ball or not, with several viewers on social media suggesting he indeed had attempted to play it.


The call turned out to hurt Worcestershire: They eventually fell four runs short of the target, making 172-6 in 20 overs as they continued to remain in the mid-table muddle with four points. Five out of nine teams in the North Group have four points as well and a win would have lifted them from seventh place to fourth.

Watch the no-shot dead ball here:

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