The Women’s Big Bash League game between Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars was struck by controversy when Rhys McKenna was incorrectly given stumped by the square leg umpire at the Junction Oval today (October 24).
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The WBBL has employed an inconsistent use of technology this edition: only the 24 matches shown on free-to-air television are supposed to have a third umpire and the decision review system in place.
The match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Melbourne Stars on October 24 was not one of those 24 games, as it was only streamed live. As a result, there was no video replay technology in place, which led to the controversial dismissal of Melbourne batter Rhys McKenna.
Batting first, Melbourne had a topsy-turvy start, losing wickets at regular intervals. McKenna came to bat at No.6 with the score reading 72-4 from 13.4 overs. Melbourne needed to get a move on and that is exactly what McKenna provided.
The first four balls she faced fetched 14 runs including two fours and a six. However, on the fifth ball of the 15th over, she was given out stumped by square-leg umpire Lisa McCabe, an international umpire.
McKenna missed a low full toss by Megan Schutt that hit the pads of the wicketkeeper Bridget Patterson and deflected back onto the stumps with McKenna still inside her crease.
She set off for a run moments later, without knowing where the ball had gone. McCabe, however, wrongly adjudged her stumped, bringing to focus the unavailability of technology for the game.
Crazy sequence pic.twitter.com/y0h0pvTF8l
— Martin Gabor (@MartinJGabor) October 24, 2023
McKenna’s dismissal had an impact on the game as the Stars were able to add just 42 runs from the last 5.1 overs after her wicket, finishing the innings on 133-6 off 20 overs.
The Adelaide Strikers eventually chased down the score in the last over with just two balls remaining. Had technology been in place, McKenna wouldn’t have been given out, and Melbourne Stars would believe that the match could have turned out differently.
