Watch: New South Wales batter Daniel Hughes got a reprieve during a Marsh Cup game against Tasmania on September 27, when a white towel fell off from Riley Meredith‘s trousers.

Tasmania batted first in the fourth match of the 2023/24 season of the Marsh Cup and started poorly. Opener Caleb Jewell fell to the third ball of the day for a duck. By the 20th over of the innings, half the Tasmanian side was back in the pavilion with the score reading 57.

Some rearguard action by Beau Webster (65) and Patrick Dooley (39) got Tasmania to 198. The wickets were shared: Jackson Bird, Hayden Kerr, and Jack Edwards claimed two each.

In response, New South Wales were in cruise control as they chased down the small target without much fuss. Edwards top-scored with a blistering 92 off 63 balls while opening the batting, while his partner Hughes also scored a half-century (58).

However, the New South Wales innings witnessed a strange incident in the very first over, when Hughes started backing away on the last ball of the over just as Riley Meredith was about to deliver the ball.

Meredith had dropped the towel in his trousers just as he was about to approach the delivery stride. A distracted Hughes backed away from the ball, but perhaps out of reflex, he had a swipe at the ball, and edged it.

The edge carried to the wicketkeeper, Hughes was ruled out, and the Tasmanian players celebrated. Hughes, however, wss not ready to leave: he complained about the distraction to the umpires.

The on-field umpires then got together and after a brief discussion, reversed their decision and signaled dead ball. Law 20.4.2.6 enables umpires to call dead ball when “the striker is distracted by any noise or movement or in any other way while preparing to receive, or receiving a delivery.”

Hughes went on to score a 71-ball 58 as New South Wales chased down the target with six wickets and more than 15 overs remaining.

Watch a wicket get overturned in the Marsh Cup as towel falls from the bowler’s trousers:

The white towel has been thrown (dropped?) in Melbourne! A huge reprieve for Dan Hughes for a very unusual – but correct – reason #MarshCup pic.twitter.com/om1PcL08C1

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 27, 2023

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