A clean catch off a clear edge was ruled not out by umpire, who felt bat hit the ground.
Australia cricketer Glenn Maxwell, who leads Melbourne Stars in Big Bash League (BBL), was stunned by an umpiring howler in Sydney Thunder’s clash with the Perth Scorchers at Manuka Oval on Tuesday.
Maxwell took to Twitter to show his displeasure over a terrible umpire call in the sixth over of Sydney's innings. The ball had hit Thunder batsman Usman Khawaja's outside edge on a legal delivery which carried to the wicket-keeper but he was still given not-out.
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“We get that umpiring isn’t easy!! But surely with a stump mic, a bunch of different camera angles, and a basic understanding of cricket, the right decision could’ve been made without any of the fancy DRS bells and whistles? It was introduced to eliminate the howler”, Maxwell wrote.
Umpire Simon Lightbody was heard telling Perth bowler Andrew Tye that he felt Khawaja’s bat hit the ground. Even commentator Mark Waugh could not believe the decision. "It was nowhere near the ground. He's just had a shocker there, unfortunately for the Perth Scorchers," Waugh said.
Khawaja only added three more runs after surviving caught-behind, but the decision has raised a question on BBL's standards. Australia's T20 league still doesn't have DRS to challenge on-field umpire's decisions.
Thunder, chasing 153 runs, went on to win the match by 7 wickets and three balls left. Callum Ferguson was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 61 runs.