The International Cricket Council (ICC) has provided an explanation on why the South African batter Aiden Markram wasn’t given out despite leaving his ground during the World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan in Chennai on Friday (October 27).
During the 17th over of Proteas innings, Markram attempted a pull across the line against Haris Rauf but failed to connect the shot as Mohammad Rizwan gathered the ball behind the stumps.
At the same time, Markram tapped his foot in the crease and walked up the wicket, which prompted Rizwan to under-arm the ball towards the stumps. As it turned out, the ball hit the wickets and Markram was well out of his ground.
The incident reminded the fans of Jonny Bairstow’s run-out during the Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s earlier this year. However, the ICC clarified why Markram’s situation was different from Bairstow’s.
No appeal
The apex body said that the umpires were left with no decision to make since none of the Pakistan team members appealed for a run-out. In case of appeal, the match officials would certainly have had to look at the replays.
The ball was (probably) dead
ICC further said that had Pakistan appealed, the situation would have become complicated as to whether the fielding side believed the ball to be in play or not.
A batter cannot be deemed run-out when a ball is dead. In Bairstow’s case, the ball was not dead because wicket-keeper Alex Carey had intentionally thrown the ball back towards the stumps in virtually the same motion as receiving it.
ICC also cited a number of laws around dead ball:
- “The ball becomes dead when it is finally settled in the hands of the wicket-keeper or of the bowler.”
- “The ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler’s end umpire that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.”
- “Whether the ball is finally settled or not is a matter for the umpire alone to decide.”
In this case, the question arises whether the ball was “settled” in Rizwan’s gloves. While it is impossible to determine, the ICC said that the dipping of his head and the length of time between Rizwan receiving the ball and throwing it back in the direction of the stumps means that the umpires would have ruled the ball dead had Pakistan appealed.
(With ICC Inputs)
