Mohammad Nawaz of Pakistan was called out leg before wicket (lbw) by umpire Chris Gaffney against South Africa after he inside-edged the ball, igniting yet another umpiring dispute in the T20 world cup. Nawaz was hit directly while attempting to scramble back to the safety of the crease; did he believe he was run out? The debate is on whether the cricket rules, which specify that a ball is a dead ball as soon as an umpire rules it out, would have rescued him if he had opted for DRS. The phrase “run out” wouldn’t have applied.
Nawaz should have realised he had a bat, thus he should have requested the DRS, but else it would have merely become a dead ball. Perhaps he assumed he was run out since he didn’t see the umpire’s finger go up. But he should have stayed and reviewed if his companion, Iftiqhar Ahmed, had done so. The outcome is still listed as Nawaz lbw b Shamsie on the scorecard.
Nawaz attempted to sweep off the final ball of Shamsie’s 13th over, but instead inside-edged the ball onto his pad, causing it to bounce to short fine. Nawaz was searching for a run outside of his crease before turning back, even as a few fielders appealed. At that point, the umpire called it out as lbw. However, the throw struck the stumps before Nawaz could get there.
On A Sports, Waqar Younis would comment, “I don’t think he saw the umpire give him lbw.” Iftikhar was likewise sound asleep. He ought to have said to take DRS since the ball would be dead and a “run out” would not have been allowed, Younis argued.
What would happen if he took the review?
He would not have been run out, though.
Law 20.1.1.3 states “the ball will be deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal”.
Law 20.6 states that “once the ball is dead, no revoking of any decision can bring the ball back into play for that delivery”.
What did the Umpires Say?
An umpire certified by the BCCI informed The Indian Express. “This is not the umpire’s fault. He perceived it as a LBW, and the scorecard still shows that it was an lbw dismissal. The batsmen made the error. Iftikhar, the non-striker, could have warned Nawaz if he missed the lbw call and felt it was runout and instructed him to consult DRS.
Were they aware of the regulations, the umpire continued. If they had opted for DRS, that would have been the end of the problem. There wouldn’t have been any “run out” because it would have turned into a dead ball. But they didn’t go for the DRS – and the matter ended there.”
To avoid having two batters hit the same ball at once. Otherwise, you might theoretically have the other batter run out for an lbw.
Read more: Virat Kohli Becomes Highest Run Scorer in T20 World Cup History
