Stumps knocked back, bails intact — Bizarre incident sparks debate around laws of cricket

In a bizarre incident that took place during a local ACT Premier Cricket Third Grade competition in Australia, the middle stump was pegged back by the bowler, but unbelievably, the bails stayed rooted to the groove and did not fall down. The peculiar episode took place in a game between Ginninderra Cricket Club and West District Cricket Club. It went viral on social media and sparked off an intense debate around the Laws of cricket.

Ginninderra bowler Andy Reynolds celebrated what seemed to be a clean dismissal of Tigers opener Matthew Bosustow. However, to everyone’s surprise, the bails remained rooted on the stumps. After a lengthy discussion between the on-field umpires, Bosustow was declared not out, following Law 29 of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which categorically states that the wicket is broken only when at least one bail is completely dislodged from the top of the stumps or one or more stumps are removed from the ground.

Things you don’t see every day…

Explain this one from a Ginninderra-Wests game for us, cricket fans – how was this possible?

Physics? Chewing Gum? Swollen timber in all the rain?” 🤔

📷 Wal Murdoch pic.twitter.com/484qFEt1Wj

— Cricket ACT (@CricketACT) December 10, 2023

As per Law 29.22: “The disturbance of a bail, whether temporary or not, shall not constitute its complete removal from the top of the stumps, but if a bail in falling lodges between two of the stumps this shall be regarded as complete removal.”

Wests captain Sam Wightman was visibly shocked with the decision as well as with the unexpected turn of events. He also said that he had never witnessed such a scenario before. Despite the initial confusion, the incident did add humour to the game. The viral image circulated on social media, with fans labeling Reynolds as the unluckiest bowler, though he took it in his stride.

“I’ve never seen that happen before,” Wightman said.

“No one has seen it happen. We all found it pretty funny afterwards. At the time we were happy to take the wicket, then we weren’t so happy the batsman had to come back. We got him not long after, which made me happier,” he added.

There have been few discussions with respect to a modification to the Laws, suggesting that the wicket should be deemed broken even if the ball touches the stumps, but the bails stay intact. This suggestion stems from the prevalence of Zing bails, which are quite heavy and tend to remain rooted even when the ball hits the stumps.

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