There was confusion, and no little anger, as India were at the centre of an umpiring controversy during their women's T20 World Cup match against New Zealand in Dubai on Friday, which India lost by 58 runs. They felt they had a legitimate wicket - a run-out of Amelia Kerr - but it wasn't to be, with the umpires deciding the ball was dead when the dismissal was effected.
The appeal for the run-out came after Kerr was caught short of her ground while attempting a second run in the 14th over of New Zealand's innings. Having hit the ball towards long-off off the last ball of Deepti Sharma's over, Kerr and Sophie Devine took a single. With Harmanpreet Kaur, the fielder, collecting the ball and ambling in with it in her hands, Kerr and Devine tried pinching a second. Deepti, meanwhile, had asked the umpire to hand her cap back to her and had been given it. Spotting the batters running, Harmanpreet fired the ball in, Richa Ghosh collected it, and broke the stumps with Kerr short of her crease.
But the umpires - Anna Harris and Jacqueline Williams - decided the ball was dead, and anything that came after, the dismissal in this case, would not count as having occurred with the ball "in play".
Play was held up for over seven minutes, with India head coach Amol Muzumdar visibly upset at the ruling, engaging in an animated chat with the fourth umpire, while Kerr was near the boundary before being called back.
Speaking after the game, Jemimah Rodrigues said, "I was not there when the umpire gave the cap to Deepti, but, I mean, New Zealand were pretty sure that it was a double run and Amelia went for it, which showed that the over was not called out yet. And we all thought that, okay, we got that run-out. What if that run-out wouldn't happen? Would they give us a two for that. So I think, honestly, that's not in our control at the end. We respect the decision of the umpire and we were okay with that. But yeah, it's a bit harsh when Amelia herself walked out because she knew she was out."
Speaking after the game, Devine said she hadn't heard the umpire call the over and that she and Kerr were trying steal an additional run. "My understanding is that the ball is dead when the umpire calls 'over' and I didn't hear the umpire call 'over'," she said. "It was an interesting one, and I guess it broke a little bit of momentum and maybe stalled them [India] a bit. That's part of cricket. Interpretation is going to be slightly different. We were always trying to pinch runs here and there because you never know when one run is going to change things. The umpires have a job to do and we respect that, and I sometimes push the boundaries a little bit."
For context, here's a look at the operative part of the MCC rule on the matter.
20.1: The dead-ball rule
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
Neither the call of "over" nor the call of "time" is to be made until the ball is dead
When the ball has become dead, the bowler's end umpire may call and signal "dead ball" if it is necessary to inform the players
However, the questions didn't end there.
Since it was ruled a single, Kerr should have been back on strike for the start of the next over. However, it was Devine who took strike against Renuka Singh and nudged a single. Kerr was out off the following delivery when she hit the ball to Pooja Vastrakar at extra cover, to be dismissed for 13 off 22 balls.
"We know how important Amelia's wicket was, at that moment it felt a little [like] why didn't it go in our favour," Rodrigues said. "But, at the same time, I think we did what we can. We spoke to the umpire. Then we had to accept the decision of the umpire and move on. So I think that's what we did really well, that we just moved on from that. And we got her out pretty soon. So that works for us."