Former England captain Nasser Hussain has hailed third umpire Nitin Menon for making the correct decision under pressure on Steve Smith‘s controversial runout. It looked out on the naked eye but Menon was meticulous with his decision making.
Smith was on 42 when he decided to run a risky double and took on the arm of substitute fielder George Ealham. The batter was out of his crease when the Stumps were broken. He even started walking back after watching the initial replays.
He stopped halfway through, however, when the replays showed that Jonny Bairstow had broken the stumps with his gloves before the ball was in his hand. By the time the other bail came off, Smith was in his crease.
Upon closer inspection through the replays, it was shown that Bairstow had broken the stumps before collecting the ball, one-half of the bail was still in its groove when Smith’s bat crossed the crease.
We have received a few questions regarding the decision in the below video.
Law 29.1 states: "The wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or one or more stumps is removed from the ground." (1/2)#Ashes pic.twitter.com/RyZMgf5ItF
— Marylebone Cricket Club (@MCCOfficial) July 28, 2023
Hussain while speaking to Sky Sports said that he has a lot of sympathy for Nitin Menon for making the right call in the end. He said that generally, the third umpires make their decisions quickly but Menon took his time and took the right decision under pressure.
It Was The Perfect Storm For The Third Umpire: Nasser Hussain
“It was the perfect storm for the third umpire. He had to decide when the dive was made, when the stumps were broken by Bairstow – did he have the ball in his hand – and which was broken first, which bail was out, and out of which groove?, said Hussain.
“I don’t have much sympathy for third umpires, because they have all the technology and a lot of time to get to the right decision. But on this occasion I have a lot of sympathy. There was so much going on; we’ve had four England captains, two Australian captains and an Indian cricketer argue about it,” he further added.
Smith went on to score a crucial 71 off 123 balls thereby helping Australia recover from 185/7 in their first innings as they ended up posting 295. He was dismissed by Chris Woakes as he tried to play an uncharacteristic shot top-edging the ball with Bairstow taking a good catch just outside the 30-yard circle.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) also clarified its stance on Smith’s run out describing Law 29.1 which states “The wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or one or more stumps is removed from the ground,” MCC’s tweet said.
Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Sanjay Manjrekar Hails ‘Modern Great’ Steve Smith’s ‘Ball Sense’
The post AUS vs ENG: “Have A Lot Of Sympathy” – Nasser Hussain Hails Nitin Menon For Making Correct Decision appeared first on CricketAddictor.
