Indian-origin cricketer becomes victim of strange dismissal
The Marylebone Cricket Club, the custodian of laws of cricket, has said that Jatinder Singh was rightly given out as the stump was uprooted.
Melbourne: An interesting incident took place in Melbourne last weekend, when Indian-origin cricketer Jatinder Singh, playing for Mooney Cricket Club against Strathmore Heights, became victim of a rather strange dismissal.
He was out bowled when his middle stump was uprooted from the ground; however, the two bails remained in place.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of laws of cricket, has noted the incident and offered its comments.
"In this example, the middle stump was completely removed from the ground, thereby satisfying the law 28.1 (a), so the umpire was justified in giving the batsman out, from a legal and equitable perspective," Fraser Stewart, an official at Lord's said.
"The problem in this example was caused by the wicket being incorrectly pitched, either by its positioning (the stumps not being vertical or being too close together) or the size of the equipment. A properly pitched wicket, comprising three stumps and two bails of the correct size, would mean that such a situation could not happen. The ends of the bails resting on the middle stump should not be touching."
The batsman Jatinder Singh, who hails from a small village Rurka in Patiala district (Punjab) is now settled in Australia with his wife.
"After I swung I could not see the wicket properly but heard the ball hit and saw the stump on the ground behind the wicket so I started walking back to the pavilion," said Jatinder. "I walked a couple of steps and heard the wicketkeeper calling the fielders over saying, ‘look at the bails’. I turned around and was amazed to see the bails still up.
"There was a little bit of discussions soon and I thought I was not out, but was surprised when umpire declared me out. I was disappointed leaving the field, but it was very funny too," Jatinder added.
His team captain Michael Ozbun, when contacted in Australia, said, "You would struggle to replicate this if you were trying and will probably never see something like it again."