5 instances when the ball hit the stumps but the bails were not dislodged

There have been many funny moments in Cricket, especially humorous run-outs, regulation catch drops, the bat getting ripped apart into two pieces by the ball. Exceptional cases like handling the ball and hit-wickets are also very comic.

But the instances we are going to discuss now are situations when the ball hit the stumps but the batsman was not out as the bails were not dislodged. We are quite acquainted with the ball Ashish Nehra faced some years ago against South Africa where the ball touched the stick, deflected and went towards the rope, but the position of the bails was unchanged.

Let us have a look at 5 similar instances where the ball hit the stumps but the bails did not fall:

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#5 England vs New Zealand (2013)

With the first two Tests matches being drawn, both England and New Zealand went for the kill in the final encounter at the Eden Park, in Auckland. The hosts were put into bat, and they made the most out of it, scoring 443 runs guided by a century from Peter Fulton.

Trent Boult produced a magical spell and picked up 6 wickets to topple the English batting line-up for only 204 runs. Peter Fulton made a rare double by scoring yet another century in the second innings to set a record target of 481 runs for the visitors.

It was a hard task to save the Test match, but wicket-keeper Matt Prior played an unbeaten 110-run innings to steer England to a Test draw. This wouldn’t have happened if luck was not on Prior’s side, as he was almost dismissed earlier in his innings when the ball hit the stumps, but he escaped luckily.

#4 Pakistan vs Australia (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015)

The stage was set for a perfect quarter-final clash between big guns Pakistan and mighty hosts ‘Australia’ at the upgraded Adelaide Oval. Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first, but lost two wickets in quick succession with only 24 runs on the board.

In the second ball faced by captain Misbah-ul-Haq off Josh Hazlewood’s delivery, he was tricked and the ball went round his body and touched the leg-stump. The LED stumps and bails were shining brightly but the bails weren’t uprooted. The Australian’s restricted the Asians to a mere 213 run which was chased down easily.

A similar situation occurred during the group stage match between Ireland and UAE, where Arab bowler Amjad Javed’s delivery had a faint touch at the sticks and the LED bails lit up, but Irish batsman William Porterfield was lucky to escape as the bails were stagnant.

#3 New Zealand vs Australia (2016)

After a 2-1 series win in the ODIs, New Zealand were hoping to wrap up the 2-match Test series as well, but the Australians had other plans. The hosts were put into bat and some brilliant bowling by Hazlewood and Peter Siddle collapsed the ‘Kiwi’ batting line-up to 97 for 7.

Then came in Mark Craig and along with Corey Anderson put on a 40-run stand. It was during this partnership that Australian bowler Mitchell Marsh found his way through the gates and struck the stumps, but surprisingly the bails never fell.

Thousands of people present at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington were astonished as well as the ones present on the field. Eventually, the hosts were bowled out for 183 and the ‘Baggy Greens’ piled on a score of 562. In the second innings, the ‘Black Caps’ managed to score only 327 runs, thus suffering an innings defeat to trail the series 0-1.

#2 Sri Lanka vs New Zealand (2015)

One again the place of action is New Zealand, but this time at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Having already lost the first Test, Sri Lanka were on the back foot and needed to produce something special to fill the deficit.

The Asians played well and after they were put to bat, tail ender Suranga Lakmal was batting; left-armer Neil Wagner almost had him after the ball hit the bat and arm-guard and landed on the stumps, but the position of the bails being unchanged, the batsman remained a bit longer on the crease.

Minutes after the incident, the Lankans were bundled out for 292 runs. The hosts were unable to take a first innings lead but tilted the game towards their favour having bowled out Sri Lanka for 133 runs in the second innings. New Zealand eventually won the Test and the series after successfully chasing the 4^th innings target of 189 runs.

#1 St.Lucia Zouks vs Trinbago Knight Riders (Caribbean Premier League 2016)

Ever since the Indian Premier League was introduced, cricket boards all over the world started to adopt the twenty-20 form of cricket in their own country. The Caribbean Premier League is one such example, where glamour meets Cricket in a cash-rich extravaganza.

During a match between the Trinbago Knight Riders and St. Lucia Zouks, an incident occurred which is very crucial in a 20-over game as it can change the course of the game. A Yorker from a Knight Riders’ bowler touched the base of the sticks after getting a slight touch from Andre Fletcher’s blade.

The LED stumps and bails lit up, but the bails not being dislodged, the decision went in favour of the batsman.