What’s the story?
June 9, 2017, will be remembered in cricketing circles for years to come as the day when Asian minnows Afghanistan and Bangladesh pulled off sensational upsets over their more pedigreed opponents in the form of West Indies and New Zealand respectively in the 50-over format.
While Afghanistan’s victory came in the opener of the 3-match bilateral series against Jason Holder’s side, Bangladesh’s victory was even more remarkable as they recovered from 33/4 to chase down a target of 266 with five wickets in hand on the back of brilliant centuries from Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmadullah, thus knocking out Kane Williamson’s side from the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
As amazing as Afghanistan’s 63-run victory over West Indies was, the match at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia, saw some bizarre scenes when a period of the game was played with no bails on the stumps at both ends as strong winds made it virtually impossible for the bails to be in place.
In case you didn’t know...
In case you are wondering whether this is legal or not, the answer is yes. According to Law 8 of the rules of cricket as established by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which deals with wickets, the two captains can agree upon, with the umpire’s approval of course, to play the game without bails on the stumps in case of a heavy wind situation as was the scenario at Gros Islet on Friday.
The details
The bails are one of the most critical factors in determining whether a batsman is out or not as they have to be completely dislodged to ascertain whether a player can be adjudged bowled, stumped, run out or hit wicket.
While any close calls regarding a stumping or run out could have given rise to some controversy, thankfully there were no incidents during the time when the bails were not used where the umpires, who are entrusted with the responsibility of taking the call whether the wicket is broken or not, had to interfere.
Hopefully, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), and the concerned match officials will ensure that the special heavy bails made of denser wood like Lignum Vitae, which are supposed to be used in conditions where heavy winds are expected, are made available and used. If the winds were indeed too strong to dislodge even the heavy bails, then there is very little anyone can do than play the game with a fair bit of trust as was the case here.
What’s next?
While Rashid Khan’s fantastic bowling ensured a memorable win for Afghanistan on Friday, they will have to work even harder in the remaining two matches of the series to not let the victory remain a one-off. With Gros Islet the venue for both the two ODIs the special heavy bails is likely to be made available to avoid any further embarrassment for the ICC and the WICB.
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Author’s take
While the focus of the majority of the cricket fans across the globe is in England where the Champions Trophy is unfolding with some surprising results, Afghanistan is creating their own history with their rapid strides in international cricket as seen by Friday’s win over West Indies in their own backyard.
Whether the winds were too strong even for the special heavy bails or whether they were not available at all is uncertain, but let’s certainly hope that the latter was not the case and that player performances hog the headlines rather than such incidents.
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