Association of Cricket Officials Issue 28 | Page 18
By the Byes
You versus Hawk-Eye
We are pleased to announce the revival of the ‘You versus
Hawk-Eye’ offer at the MCC Indoor Academy.
The hour-long sessions, available for a maximum of six
people, would usually cost £140. However, the MCC is
offering our members a 30% discount, meaning you and your
ECB ACO colleagues can experience Hawk-Eye for £100.
The sessions consist of a ‘bowler’ making a number of LBW
appeals that you, as the umpire, must give out or not out. For
each decision you will be asked to document the process you
have gone through to come to this decision. At the end of
the session all the umpires will be taken to review their
decisions using the Hawk-Eye software.
The facility at Lord’s is the only one in the world where
members of the public can use the Hawk-Eye software, so if
you would like to take advantage of this fantastic offer please
get in touch with John Overton ([email protected])
who will help facilitate your booking.
Wagner Run Out
Lou Rowan
ECB ACO was saddened to hear
that the former Australian Test
umpire Lou Rowan has passed away
at the age of 91.
Rowan, who officiated in 25 Tests as
well as the first ODI, was best known
for his role in the 1971 Sydney Test
match between Australia and
England, in which Ray Illingworth,
the England Test Captain at the
time, ordered his team off the field
in protest at the behaviour of the
Australian crowd towards his
players, including one spectator
grabbing England bowler John
Snow. Rowan told Illingworth that, if
England didn’t resume play, they
would forfeit the match. Illingworth
subsequently led his team back on
the field and finished the match.
The Christchurch Test match between New
Zealand and Bangladesh saw Neil Wagner given
run out in unusual circumstances. The run out
decision was sent to the third umpire, Marais
Erasmus, who ruled that Wagner was out
despite having grounded his bat beyond the
crease before the Bengali wicketkeeper, Nurul
Hasan, had disturbed the bails. Rather than run
his bat in past the crease, Wagner had placed it
in and it had subsequently lifted, at which point
the wicketkeeper removed the bails. At this
time, Wagner’s entire body was past the crease
but totally airborne, with his feet not having
touched the ground beyond the crease.
In October 2010, MCC changed the Law relating to run outs to read ‘if a running
batsman, having grounded some part of his foot behind the popping crease,
continues running further towards the wicket at that end and beyond, then any
subsequent total loss of contact with the ground of both his person and his bat
during his continuing forward momentum shall not be interpreted as being out of
his ground’. If Wagner had grounded his feet beyond the crease at any point before
the bails were dislodged he would have been given not out. However, because he
had not done so, Erasmus correctly ruled him run out and the New Zealand innings
was subsequently ended. An unusual situation but great to see examples of the
correct application of the Laws of Cricket by our international colleagues.
Reflecting on the incident in his
memoir, Rowan wrote: ‘I have no
regrets for my part in the affair. I
would act no differently in similar
circumstances now, whether at club
or international cricket level.’
An interesting scenario that we
hope no ECB ACO members have
experience of.
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10,000th LBW Victim
In the first Test between South Africa
and Sri Lanka in Port Elizabeth in
December 2016, Hashim Amla entered a
unique club. Halfway through the third
day of the first Test, Nuwan Pradeep
went up for an LBW appeal and the
umpire dutifully raised his finger. It was
later announced that records showed
that this was the 10,000th time a
batsman had been dismissed in that
manner in Tests. The first batsman to be
given out LBW being England’s Harry
Jupe in 1876 at the Melbourne Cricket
Ground after being pinned in front by
Australian bowler Tom Garrett.