Another day and another talking point in the BBL 2022/23 that was not really related to any of the cricketing excellence on the field: a third umpiring blunder. The third umpire in Friday’s game between Melbourne Stars and Sydney Sixers made such a big gaffe that its criticism has been spurned up by every corner, with fans and experts expressing grave shock.
In the last over of the match, with Sydney Sixers on the touchline of their chase of 174, Sixers batter Jordan Silk was given out in controversial circumstances by the third umpire. It was a short ball from left-arm seamer Luke Wood that climbed high on Silk who tried to slash it from over his head but missed the ball by some distance – daylight so big it was very much visible to the naked eye.
Luke Wood and keeper Joe Clarke appealed for a catch – only in some hope – and were unsurprisingly denied by the on-field umpire. To test their hope and luck further, and with the game having already slipped away, the Melbourne Stars went for a review.
To everyone, and perhaps even the Stars’ surprise, they got the review overturned, but not before a big controversy was sparked.
To check for any faint edge, the third umpire looked at the Snicko. He was shown two angled, from front and side. At the side angle, there was a spike on Snicko when the ball passed the frame of the bat. However, as clearly seen in the front angle, at the moment of the spike, the ball is inches away from the bat.
Shockingly, the third umpire ignored the front angle, and since he saw a spike only on the side angle at the moment the ball was in line with the bat, he gave it out. Jordan Silk was left in utter shock, the Stars bowler Luke Wood smiling sheepishly when the third umpire declared Silk out.
Aakash Chopra was left baffled by the third umpire’s decision
Renowned Indian commentator Aakash Chopra took to Twitter to highlight this massive blunder from the third umpire in the BBL.
“How is it given out by the third umpire?? At the time of spike, the ball is 6 inches away from the bat. Left of screen,” Chopra tweeted.
“And the interesting bit was that nobody spotted it on Live broadcast.”
Here is Aakash Chopra’s tweet:
And the interesting bit was that nobody spotted it on Live broadcast. https://t.co/s4UggU7WTA
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 6, 2023
