NZ vs IRE: Umpire changed his decision to not-out as batsman get distracted by towel

The second ODI game between Ireland and New Zealand at Dublin saw an interesting phenomenon transpire on-field, as umpire Paul Reynolds reversed an out decision due to a dead ball. Irish all-rounder Simi Singh was given a reprieve even after being dismissed caught behind because Blair Tickner’s towel fell off when he delivered the ball. 

Bowling the 43rd over of the innings, Tickner lobbed a well-disguised slower one at Singh’s direction; who could only helplessly try to cut the ball. But as it happened, Singh got a thick edge off his bat, and New Zealand wicket-keeper Tom Latham dived to his right to collect a brilliant catch. Umpire Paul Reynolds, positioned at the bowler’s end, took no time to declare Singh out. 

Fallen towel leads to ball being declared dead

Things, however, got complicated, as the square-leg umpire Aleem Dar got involved. After some discussion, the on-field umpires decided to refer to the third umpires to adjudicate whether or not the catch was clean. And the on-screen replays showed that at the time of delivering the ball, the towel which was tucked behind Tickner’s trousers had fell to the ground. The ball was declared dead because of being a potential distraction to the batter, and Simi’s original out decision was reversed. Here’s the video of the incident:

Skipper Tom Latham had a long chat with Aleem about the decision, who presumably tried to explain to him the laws behind his decision. According to law 20.2.4. of MCC laws of cricket, umpires can deem a ball to be dead if the striker is distracted by any noise or movement, or in any other way while preparing to receive, or receiving a delivery.

Interestingly, the law upholds even if the distraction was unintentional or unnoticed, as was clearly the case with Simi on this occasion. Since Tickner’s towel dropped off on his backside, there was very little chance that Simi could’ve noticed and actually been caught off guard by the distraction. But such are the laws of cricket.

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Brief scores: Ireland 21 (George Dockrell 74, Andy McBrine 28, Mark Adair 2/29) lost to New Zealand 219/7 (Finn Allen 60, Latham 55, Santner 2/32 by 3 wickets. NZ won the series 3-0.