The incident, in which the middle stump was pinned back but the bails remained rooted, occurred during the ACT Premier Cricket Grade 3 competition in Australia
Ginninderra bowler Andy Reynolds appeared to have dismissed Matthew Busisto after colliding with middle stump, only for the latter to be ruled a ‘not out’ after the bails refused to dislodge him. Image credit: X/@CricketACT
In a bizarre incident that occurred during a domestic ACT Premier Cricket third grade competition in Australia, the middle stump was hooked back by the bowler, but incredibly, the bails remained rooted in the groove and did not fall off. This strange episode occurred in a match between Ginninderra Cricket Club and West District Cricket Club. The matter went viral on social media and sparked a heated debate about the laws of cricket.
Ginninderra bowler Andy Reynolds celebrated what appeared to be a clean dismissal of Tigers opener Matthew Bosustow. However, to everyone’s surprise, the bails remained rooted to the logs. After a lengthy discussion among the umpires on the field, Bosustow was declared not out, in accordance with Law No. 29 of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which categorically states that a wicket is only broken when at least one bail is completely taken out from the top of the stumps or a stump is removed One or more lands.
According to Law 29.22: “The disturbance of the bail, whether temporary or not, does not constitute its complete removal from the top of the logs, but if the bail is in the fall between two logs it is considered a complete removal.”
Wests captain Sam Whitman was clearly shocked by the decision as well as by the unexpected turn of events. He also said that he had never witnessed such a scenario before. Despite the initial confusion, the incident added humor to the game. The viral image circulated on social media, with fans branding Reynolds an unlucky player, although he took it in his stride.
“I’ve never seen that happen before,” Whitman said.
“No one saw it happen. We all found it very funny afterwards. At the time we were happy to get the wicket, then we were not so happy to have the batsman back. We got it soon after, which made me even happier.”
There has been little discussion regarding amending the laws, suggesting that a wicket should be considered broken even if the ball touches the stumps, but the bails remain intact. This suggestion stems from the prevalence of zing bails, which are very heavy and tend to remain rooted even when the ball hits the stumps.