Another highly controversial third umpire call hit the Australia vs India Test series, and this time even the home fans are divided over whether their team has been treated unfairly by the match officials.
Initially, pacer Scott Boland appeared to have caught Virat Kohli for a golden duck, but the DRS review ruled out the wicket when the third umpire ruled that Steve Smith did not have his hand completely under the ball before deflecting it towards his fielding partner. Marnus. Labuschagne.
Slow-motion replays of the crucial moment were played several times during the agonizing wait for a decision, and third referee Joel Wilson ruled that Smith did not prevent the ball from hitting the ground.
‘He’s got his fingers here but, like, they rolled on the floor. Yes, that ball barely touched the ground,” Wilson ruled.
Unlike other controversial DRS decisions made by Wilson this summer, this one left Australian pundits and fans split almost 50/50.
Channel Seven commentator and former Australian star Justin Langer was firmly in the “out” camp.
Steve Smith (left) and teammates Marnus Labuschagne (centre) and Sam Konstas launched into wild celebrations when they thought Virat Kohli was going for a duck.
However, third umpire Joel Wilson ruled that Smith had failed to prevent the ball from hitting the ground after examining a slow-motion replay (pictured).
Had the dismissal been upheld, Scott Boland (pictured left appealing for the wicket with Pat Cummins) would have received two scalps in two balls.
“Steve Smith had his fingers, you could see he was throwing the ball up, it was brilliant what he did,” Langer said on the broadcast.
“In my opinion, having your fingers under the ball and deliberately moving it up is out of the question.”
Ricky Ponting came to the same conclusion.
“You can clearly see his fingers under the ball,” the former Australian captain said on Seven.
“As far as I’m concerned, if it had come out of his (Smith’s) hand, I wouldn’t have been able to pick it up.”
Former international referee Simon Taufel, who has been brought in to explain close calls on Seven’s coverage, was non-committal.
“You could probably build a case for either decision to be made,” he said.
‘I can certainly understand what the third referee did there. He believes he saw the ball on the ground and called it what he saw it. Normally, the ICC protocol on fair catches is that if you see the fingers under the ball, that is good to maintain a fair catch.
Wilson has been a lightning rod for Australian ire in this series, courtesy of some controversial decisions, but this time many home fans had his back.
But just like many green and gold fans they were crying over what they saw as their team was ripped off once again.
‘The problem is that the referees on the field no longer have the soft signal and make the decision. “Now it is exclusively in the hands of the television referee.”
“To be honest, I think that happens almost every day of the week,” said former Test player Mark Waugh in commentary for Fox Sports.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri was less convinced.
“I think in the end it was the right decision because there was an element of doubt,” he said.
“When you see it so many times in replay and you’re not convinced, it invariably favors the batsman.
“If there is a split of the fingers, the chances of the ball hitting the grass are much greater.”
Australian fans were split down the middle as they commented on the drama online, with many supporting Wilson despite the huge controversy over his failure to deliver Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Boxing Day Test.
“I’m not a fan of Joel Wilson, but while I won’t say he made the right decision, I will absolutely say he didn’t make a bad decision,” one commented.
“I’m not out and I’m Australian, right decision,” added another.
However, many Australian supporters were scathing of the decision.
‘Joel Wilson making the call? Expect another howler! Why do you still have a job after the last test? asked one.
“If this is any team other than India, they’re out,” another chimed in.
Had the dismissal been given, it would have left India in a deep hole at 3-17 and put Boland on a hat-trick.
Kohli would have breathed a sigh of relief after the decision, having averaged just 12.4 in five innings since an unbeaten century in the series opener.
Kohli had come under scrutiny during the MCG Test for making contact with debutant Sam Konstas’ shoulder between overs during the opener’s first stay at the crease.
He also gained attention for confronting a journalist early in the series to warn him not to film his family members.