What could have been a controversial dismissal was quickly extinguished thanks to outstanding display of sporting etiquette
Spirit of cricket alive and well in WBBL
When is a batter out, but not out? It's not a trick question, but it was one umpires had to deal with in today's Rebel WBBL Sydney Smash.
The Sixers had 2-101 on the board and New Zealander Sara McGlashan was motoring along nicely with 23 from 27 balls when she was out stumped. Except she wasn't out.
McGlashan had advanced down the wicket and looked to whip a delivery from the Thunder's Sam Bates to the leg side. It ricocheted off her pads and Thunder captain-'keeper Alex Blackwell was quickly onto the ball, with a clever back-hand flick that broke the stumps with the batter short of her ground.
One of the easier calls for the umpire to make, surely, as McGlashan was clearly out of her ground when the stumps were broken. But McGlashan wasn't going anywhere, because Blackwell didn't want her to.
In her rush to pick up the ball, the Thunder captain had inadvertently collided with McGlashan as she attempted to get back to her crease. Quickly realising she had unfairly impeded her opponent, Blackwell waved to the umpire to indicate there should be no dismissal.
McGlashan later told Network Ten she was surprised Blackwell hadn't upheld the appeal, and would not have thought she was out of line to have done so.
"I knew I was out," McGlashan said. "She (Blackwell) just said, 'I think I got in the way'.
"I’m not really to sure why she didn't appeal, but oh well."
It was real 'spirit of cricket' stuff. But when there is such a clear dismissal, can a player instruct an umpire to not give an 'out' verdict?
In a word, yes. Such a scenario is covered under Law 27 of the Laws of Cricket.
Subsection 1 of Law 27, says "neither umpire shall give a batsman out, even though he may be out under the Laws, unless appealed to by a fielder".
(Note, the MCC is yet to update the language of the Laws to be gender neutral, but Law 27 as it stands applies under the Rebel WBBL Playing Conditions.)
Blackwell didn't appear to appeal – but some of her teammates may have before realising the 'keeper's interference.
If the umpire did hear an appeal, she would have been obliged to give McGlashan out. However, Blackwell, as the Thunder's captain, was perfectly positioned to enact Law 27.8 – Withdrawal of an appeal.
Under that subsection of the Law, only the captain of the fielding side may withdraw an appeal. Which Blackwell clearly did with her wave to the square leg umpire.
Quick Single: Sydney Smash report, highlights
As it turned out, the dot ball proved just as precious, with the Thunder prevailing in a thriller. With scores tied after 20 overs each, the teams both ended on eight runs after the Super Over.
However, the Thunder's 16 boundaries were more than those scored by the Sixers, handing the team in green the win. Super Overs are not covered by the Laws of cricket, instead the rules are set by the tournament's playing conditions.