Johannesburg, Jan 5: Controversy erupts after the dismissal of South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen during the second day of the Johannesburg Test.
Dussen was adjudged caught behind off the bowling of Shardul Thakur by on-field umpire Marais Erasmus, but replays showed that the ball had fallen short of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s gloves.
The replays immediately got attention in the commentary box as former cricketer Shaun Pollock and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik debated over the legitimacy of the catch. Pollock questioned the decision, saying that the heaviness of the wicketkeeper’s gloves may sometimes not allow to realise if the catch is clean.
“There was one where Rassie van der Dussen reviewed and it seemed to bounce short. It is funny enough that for wicketkeepers in particular with the gloves they’ve got and often for fielders when you take the ball coming forward, you think you’d be able to see it and whether it has or hasn’t carried but it’s not that easy, is it? The odd times where even as a wicketkeeper, with the bulkiness of the gloves, you’re sure whether it has carried or not,” Pollock was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Karthik agreed with Pollock’s points, saying, “It’s hard to see the ball and because you have the glove which obviously has a lot of leather that protects you from the hits, what it does is that the impact on the ground is not seen.”
“You’re not sure whether it comes straight at your gloves or just bounced. This happens a lot to slip fielders, and to fielders at any point. You just take it on the bounce and you are not sure and that’s where you have your cameras and angles and in spite of all the HD technology, it gets really hard. So you have to go with the thumb rule for what the fielder says and on top of that, you have two umpires standing in the ground and getting a good view of what’s happening and trust them.”
Karthik further said that South Africa captain Dean Elgar was right to have a conversation with the umpires over the decision. (IANS)
