Steven Finn's dead ball 'farcical'
Steven Finn had Graeme Smith edging to slip off a delivery that was called dead due to Finn's accidental dislodging of the bails on the non-striker's end while bowling on Thursday
Abhishek Mukherjee
25-Feb-2013
Steven Finn had Graeme Smith edging to slip off a delivery that was called dead due to Finn's accidental dislodging of the bails on the non-striker's end while bowling on Thursday. Former England fast bowler Angus Fraser, writing in the Independent, criticises the umpire's judgment, which he says brought a "farcical" situation.
By signalling "dead ball" Davis set a dangerous precedent, which led to further non-balls being called. Umpires, of course, have the power to stop play when they want, which is what calling "dead ball" does. But by doing this, and with Finn dislodging the bails on several more occasions – which he tends to do more when bowling at left- handed batsmen – a farcical situation was arising. And why was it farcical? Because, according to the Laws and Regulations, Finn was doing absolutely nothing wrong.