Sri Lanka’s Richmond College’s Nethuja Basitha attempted an Usman Tariq-like pause in his bowling action during the ‘Lover’s Quarrel’ match against Mahinda College in Galle on Saturday (March 21).
Bowler tries Usman-Tariq like pause, umpire gives it a dead ball immediately
The first XIs of the two college sides meet annually, with the ongoing match being the 121st edition of the long-standing rivalry that started in 1905. Basitha, with his left-arm spin, tried to pause in his action and then deliver off one leg, similar to Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq, but the on-field umpire was quick to call it a dead ball.
Clause 41.4 of MCC’s laws deals with the “deliberate attempt to distract a batter”, under which if an umpire considers that such an attempt has been made, “he/she shall immediately call and signal dead ball and inform the other umpire of the reason for the call.” It also has the provision of awarding five penalty runs to the batting side, but the umpires didn’t impose the same, and the bowler was only given a warning.
In this case, as the pause wasn’t part of Basitha’s normal action, the umpire may have felt it was a deliberate attempt to distract the batter and thus labelled it a dead ball. Usman Tariq’s action, on the contrary, has the pause as part of his 'normal' action; as a result, it may largely not be considered an act of distraction.
As far as the match was concerned, Richmond batted first and lost both their openers cheaply. But the pair of Ravindu Randinu (85) and Ameesha Rasanjana (81) steadied the ship, hitting respective half-centuries to steer the team towards a healthy total. They were reduced to 268-8 on the second day, but a 46-run ninth-wicket partnership took them to 315.
With only a day and a half left in the game, Mahinda College couldn’t force a result. Randula Mabarana and Manitha Rajapakshe hit a fifty each, while Dineth Pahasara scored 124 runs as they got to 312-6 by the end of the game, which finished in a draw. Basitha bowled 15 overs for 55 runs and a wicket.
Also read: Did England risk five-run penalty with 'deliberate attempt to distract striker' by bowler?
Image courtesy: Web Team MCG/Arch92 YouTube
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