There has been a raging debate about ‘daylight robbery’ and the four leg byes that Bangladesh were denied during their ICC T20 World Cup game against South Africa – runs that could have flipped the result. But here’s the thing. You can complain till the cows come home about the poor decision made by Sam Nogajski, the 45-year-old Tasmanian umpire, but the rules are crystal clear. The moment the umpire lifts the dreaded finger, the ball is dead. It doesn’t matter where it went thereafter.
South Africa could also argue that the ‘out’ decision ensured their fielders didn’t try to stop the ball crossing the rope. Bear in mind, too, that had DRS not been in operation, we wouldn’t even be having this debate. The umpire’s decision is final, and Mahmadullah would have been back in the dugout, without recourse to a reversal.
Instead of debating the dead-ball rule, what we should be doing is abolishing the abomination that is the leg bye – a frankly moronic idea to reward the batting side for their player having been beaten by the bowler.