Mohali, Jan 23: Steve Finn has done it again. The England fast bowler was denied Suresh Raina's wicket at a crucial stage in the fourth One-day International (ODI) here Wednesday with his knee knocking the bails off at the non-striker's end while delivering a ball that had the Indian batsman caught at slip.
The ball went straight to the hands of England skipper Alastair Cook, who had to cut down his celebration with the umpire Steve Davis calling it a dead ball.
Davis chose to apply Law 23.4(b)(vi) which states that either umpire should call and signal dead ball when: “The striker is distracted by any noise or movement or in any other way while he is preparing to receive, or receiving a delivery. This shall apply whether the source of the distraction is within the game or outside it. The ball shall not count as one of the over.”
In the past, questions have been raised over the Marylebone Cricket Club's (MCC) dead ball rule on the bowlers disturbing the stumps in their delivery stride.
Finn, however, has been no stranger to the act. The lanky pacer bowled South Africa captain Graeme Smith in the Test series last year in England but disturbed the stumps on the way. Subsequently, Smith smacked Finn for two boundaries but the umpire disallowed the runs, calling “dead ball” because Finn was at it again.
Curiously, it was Davis again, the umpire here, who ruled Smith not out.
The incorrigible Englishman also repeated the act during the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and this time the New Zealanders were denied runs.
There is a lot of ambiguity on the dead ball rule and the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to clear that out with MCC, the lawmakers of the game.
