Finn incident prompts new instruction

By Paul Bolton, County News Correspondent

County umpires have been told not to call dead ball if a bowler breaks the wicket at the non-striker’s end in his delivery stride as England seamer Steven Finn did in the Headingley Test last week.

Australian umpires Steve Davis and Rod Tucker sparked controversy in Leeds after they called dead ball when South Africa captain Graeme Smith edged Finn to slip but was given not out after Davis called dead ball because Finn had dislodged the non-striker’s end bails with his right knee.

Davis and Tucker called dead ball on each subsequent occasion Finn broke the wicket because Smith and his fellow opener Alviro Petersen claimed they had been distracted by Finn’s actions.

It now appears that Davis and Tucker had exceeded their powers, particularly as Smith twice drove Finn deliveries for four after the bails had been dislodged only for the runs to be expunged because dead ball had been called.

Finn has regularly dislodged the stumps while playing for Middlesex over the last two seasons without dead ball being called and the actions of Davis and Tucker caused consternation among county umpires - some of whom sought guidance from Chris Kelly, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s umpires’ manager.

Kelly has now advised the first-class umpires that dead ball should not be called if the wicket at the non-striker’s end is broken by a bowler in his delivery stride and that the laws allow a batsman to back away if he feels he has been distracted. Kelly is also on the MCC laws sub-committee, which will debate Davis and Tucker’s action at Headingley at a meeting in September.

Another member of the MCC law-making committee is umpire Simon Taufel who will stand in the third Test at Lord’s next week.


Date: 10/08/2012 00:08:54 by Paul Bolton
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