Pat Cummins was involved in an animated exchange with umpire Nitin Menon over a run-out incident on day two in the Test against West Indies. The umpire’s version, according to the commentator Ian Bishop, was that the Australians never appealed and so, he didn’t go upstairs to the TV umpire. Cummins didn’t like that explanation.
But first the incident. During the 24th over of the West Indies’s innings, John Campbell dashed across for a run after pushing Mitchell Starc towards mid-on. Cummins swooped on the ball and fired a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Neither the bowler nor the Australian captain appealed. Neither did the fielders at the slip cordon. Marnus Labuschagne, the substitute fielder, would later claim he did appeal.
The drama picked up when the big screen on the ground showed the replay. It seemed that Campbell’s bat bounced after it was initially grounded, and the bat seemed in air when the bails were dislodged. It certainly needed closer television inspection to ascertain whether the bat had been grounded first behind the crease before popping up – in which case it would have been not out. But the umpire Nitin never referred it to the third umpire.
When he saw the replays, Cummins approached the umpire. “Why wouldn’t you just check it?” Cummins was overheard saying on the stump mics. “Can you check it now?”
In commentary, former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop conjectured that Menon had told Cummins he didn’t send the decision to the third umpire because none of the Australians appealed. At that stage Labuschagne claimed, “But I did!”.
The event was made more bizarre because just during last year a similar incident had played out between the two teams during Australia’s second T20I match against West Indies in February 2024. Australia were denied a wicket after no one appealed and umpire Gerard Abood ruled it not out.
In the 19th over of the match, West Indies No 11, Alzarri Joseph drove to cover and ran. Australian captain Mitchell Marsh collected the ball and threw it to Spencer Johnson who whipped off the bails but didn’t appeal. On the big screen, the replay suggested that the batsman was short of the crease and the Australians started celebrating but it was cut short after Abod said: “Stop, stop, stop, hang on. Stop, there was no appeal.”
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The Australian player Tim David, who had been fielding at deep point near the boundary rope, told Abod: “I appealed, Gerard I appealed, I promise you. “This is a joke. I appealed from deep point, I appealed.” And David Warner could be heard saying, “it’s an umpire error.”
