From the beginning, even in its very inception, the ICC World Cup 2019 has had its fair share of controversies. Carrying on from the IPL, the failures of the zing bails in the opening stages of the World Cup have drawn attention and criticism.
Zing bails and LED stumps have become a prominent feature in world cricket over the past few years, since the ICC approved them in 2013. Since a batsman isn't dismissed until the bails are completely out of the groove, the umpires were having difficulty identifying if the bails had actually come off in a few close calls. The technology was put together by Bronte Eckermann, who was inspired by a toy that his daughter played with.
The bails have low voltage batteries and contain microprocessors which detect contact and illuminate in a time frame of 1/1,000th of a second.
As much as the technology has lit up world cricket, the weight of the bails is proving to be an issue. In the IPL, we witnessed several instances of the bails not coming off despite the ball hitting the stumps and this trend is continuing in the World Cup. Here are five instances of the zing bails refusing to budge in the 2019 World Cup.
Adil Rashid to Quinton de Kock (England vs South Africa)
In the very first match of the World Cup, we saw South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock earn a massive reprieve after a ball from Adil Rashid hit his bat and went on to hit the stumps without dislodging the bails.
De Kock had attempted to sweep the ball, but it ricocheted off his angled bat and rolled onto the stumps. England were almost breaking into celebrations when they noticed that the bails hadn't come off despite the ball going on straight and hitting the stumps. The bails lit up but fell back down to sit snugly in their groove. De Kock was on 25 at the time and went on to make 68.
Trent Boult to Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka vs New Zealand)
Sri Lanka had lost Lahiru Thirimanne early in the match against New Zealand. On the seaming wicket, newly anointed skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was their big hope. However, the Sri Lankan opener was caught in no man's land as Boult cramped him for room with a quicker delivery. The left-hander went for a cut shot despite the lack of room and chopped the ball back onto the stumps.
The ball collided with the leg-stump before rolling away. Though the bails moved from their groove initially, they settled back in, much to the relief of Sri Lankan fans. Karunaratne was on 9 when the drama unfolded and made his reprieve count. He batted through the innings and made an unbeaten 52*, although none of his mates stood with him as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 136.
Mitchell Starc to Chris Gayle (West Indies vs Australia)
Chris Gayle had overturned a slew of calls from umpire Chris Gaffaney in the match against Australia. He was even unlucky to be dismissed eventually, given that Mitchell Starc had actually overstepped the ball before he had gotten out. So the ball where Gayle got out was technically a free hit. But the umpire had missed it and the West Indian had to walk back.
In the midst of all this drama, Gaffaney gave Gayle caught behind after a Starc delivery seemed to nick the bat en route to the keeper. Gayle reviewed the decision instantly and replays showed that the ball had comfortably missed the bat. However, it had taken a deflection off the stumps without actually dislodging the bail. Gayle was reprieved and went on to add 16 more runs before he fell for 21.
Ben Stokes to Mohammad Shaifuddin (England vs Bangladesh)
Bangladesh were well and truly out of the contest after the first innings as England batted them out of the game on the back of a Jason Roy ton. And even as the game meandered to a drab end, there was drama at Cardiff with Ben Stokes being denied a wicket by the zing bails.
Mohammad Shaifuddin, on 5, was hurried by a pacy short ball from Stokes. The batsman missed his pull and the ball hit his body before falling onto the stumps. Despite this, the bails refused to be dislodged and the Bangladesh batsman was saved. His luck didn’t hold, though, as a pumped up Stokes cleaned him up next ball with a fuller delivery.
Jasprit Bumrah to David Warner (India vs Australia)
Chasing 353 against India was always going to be a monumental task and Australia needed David Warner and Aaron Finch to get them off to a good start. This involved playing through Jasprit Bumrah's new ball spell. The Mumbai Indians seamer is a merciless wicket-taker in the first 10 overs and nearly struck off his very first delivery.
In the first ball of the second over, Bumrah looked to push Warner onto the back foot with a short of a length delivery. The ball climbed onto the batsman and seamed in a bit to take an inside edge. The Australian was going for a defensive push but the edge made the ball hit the stumps. Unluckily for India, the bails failed to move and Warner, on 1 then, went on to make a half-century.