BBL: Perth Scorchers’ Michael Klinger gets dismissed on 7th ball of the over

Cricket is a funny game and never stops short of producing bizarre moments. On Sunday, one such unusual moment was witnessed in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia – when Michael Klinger was dismissed on the ‘seventh’ delivery of an over, thanks to the on-ground umpires ignoring the fact. Though the incident did not have an impact on that very game but it showed again that issues with on-field umpiring were on the rise world over.

A few days ago, instances of umpires ignoring front foot no ball by bowlers in international cricket made the headlines with strong criticism pouring in. It was being said that the on-field umpires were perhaps leaving things for the technology to take care of and turned a tad indifferent to their responsibilities. South African speedster Dale Steyn even came up with suggestions that divide the responsibilities between the on- and off-field umpires to see matches proceed more smoothly.

The latest incident in the BBL occurred during the clash between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers at the Optus Stadium, Perth. Chasing the Sydney Sixers’ score of 177 for 5, the Perth Scorchers lost opener Klinger for two on the seventh delivery of the second over which was bowled by left-arm fast bowler Ben Dwarshuis.

Umpires checked the dismissal but remained unaware of the 7th delivery

The 38-year-old T20 veteran Klinger was caught near the third man boundary by Steve O’Keefe after he slashed hard at it. The field umpires went to the TV umpire to ensure whether the catch was clean but it did not occur to them that the ball was the seventh of the over.

Klinger’s dismissal was confirmed by the third umpire and the Scorchers were 15 for 1. It was the unbeaten 87 by the other opener Cameron Bancroft, who was banned last year along with Steve Smith and David Warner in connection to the Sandpaper gate scandal, that saw the home team winning the tie by 7 wickets with seven balls to spare.

Klinger, who has played three T20Is for Australia, was unaware of the situation too. The two on-field umpires in the game were Geoff Joshua and Simon Fry while Nathan Johnstone was the TV umpire.

The Scorchers, despite the win, continued to lag at the end of the points table with six points from eight games, thanks to a worse run-rate while the Sixers were in the third spot with eight points in eight matches.

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