Possible explanations to one of the strangest dismissals in cricket

Yuvraj Singh, on his Instagram account, posted a cricket related video where an umpire raises the finger even though the ball went past the bat with a huge visible gap. The video is going viral across various social media platforms. There were no appeals, neither from the bowler nor the wicketkeeper and the fielders. Yet the umpire took it upon himself and gave the decision and the batsman walked off without any reluctance. It was indeed one of the strangest dismissals in the game.

However, Asif Khan, sports editor and correspondent from Pakistan clarified it with an explanation on Twitter. It was in reply to someone who implied that the umpiring standards in Pakistan’s premier domestic tournament were poor. The tweet read, “Those players who aren’t happy with standard of umpiring in Quaid-e-Azam trophy must see this video and say Alhamdulillah.”

???

A post shared by Yuvraj Singh (@yuvisofficial) on Nov 12, 2017 at 7:11am PST

The journalist’s clarification was, “An old county game, the bowler is Mohammad Akram. What I was told is that slip fielder, Ian Salisbury appealed. It was umpire’s First FC game. The batsman had two balls in his rib-cage already hence he was ‘scared’ and walked. I was told this :)”

An old county game, the bowler is Mohammad Akram. What I was told is that slip fielder, Ian Salisbury appealed. It was umpire's First FC game. The batsman had two balls in his rib-cage already hence he was 'scared' and walked.

I was told this 🙂 https://t.co/132Bebb9md

— Asif Khan (@mak_asif) November 10, 2017

Some on social media claim that the batsman was actually given “timed out.” Apparently, this was the first ball after lunch and both batsmen had taken more than three mins to get back to the crease. Umpires only realized this after the ball was bowled. The other batsman was also given out when he faced his next delivery.

There is also an explanation on the original YouTube video that sounds most authentic, and consistent with what the Pakistani journalist said. It read, “This dismissal is from Surrey vs Leeds/Bradford UCCE at The Oval, 15th April 2007. The batsman is Tom Merilaht, the Surrey wicket-keeper is Jon Batty, and the bowler is Mohammad Akram. The umpire at the bowler’s end is Ian Gould. Some pundits… speculate that in the previous over, the batsman had hit the wicket but the umpire had called over. So it was mutually agreed that the bowler would bowl a ball and then he be given out next delivery”

Whatever the explanation may be, this will definitely be on the list of the strangest dismissals in cricket history.