Afghanistan and West Indies forced to play without bails due to strong wind force

It is not often a common sight to see the stumps without bails in a cricket match, as they have been inseparable for more than a century now. What happened at the Gros Islet would be remembered for ages to come, as the West Indies played the visiting side Afghanistan without a bail.

The match was followed by Bangladesh’s miraculous win over one of the top ODI sides in the form of New Zealand who gave away the advantage to help the Bangladesh side get away with a victory on an eventful day. The Tigers’ start was in jitters at 33/4 in their chase of 266 runs to get them a place in the semi-final stage of the competition.

The match at the Darren Sammy Stadium saw not only their side reel under the pressure of Afghanistan’s leggie Rashid Khan but also play a part of the match without a bail on either of the sides at the top of the stumps.

What does the law say?

Very often, we think that according to the Laws the bails have to be there ever present at the top of the stumps, but it is quite not so. According to the Laws of Cricket, established by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), with the agreement of the two team captains and the umpire’s approval the match could carry on without bails as seen at the Darren Sammy Stadium.

The match, however, did not go according to the plans of Jason Holder, the West Indian captain as their side crashed after starting the chase in a good position. For Afghanistan, the fairy tale of the talented young leg-spinner Rashid Khan continues. The leggie, who entered the series on a high after finishing as the second leading wicket-taker for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League picked up seven wickets for just 19 runs in his nine overs.

As a result, the West Indian batting order failed to keep pace with the asking rate and succumbed to defeat in the opening game of the 3-match ODI series.