Umpire bizarrely rules batter 'Not out' in club game in Australia, Image goes viral

In a rather surprising yet hilarious turn of events, the umpire has given the batter "not out" in a Melbourne club cricket game, even though the middle wicket had been disturbed but not entirely uprooted. Strangely, the bails remained intact in this bizarre incident.

Opinions on the decision varied, with some arguing that the umpires made the correct call since the bails were not dislodged, and the stumps weren't completely out of the ground. On the other hand, some criticized the umpires, suggesting that they should have ensured the stumps and bails weren't packed so tightly, preventing such an unusual situation.

While several fans are still arguing about the final verdict of the umpire, it is always a debate on what the laws od cricket as put together by the renowned Marleyborne Cricket Club (MCC) say regarding the provisions for the dismissal of a batter.

“The wicket is broken fairly if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground. The disturbance of a bail, whether temporary or not, shall not constitute its complete removal from the top of the stumps, but if a bail in falling lodges between two of the stumps this shall be regarded as complete removal,” states the Law 29 of the MCC's Laws of Cricket.

As per the laws, if the bails are positioned 'on top' of the stumps or any part of a displaced bail remains above unbroken stumps, the stumps are not considered to be 'down.' In the specific situation described above, both bails were not dislodged, and technically, they were still above the unbroken stumps, despite some disturbance to the middle stump. Notably, this led to confusion among many observers.

In 2017 in a similar incident batter was given 'Out' despite bails were intact

Back in the year 2017, a similar incident happened where the batter, Jatinder Singh, who was playing for Moonee Valley in a Mid-Year Cricket Association match against Strathmore Heights, was given out. He was declared bowled even though the bails were not dislodged.

Moreover, in this case, the middle stump was completely uprooted, leaving the umpires in a perplexing situation. After some deliberation, the batter was eventually adjudged out.