Arnos vale, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – 2nd November 2016 – The Super 40 finals at Park Hill playing field was concluded in unusual fashion last weekend. After some exciting cricket earlier in the day, which had spectators anticipating a thrilling finish, the match was prematurely ended.
The incident that led to the discontinuation of the game included an umpire giving a batsman out LBW, then reversing that decision after consultation with his square leg umpire. The fielding team reacted with a protest to this decision, which the umpire upheld. This prompted a long pause of the game, which resulted in the ground staff interpreting as the end of the match, and brought on the covers.
The rule of cricket states that a standing umpire can consult with the assistant umpire, but only if the assistant is in a better position to make that judgment, which is not the case for an LBW decision.
The umpire has since written to SVGCA Inc. accepting full responsibility for the unfortunate incident, and offered sincere apologies to all stakeholders involved.
President of the SVGCA Inc., Kishore Shallow, has expressed disappointment with the outcome of the finals. Shallow said “though I am disappointed with the premature end, after reflection, I sympathize with the umpire and also both teams, who all got caught up in the excitement. It was a case of one blunder leading to another, and unfortunately, the result in this particular instance was not favorable”. Shallow further lamented “Credit must be given to the umpire for accepting and admitting that he should have handled the situation differently. I also commend the two teams who up until then had entertained the fans at Park Hill, and who in spite of the high tension, generally conducted themselves in an acceptable manner”.
“The outcome of this situation reminds me of when West Indies youngster Keemo Paul earlier this year Mankaded Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava to give West Indies a two-run win in their do-or-die league game in the Under 19 World Cup. Though young Keemo was crucified initially, he was proven to be acting within the rules of the game. I think if nothing else, this should be a teachable moment for all players and officials in cricket, to study the rules of the game” Shallow further elaborated.
The president concluded his remarks by apologizing to cricket public, particular the spectators that were at the finals at Park Hill for the premature end. However, he expressed great satisfaction that this did not curtail the main event, which was the climax of the SVGCA Inc. car raffle, which saw Ms. Nathalie Balcombe of Georgetown winning a Toyota Allex.
The SVGCA Inc. has since decided that the finals will not be replayed, and both teams will share the first prize.
