Controversy occurred at the ICC U19 World Cup in New Zealand. South African opener Jiveshan Pillay fell victim to ‘obstructing the field’ against West Indies in their Group A encounter at Mount Maunganui.
West Indies captain and wicketkeeper Emmanuel Stewart appealed after Pillay mistimed an expansive cover drive of Jarion Hoyte that edged into the pads and then stopped in front of the wickets when he tapped the ball with his bat, picked it up and threw it to Stewart. The TV umpire Ranmore Martinesz was called into the action, and Pillay was declared out after a number of replays in the 17th over the South African innings with the score at 77/2.
It was always going to be difficult to rule in favor of the batsman once the matter had been sent to the third umpire unless the fielding team withdrew the appeal. The Law 37.4, which deals with ‘returning the ball to a fielder’, states: “Either batsman is out obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, he/she uses the bat or any part of his/her person to return the ball to any fielder.”
The Windies actions will open up the debate of the spirit of the game once again, after the 2016 World Cup where Keemo Paul pulled off a ‘Mankad’ to wrap up the Zimbabwe innings by dismissing the last man Richard Ngarava in a must-win situation. The West Indies eventually won the tournament.
Similar to then, the Windies are in a must-win position against the Proteas Colts after they lost their first game to hosts New Zealand.
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