Was Tamim Iqbal out: Why was Kyle Jamieson’s catch declared as not out in NZ vs BAN Christchurch ODI?

Was Tamim Iqbal out: The Bangladeshi captain was involved in a debatable decision in the second ODI at the Hagley Oval.

During the second ODI of the ongoing Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand in Christchurch, a decision which followed the rule book let down New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson for he was denied of an ODI wicket.

It all happened on the penultimate delivery of the 15th over when Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal played a straight drive off Jamieson only to hit it in the air presenting a caught and bowled chance to the bowler.

Jameison, 6’8″, put on display an acrobatic fielding effort to complete what appeared to be a clean catch. Given how close the ball was to the ground, the decision was bound to get referred to third umpire Chris Gaffaney. However, an “out” soft signal from the on-field umpire had given hopes of the hosts picking their second wicket at the Hagley Oval.

Was Tamim Iqbal out in NZ vs BAN Christchurch ODI?

Multiple replays resulted in Gaffaney overturning the on-field umpire’s decision which was hard to digest for Jamieson. In the process of taking the catch, Jamieson did ground the ball but the question was whether the ball was grounded while the fielder was in control of himself or still in the act of completing the catch.

According to MCC’s Law 33.3, “The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement.”

Following the same rule, Gaffaney was absolutely correct to reverse the decision as Jamieson was not in “complete control” over both the ball and his own movement.

It is worth mentioning that a similar incident had happened during the fourth T20I between India and England in Ahmedabad last week when India batsman Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal had become a topic of debate.

Iqbal, who was batting at 34* at that time, went on to score 78 (108) with the help of 11 fours. In what was his 50th ODI half-century, the 32-year old player played a crucial role in Bangladesh scoring 271/6 in 50 overs after New Zealand captain Tom Latham invited them to bat first.