Scot vs Aus, 1st T20I – Mark Watt’s 25-yard ‘long ball’ reappears against Australia

“It’s just trying to catch up [the batters],” Watt previously explained. “When I let it go, the batsman looks up and the ball is mid-wicket.”

The wording of the relevant Rule, 20.4.2.5, indicates that the referee made the correct call. “Any umpire shall call and indicate a Dead Ball if…the bowler is not ready to be served the ball and, if the ball is delivered, does not attempt to play it. Provided that the umpire is satisfied that the bowler had sufficient reason not to play it. as you are ready, the ball shall not count as one of the overs.”

However, “reason enough” for the batsman to be dismissed remained at the umpire’s discretion and Watt clearly felt that Inglis was ready to face. Freeze frames when Watt started to run appeared to suggest that Inglis was still looking down when he swung his bat, or was looking at the bowler before the ball was released.

It would have had no effect on the result, but it is not the first time debate has erupted over whether Watt was denied a wicket. A similar situation occurred in the T20 World Cup earlier this year when Oman batsman Khalid Kail was ‘fooled’ after going backwards and umpire Chris Brown called it a dead ball. At the time Watt and captain Richie Berrington spoke to the umpire but on Wednesday, without much discussion the game continued, although there were boos from the crowd after the second dead call.

During the World Cup games, Tom Moody, who was commenting on the game, believes that Kail is ready and the ball should not have died. “The batsman is looking up. He’s ready. To me, that’s a legal ball,” Moody said. “The ball is live. As soon as the batsman puts his bat down and looks up, looking up at the bowler, he’s ready to go.”