Former Pakistan captain and legendary pacer, Wasim Akram is of the opinion that umpire Richard Kettleborough made a genuine mistake during India's ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh on October 19 (Thursday) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Reflecting on the non-wide call by the umpire when Virat Kohli was nearing his century, Akram affirmed that it was a wide ball, sure!
"One of those genuine mistakes. It was a wide ball, sure," Akram said on A Sports.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 103 runs while Indian ended up winning the contest by seven wickets without even breaking a sweat.
At a certain juncture, it seemed like Kohli might not have enough runs remaining in the game to reach his century. It even appeared that the Bangladesh bowlers were trying to prevent him from reaching this milestone. Twice, they delivered wide balls, seemingly attempting to deny the former Indian captain his well-deserved century. However, umpire Richard Kettleborough noticed their tactics and ensured Kohli had a fair chance to hit a hundred.
The first wide, delivered by Hasan Mahmud, was called by the square leg umpire. In the subsequent over, when left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed delivered a ball from round the wicket that went wide down the leg side, Kohli chose not to play it. He appeared displeased with the spinner's approach. However, on this occasion, umpire Kettleborough didn't declare it a wide. Undeterred, Kohli took charge, ending the match with a six, securing his century in style.
Was that a wide or a terrific decision?
According to the earlier guidelines of the MCC Laws of Cricket: "If the bowler bowls a ball, not being a No ball, the umpire shall adjudge it a Wide if, according to the definition in 22.1.2, the ball passes wide of where the striker is standing and which also would have passed wide of the striker standing in a normal guard position."
But what many people are not aware of is that the wide rule was slightly tweaked in October 2022 and the revised law says: "In the modern game, batters are, more than ever, moving laterally around the crease before the ball is bowled. It was felt unfair that a delivery might be called ‘Wide’ if it passes where the batter had stood as the bowler entered his/her delivery stride."
"Therefore, Law 22.1 has been amended so that a Wide will apply to where the batter is standing, where the striker has stood at any point since the bowler began their run up, and which would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position," the MCC had said in a statement at the time.
Thus, the new rule played a massive role in umpire Kettleborough's decision.
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