England benefited from an unusual umpiring decision during their series-clinching win over Sri Lanka in the third ODI at The Oval on Sunday, September 27. Sri Lankan batter Pavan Rathnayake was given out, then not out, before the TV umpire reversed the decision again and ruled him out.
During the 15th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, Charith Asalanka guided Liam Dawson towards short third. Jofra Archer collected the ball and threw towards the striker’s end. Pavan Rathnayake was short of his crease when the stumps were broken, but a second look raised questions over whether the wicket had been legally broken.
Jofra Archer’s Direct Hit Creates Confusion at The Oval
Pavan Rathnayake was initially given out by square-leg umpire Rob White after Jofra Archer produced a direct hit. The decision was then referred to TV umpire Adrian Holdstock following a discussion between White and standing umpire Wayne Knights.
Replays showed that England wicketkeeper Jordan Cox had dislodged both bails with his gloves just before Archer’s throw reached the stumps. Holdstock spent around two minutes reviewing the footage before overturning the on-field decision and signalling not out.
The big screen showed “not out”, and the players appeared ready to continue with Sri Lanka’s chase. However, the TV umpire continued to examine the footage during the drinks break.
A further review showed that Archer’s throw had struck one of the stumps with enough force to uproot it completely from the ground. After around another 90 seconds of deliberation, Holdstock reversed his decision again and gave Pavan Rathnayake out. The entire process took around four minutes.
MCC Laws Explain Why Pavan Rathnayake Was Eventually Out
Jordan Cox had removed the bails, but Archer’s throw then hit and knocked a stump out of the ground. Under the MCC Laws, this still counts as a legal way to break the wicket.
The two relevant MCC Laws read as follows:
29.2.1.1: "The wicket is broken fairly if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground by the ball."
29.2.1.6: "The wicket is also broken fairly if a fielder strikes or pulls a stump out of the ground (as in 29.2.1.5)."
In this case, Cox’s gloves removed the bails, but Archer’s throw subsequently uprooted one of the stumps. The wicket was legally broken by the throw, allowing Holdstock to overturn the “not out” decision and dismiss Pavan Rathnayake.
Notably, the decision was unusual enough to leave several experienced figures surprised. The MCC, which writes and interprets the Laws of Cricket, is expected to provide further clarification on the incident in the coming days.
Mark Butcher and Tom Banton React to Bizarre Decision
Tom Banton, who was named Player of the Match after scoring his maiden international century earlier in England’s innings, admitted that he had never seen a dismissal like it before.
“I’ll be honest, I have never seen that before, so I actually don’t know. But we take the mick out of Jamie Overton because he seems to know everything, and he said it was out straight away,” Banton said.
Sky Sports commentator Kumar Sangakkara also immediately believed the batter Pavan Rathnayake should have been given out, while former England batter Mark Butcher was surprised by the law that ultimately decided the dismissal.
“What I find hard to believe is that in all the years I’ve either played or commentated on the game, I’ve never seen this before or heard that law before. Everybody knows that if you break the stumps and the bails come off, then you need to get the ball in your hand and take the stump out in order to affect the run-out. I’ve never heard the sub-Law about the throw knocking the stump out of the ground, and that counting as a dismissal,” Butcher said.
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