Why Latham was not out

New Zealand responded boldly to India’s first innings total of 318 at Green Park on Friday. Both Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, however, had a fair share of good fortune during their unbroken 117run second wicket partnership. Latham, in particular, had a lucky escape.

INCIDENT Ravindra Jadeja was bowling the 37th over and Latham tried to sweep the fourth ball from outside off. The Kiwi opener managed an inside edge and the ball bounced off his boot and went to KL Rahul at forward short leg, who held the catch after a couple of attempts. The Indians were convinced but umpire Richard Kettleborough asked Latham to wait. REFERRAL Kettleborough and his on-field colleague Rod Tucker sent the matter to TV umpire Anil Chaudhary because they wanted to check if the ball had hit the ground. Replays confirmed that the ball came straight off the boot but Latham was given not out. As Rahul juggled a bit while taking the catch, the ball appeared to have hit the helmet grille and as because an external protective gear came into play, it was declared a dead ball. BALL) Law 23 [1 (a) (vi)] says that a ball is dead if “it lodges in a protective helmet worn by a fielder”. Latham’s reprieve was down to a combination of the aforesaid Laws. INCIDENT It had happened at the Wanderers, during India’s first-ever tour of South Africa in 1992-93. Peter Kirsten bowled the final over before tea on the final day of the second Test and Sanjay Manjrekar played a sweep. The ball rebounded off Andrew Hudson’s helmet, as he took the catch at short leg and celebrated. But Manjrekar knew the rules as also the umpires, Steve Bucknor, Barry Lambson and Cyril Mitchley. Manjrekar and Pravin Amre’s unbroken 68-run fifth wicket partnership helped India save the match.