Alyssa Healy was given not out following an appeal for ‘obstructing the field’ by India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur after the batter tried to deflect a throw with the bat during day three of the India-Australia Test.
The incident took place in Mumbai on Saturday (December 23) when Healy went down on the third ball of Australia’s second 80th over and tossed it back from the cowl to the bowler. When the Indian captain saw the batsman coming out of the crease, he immediately picked up the ball and threw it towards the batsman.
However, Healy was in front of the stumps on the delivery line and used his bat as a shield while shielding himself from the ball. Kaul complained of “obstruction of the playing field,” but the on-field umpire remained unmoved. During that time, Ball ran away to four points and Healy improved from 28 to 32 points.
Under MCC Law 37.2, if “the interference or distraction is accidental, or the interference is intended to prevent injury, or in the case of a batter, on a second or subsequent occasion”; Batters cannot be ejected for interference. Strikes are carried out to protect wickets legally. ”
Alyssa Healy in trying to protect herself uses her bat and the ball runs off it to the third man fence.
Harmanpreet Kaur has complained of interference with pitching. #CricketTwitter #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/MY36gO8HCa
– Female Cricket (@im Femalecricket) 23. December 2023
The referee ruled that Healy was trying to protect himself from the ball to avoid injury, so he was not sent off.
On the very next ball, Kaul gets Healy lbw and stares at her as he returns to the pavilion. Healy attempted a deliberate swing against her fastball, but she missed completely when her ball hit the pads. Even though HotSpot saw a faint spike, the third official ruled it out.
Kaul and Healy have a sordid past with each other, with the latter canceling out the former’s wicket-to-wicket runs after the Indian’s bat stuck in the ground in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup. . Mr Healy said: “All Harmanpreet can say is that she was very unlucky. But at the end of the day she came back and probably could have gotten through the crease. If she had really tried, she would have had two more to go. I could have gotten over the meters.”
Australia led by 46 points in the second innings and ended the day at 233-5. With one day left, this game could become a thriller.
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