Joe Root’s marginal DRS call in the second innings of the Ranchi Test raised some questions around ball-tracking, particularly around where the ball should pitch for it to be considered in line.
In the second session of the third day, Root was not used in the field as R Ashwin missed a full ball. The ball, launched around the wicket, appeared to land near the edge of his leg stump before straightening and hitting Root’s pads.
India has reviewed the decision. Fortunately for them, the on-field umpire’s decision had to be overturned as tracking the ball gave him three reds.
Michael Vaughan expressed displeasure with the tracking of the ball, stating that more than half of the balls appeared to land on the outside of his leg. “Mr Root’s dismissal was a shock to Tech. More than half of them appeared to have residual limbs on the outside of their legs, which were red,” Vaughan told BBC Sport.
What is the Pitching Zone?
The pitching zone is the rectangular area on the field that is highlighted on the television screen when tracking the ball on an LBW call.
To continue the lbw verification process and verify impact and hit parameters, the center of the ball must be inside or outside the pitching zone when pitched. If the center of the ball is on the leg side of the pitching zone when pitched, the batter cannot advance to the left.
According to the ICC playing conditions, the pitching zone is defined as follows: “A two-dimensional area on the pitch between the stump sets, whose boundaries consist of the bases of the stump sets and the line between the stumps.” At each end are the lateral and lateral stumps. ”
“Outside the outer stump of both ends” is an important term in the above definition. A common misconception is that the width of the pitching zone extends from the middle of the off stump to the middle of the leg stump, giving the audience the feeling that the ball is outside the line on a marginal call like the one Root must have thrown. Thing.
The line of the stumps runs from the outside of the stump. The *centre* of the ball must land inside this (when issue is pitching outside leg). There is no umpire’s call. It was as tight as they come. But it was out. (And we need to keep technology sweet or Terminator 2 happens) pic.twitter.com/yjUtSjA0k4
– Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) 25. February 2024
Does a similar zone for Impact exist?
Yes, that’s right. The impact zone is the same as the pitching zone, but extends upwards to an indeterminate height, making it a three-dimensional space instead of a two-dimensional area.
For impact to occur in a straight line, the center of the ball must be within the impact zone when the batter’s body first intercepts the ball. If the center of the ball is outside the impact zone, but part of the ball is inside the impact zone, the “umpire’s call” comes into play, and of course if the entire ball is outside the impact zone, there is no impact. It is considered that Leave the line.
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