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Aaron Finch has made the staggering admission that the Australians had “no idea” what was going on when Aleem Dar and Kumar Dharmasena combined for the umpiring ‘howler’ of the year at the MCG last Saturday.
“We appealed for a lbw, we appealed for a run-out, we would have taken anything at the time,” was the Australian opening batman’s refreshing honesty.
Recapping, the Australians went up with a leg before appeal when paceman Josh Hazlewood struck England batsman James Taylor on the pads when he was 98.
Dar gave Taylor out, end of game. England had lost by 111 runs
It was as simple as that, the ball was dead, so there was no possibility of another run being scored. Repeat, the game was over.
That Taylor and Jimmy Anderson set off for a run was irrelevant.
Taylor called for a review, so the game wasn’t over until that decision was given, but the ball was still dead.
In the meantime Anderson was “run-out” by a bullet direct hit from Glenn Maxwell.
So when the third umpire gave Taylor not out, the Australians went for a second review on the “run-out” that was “upheld”.
The second review was never in the frame, both Dar and Dharmasena should have told the Australians the ball was dead.
They didn’t, Anderson was given out, and Taylor was robbed of a World Cup century on debut.
That decision was as disgraceful as the worst leg before I’ve ever seen when Ricky Ponting made his Test debut at the WACA in December 1995 against Sri Lanka.
Ponting batted superbly on his way to 96 when Chaminda Vass struck Ponting on the pads, well down the pitch. He was way out of his crease, so no leg before decision was possible.
Not until Pakistan umpire Khizer Hayat fired Ponting out with indecent haste. He couldn’t raise his finger quick enough, denying Ponting a Test ton on debut.
So Ponting can have sympathy with Taylor, there’s never a second chance to make a first impression.
What were the first impressions of the Australian batting at the MCG?
Bangladesh will pay next Saturday at the Gabba for the top order failures at the “G”. Rarely would any side dismiss David Warner for 22, Shane Watson for a first ball duck, and the ever-consistent Steve Smith for just five.
That was a huge bonus for England that they never capitalised on.
It would have been even better had Chris Woakes not dropped a regulation catch off Finch with the fifth ball of the match when he was still on nought.
Finch made 135, and was voted man of the match.
Will Watson hold his place with Michael Clarke due back from his latest bout of injuries?
It has to be Watson or stand-in captain George Bailey, who made 55 after the troubled start against England.
Watson is a genuine all-rounder, so to drop him upsets the bowling balance of the side. He can count himself lucky bowling is in his repertoire. while Bailey can count himself unlucky he can’t bowl.
And maybe one other change – the express speed of Pat Cummins for the wicketless and wayward Hazlewood.
But all the interest will centre on Clarke, not only how he goes with the bat, ball, and in the field, but how long he lasts before back and hamstrings strike again.
We wish you well Michael Clarke, but if you break down again don’t tell the sporting world you might have played your last game as you did in Adelaide.
Nobody will be listening.