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Let’s be clear. Mitchell Marsh was out. Stone cold, clear as day, salmon trout, out.
But he was dreadfully unlucky to have been given out.
Marsh’s dismissal was a case of a procedural stuff-up producing the right result.
After hitting the ball back to Matt Henry via his left shoe, Marsh stood his ground. Henry offered an appeal of such minimal proportions it appeared he wasn’t asking umpire Ian Gould if it was out so much as merely wondering out loud to himself if there was a chance he might have just taken a wicket.
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Few, if any, of the other New Zealanders offered an appeal. Gould was unmoved. Henry trudged back towards the top of his run-up.
It was only when the replay on the big screen showed that the ball had not hit the ground before finding its way into Henry’s hands that an appeal took place, a good 20 or 30 seconds after the action had occurred.
Batsmen and bowlers are not offered the chance to watch a replay before making a review through the Decision Review System. The fielding side shouldn’t be granted such an advantage before asking the umpire to check for a bump-ball.
The incident was reminiscent of a delivery during the fourth Test of the 2002-03 Ashes. A Steve Harmison delivery caught Steve Waugh’s edge en route to the gloves of James Foster, but none of the English fielders appealed until the replay appeared on the big screen.
In that case, David Orchard ruled the appeal to be too late. In this case, the fielding side was rewarded with a wicket.
With Marsh at the crease, Australia stood a good chance of winning the match, and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy with it. With him gone, they crumbled.
But be that as it may, Australia didn’t lose because of that decision. They lost the match – and the series – due to a horribly out-of-form middle order.
This team may be the current world champions, but the Australians have some serious problems that one controversial dismissal cannot gloss over.
Steve Smith was poor this series, but as one of world cricket’s premier batsmen, he’s not the problem. Or at least not the main one.
That dubious honour lies with the likes of George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade.
Bailey started the summer well, with two match-winning innings against India, but in New Zealand he has looked incapable of hitting the ball cleanly.
Maxwell’s spot in this side is now as dubious as his ODI Player of the Year award. Aside from his 96 against India in the Melbourne, he has scored just 83 runs in his other eight international matches this summer, at the same time taking a solitary wicket.
Wade is under even more scrutiny. His keeping is sub-par for state cricket, let alone the standard of international matches. With the bat, he has failed to pass 50 while wearing his national colours this summer.
That Wade has been dropped from the World T20 squad indicates the selectors have noticed his minimal impact, and that Peter Nevill is now in the box seat to get an ODI gig. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.
And to be fair, there are a few excuses and bright spots for Australia. Their best limited-overs bowler, Mitchell Starc, is injured. So too are James Faulkner, Aaron Finch – although his absence has allowed Usman Khawaja’s selection – and Pat Cummins. Mitchell Marsh has shown that someone with his last name can be worth persevering with based on talent alone.
But without a functional middle order, Australia cannot hope to dominate the ODI scene any longer.
And nothing, not injuries, not Marsh being out bowled Henry, caught Big Screen, can hide that.