Editor
Watching Peter Nevill stump Sri Lankan batsman Dimuth Karunaratne live in the third Test I immediately saw it as a great piece of wicketkeeping.
Commentator Brendon Julian thought it may have been a dead ball due to the time it took Nevill to make the stumping, but the dead ball ruling is completely up to the umpire’s discretion as seen in the dead ball rule of Law 23.
Ball finally settled
Whether the ball is finally settled or not is a matter for the umpire alone to decide.
When you watch the moment in full speed Nevill had around three seconds after catching the ball before he took the bails off. Three seconds. That’s it!
It was completely Karaunaratne’s fault and he knew it. That’s why he didn’t complain when he walked off.
Nothing wrong with @pmnevill stumping. Ball was not ruled dead. Within the spirit and laws of the game. #ausvsl @theagesport @SMHsport
— JonPierik (@Pierik_AgeSport) August 16, 2016
All this nonsense about it being against the spirit of cricket to make a stumping because the batsman didn’t realise the ball was still in play is absurd.
Mitchell Johnson had some stinging replies when he congratulated Nevill on Twitter.
@MitchJohnson398 @CricketAus @pmnevill Are you kidding me? Lost the series and now resorting to wickets like this. #embarrassing #cheap
— LFC Mate (@LFC_QLD) August 16, 2016
#SLvAUS Not sure if that was in the spirit of the game by Peter Nevill.
— Ricardo Ascenso (@Ricky_A1) August 16, 2016
It’s the batsman’s responsibility to check their crease like their life depends on it.
Anyone who’s watched a decent amount of cricket or played the game will know that a batsman will make it known he is going for a wander down the crease in between deliveries.
He or she will look at the square leg umpire in acknowledgement that the ball is dead so they can leave their crease for ‘gardening’ of the pitch or to speak to the non-striker.
Just watched the stumping. Peter Nevill did what wicketkeepers are there to do. What is the problem? #SLvAus
— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) August 16, 2016
Karunaratne didn’t do that. He wasn’t thinking and forgot about where the ball was. He didn’t check his surroundings and should have no sympathy from anyone.
Nevill should be applauded for keeping an eye on the foot and pouncing so quickly. He literally had a split second to take the bails off.
Nevill had tried a similar tactic in the first innings but the batsman’s foot didn’t lift.
It is a sneaky stumping but a good one. Up there with one of the best wicketkeeping plays of all time when Ian Healy ran out Curtly Ambrose when his bat got stuck in a crack at the Adelaide Oval.
Those who think Nevill’s stumping was against the spirit of cricket probably think Healy should have recalled Ambrose for the unfortunate crack getting in the way.