Hamza Sheikh was sent off for 'field interference' in the 17th over of England's Under-19 Cricket World Cup win over Zimbabwe in Potchefstroom. Despite the win, England were eliminated in the Super 6 stage. Watch the Men's U19 World Cup in South Africa live on Sky Sports Cricket
14:01, UK, Saturday 3 February 2024
England ended their Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign with a resounding 146-run win over Zimbabwe, despite batsman Hamza Shaikh's controversial sending off for 'field interference'.
The incident took place in the 17th over of the Super 6 match in Potchefstroom when Shaikh blocked a delivery from Ryan Singhvi and the ball stopped against his leg.
The right-hander then picked up the ball to throw it back to wicketkeeper Ryan Kamwemba, who approached from behind the stumps, and Zimbabwe appealed on the grounds that Shaikh had done so without seeking permission from the fielders. .
Law 37.4 of the Cricket Laws states: “If, while the ball is in play, a batter hits it back with his bat or any part of his body without the consent of a fielder, both batters are out and have obstructed the field.'' It is stipulated that He can give the ball to any fielder. ”
The two on-field umpires consulted each other and sent a request for retrial, and the third umpire, after watching the replay, signaled Shaikh out (one of his nine throws), losing the toss and England The score was 78-3. I was hit by the bat first.
England posted 237-7 from 50 overs, with Charlie Alisson hitting a vital 76, opener Theo Wylie's 61 and valuable bottom runs from Hayden Mustard (41) to seal the win. Ta.
Tazeem Chaudhry Ali (7-29) then destroyed the Zimbabwe batting line-up, with the leg-spinner taking all the last seven wickets and being bowled out for 91.
Despite their comprehensive victory, England finished fourth in Group 2, leaving the competition at the Super 6 stage, missing out on the two semi-final spots claimed by Australia and South Africa.
Shaikh's dismissal is reminiscent of a nearly similar incident during the 2018 Under-19 World Cup match between West Indies and South Africa, which caused a minor uproar in the cricket world.
On that occasion, South African opener Jibhushan Pillay picked up a ball that had come to rest after hitting his pads on the inside edge and threw the ball back to wicketkeeper Emmanuel Stewart, for which he was sent off.
Stewart, who was also the West Indies captain, immediately appealed and Pillay was ruled out for 47 by the third umpire. However, South Africa won by 76 points.
In the history of senior men's one-day international cricket, a total of eight players have been disciplined for field interference, including current England Test captain Ben Stokes against Australia at Lord's in 2015.
While the decision to send off Shaikh was correct within the laws of cricket, it is debatable whether it was in the spirit of the game for Zimbabwe to appeal in the first place.
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