Lancashire believe they should have been awarded a second round on the last ball against Hampshire, instead of a single goodbye, and therefore won the T20 Blast title on Saturday night after a chaotic final at Edgbaston . After a dramatic call without a ball. forced Nathan Ellis to throw an extra delivery in the late 20s, Lancashire was left with two runs out of the Hampshire total. Under Blast’s playing conditions, the tie-breaking matches are won first by the team that has lost the fewest goals (both had lost eight), then the team with the highest powerplay score (Lancashire did 60 to 48 of Hampshire).
As a result, Lancashire needed two races to win the title. Richard Gleeson played and missed on a slower ball, and Tom Hartley said goodbye to goalkeeper Ben McDermott, who ran towards the stumps and evicted the bail at the end of the goalkeeper, at which point the referees apparently determined that the ball was dead.
Meanwhile, Gleeson came back for two after putting the bat on the ground at the end of the non-attacker, and Hartley set off when he saw Gleeson running towards him. McDermott ran towards the end of the bowling alley. Mason Crane handed him a stump that had been removed to celebrate, but that didn’t seem to break the harbor at all as Hartley ran back to make his ground. A farewell was granted, which meant Hampshire won by one race.
“We thought the ball was still alive and Tommy came back for two,” said Lancashire captain Dane Vilas. “There was a bit of confusion out there, but the referees declared the ball dead as soon as they caught the stumps. [bails] out at the end of the striker “.
According to Law 20.1.2, “the ball shall be considered dead when the final referee of the bowling player is clear that the pitching side and the two batsmen of the wicket have ceased to consider it in play.”
“There was a bit of confusion because we thought the guys were going to do another race and Tommy was really looking forward to getting that other race,” Vilas said. “We will take a look at the match in a little more detail.
“Everything was going on out there at that stage. I can’t be 100% sure what exactly was said, but we thought maybe we could have taken a look and seen if it was a review or something, but obviously it was” and it ended up being called a Hampshire victory. “
A lot of things happen on the last ball, but I still can’t understand how you don’t go to the third referee to check the runout. I’m also pretty sure the field for the free kick wasn’t the same as the point without a ball, backwards moved in the middle of the port, is that allowed?
– Saqib Mahmood (@ SaqMahmood25) July 16, 2022
Vilas asked why the referees, David Millns and Graham Lloyd, had not checked exactly what had happened to the television referee. “They ship everything else,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s their decision, and their decision is final. As players we know and respect that, so we just have to move on. That’s what it is.”
Vilas’ opinion seemed to be shared by Daniel Gidney, the club’s CEO. He retweeted a tweet from Jordan Clark, the former Lancashire versatile who now plays for Surrey, saying, “Did the Lances make a legitimate 2 in the end or am I? [sic]”
James Vince, the Hampshire captain, suggested the ball was “obviously” dead when McDermott had broken the stumps at the goalkeeper’s end. “Dane came on the field and was questioning the referees,” he said. “I think he was trying to say we had broken bail when he [Hartley] he entered and then two ran.
“But, I mean, obviously they weren’t going to run two to the goalkeeper, so I’m not quite sure what I was trying to say. Once we broke the bail at the end and whatever, I just checked with the referees that the match it was already finished and dusted off and they said “yes” and then we celebrated it for the second time ”.
Vince also believed the referees made a mistake in the final ball of the penultimate over the Hampshire innings, when the locker room was convinced Lancashire only had three pitchers within the 30-yard circle, instead of the required four, a decision which was unchecked with the television referee.
“I felt some things were going against us,” he said. “When they had three [fielders] inside the ring and they didn’t look back and gave us the no-dance, that was a couple of extra runs there and in the finals, the ones we played are often reduced to one or two. It looked like they had a bit of a green friction, so it was very special to cross the line at the end. “
ESPNcricinfo has contacted MCC for comment.
Matt Roller is associate editor at ESPNcricinfo. @ mroller98