Single Wicket

Press, Volume C, Issue 29469, 22 March 1961, Page 13

Single Wicket

pRICKET is always produring something new and difficult in umpiring problems, and there was a situation at Beckenham Park on Saturday which. might have puzzled the pundit. There was a third grade C match between Beckenham and Waltham. Beckenham lost two quick wickets, the second to the last ball of an over. The field changed over, and the bowler for the next over took the ball. He did not realise there was only one batsman at the crease, and nor did the umpires. So a ball was bowled and the solitary batsman hit it and ran what would have been a single had the laws of the game not, rather unkindly, required that two batsmen should cross and make good their ground before a run can be recorded. It waa only when the batsman reached the bowler’s end that it was realised he was alone in the venture. The incident did cause some controversy, some of the players feeling that as the over had been started, the ball was in play and a run should be credited to the solo batsman. The delay to the arrival of the incoming batsman had been caused by a common complaint: the two Wickets had fallen almost together, and there was only one extra pair of pads in a reasonable state of repair. After negotiation, the teams took the obvious and wisest course. It was decided that the batsman, should go back to the striker’s end. and the over started again.