Why was Surrey-Sussex T20 Blast game abandoned with one ball to go for a result?
A Surrey versus Sussex T20 Blast fixture was abandoned in controversial circumstances on Sunday (June 29). The two teams were only one ball away from completing their South Group fixture at Hove when Tim Robinson and Paul Baldwin, the two on-field umpires, decided to take them off for heavy rains.
Since the two teams couldn’t return to play another ball, they had to settle for a draw and share points when, before the interruption, it seemed Sussex have victory firmly in their grasp.
Chasing a total of 176, their openers – Luke Wright and Phil Salt – aware of the bad weather and need to be ahead in the equation when DLS would come into the picture, went on the attack from the very beginning. They took their team to a score of 36 in the first three overs, which soon became 45 near the end of the fifth over.
Since the calculated target at that stage was 36, Sussex would’ve been awarded winners if another delivery had been played and the match, as is done in T20 cricket, was constituted at the end of 5 overs. However, that didn’t happen.
The fourth delivery of the over from Surrey paceman Kyle Jamieson struck Sussex skipper Wright on his helmet, suggesting an indifferent nature of the track due to the rain falling down.
Amidst the rain, the natural light also started deteriorating and the two umpires found it justified to take the teams off without completing the over, which would’ve completed the match.
Having already seen three of their previous seven fixtures ruined by weather and ending without an outright result, a fourth instance added to the disappointment for Sussex and their fans.
“It’s not how you want to finish a game of cricket,” Sussex head coach James Kirtley said in a club statement. “The lads are very gutted but they’ve shown incredible character in what might have been a provocative situation. As a coach I’m there to keep calm and keep the team calm. We would obviously have liked to see it managed differently. But the decision was made and sadly we were a ball away from securing two points.”
"The lads are gutted because we had Surrey on the ropes. Not to get the points is very disappointing."
James Kirtley reflects on today's game:
— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) June 27, 2021
“The umpires said conditions had got worse. And it was their judgement that that was the time to call it. It’s frustrating. It’s hard from the sidelines. But we’ve got to remain calm. The lads have shown real maturity because it could be blue touch paper time, things like this. Because we play at the height of our emotions. They’ve handled themselves incredibly well,” he added.
Why was Surrey-Sussex T20 Blast game abandoned with one ball to go for a result?
This, of course, is not the first instance of a match getting abandoned in such circumstances. Previously as well, there have been multiple games at the competitive level that did not get finished despite coming near the completion of the minimum number of overs required to get an outright result on DLS method.
T20 Blast: South Group fixture between Sussex and Surrey ended in controversial circumstances.
A couple of famous iterations of the same have involved Australia. Chasing a revised 15-over target of 119 in Sydney in T20I against Pakistan in early 2019, Australia were 41/0 at 3.1 over mark when the rain arrived again and ruined their hopes of an outright victory. That was still a bilateral game. Perhaps their worst experience came during the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Having had to already settle with a no result fixture against New Zealand in Group A, Australia were left bitterly disappointed when their next game – against Bangladesh at The Oval – was also ruined by poor weather. And that too when they required to bat a further four overs to be counted ahead of DLS in their chase. In the next round of Group A matches, Australia lost to England (another rain-affected match) and Bangladesh pulled off an unexpected victory over the Kiwis to go through to the semis at the Aussies’ expense.
At the time, Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis, the makers of the original rain-rule which was later updated when Steven Stern join them, stated in an elaborated piece for ESPNcricinfo why Australia should’ve been awarded winners of their game against Bangladesh.
“We believe, however, that there are compelling reasons, within the existing ICC ODI regulations, for Australia to have been awarded victory in that game, thus earning two points and qualifying for the semi-finals instead of Bangladesh,” they wrote.
They didn’t bat for a change in ICC regulation 12.4.2, pertinent to ‘Delayed or Interrupted Matches’, but expressed their displeasure at its rigid application. Since Australia were well ahead of the calculated target at the 16-over mark – and were even after loss of time amounting to more than 28 overs as per equation – they should’ve been declared winners, the makers of the adopted and updated rain-rule said. They wished for a more dynamic view on the matter from officials as opposed to the often static way they approach it currently.