BBL: Cricket umpire Greg Davidson causes furore with itchy nose gesture to overturn wicket decision
Got him! Oh hang on, the ump just has an itchy nose. That’s how umpire Greg Davidson became an overnight sensation in one of the more bizarre nights in BBL history.
Cricket
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A scratch of the schnoz raised eyebrows at Marvel Stadium but it is the reigning premiers who are on the nose.
The Melbourne Renegades will this week desperately fight to keep their season alive after Sunday night slumping to a fourth-straight loss to be the only team without a win in BBL09.
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Aaron Finch’s men returned to Marvel Stadium for the first time since last season’s glory but the warm memories of just 10 months ago quickly faded as the Adelaide Strikers flexed their muscle to win by 18 runs and launch themselves to the top of the BBL table.
The Gades lost three wickets — including Finch — within what coach Michael Klinger described as a “horror over” as Strikers danger man Rashid Khan and Wes Agar ran riot with the ball.
It poses a threatening prospect for the Renegades, who have five matches over the next 12 days to give their season a pulse.
ITCH TO SCRATCH
Boss move or total troll?
Umpire Greg Davidson caused a furore when he appeared to be preparing to signal Beau Webster as out for LBW off Strikers spinner Rashid Khan who had earlier impressed with his “Camel Bat”.
But as Davidson appeared to raise his index finger, he then diverted to scratch his nose, much to the chagrin of Strikers players.
Peter Siddle shared a laugh with Davidson and Khan asked the question, before Hawkeye showed Webster’s wicket would have been hit.
An immediate internet sensation.
“The flies were pretty bad out there, but I’m not using that as excuse,” joked Davidson afterwards. “I’m not sure if I got finger right up but I made the right decision.”
👃 Greg Davidson with a bit of an itchy schnoz at Marvel Stadium #nosegate #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/m3M772Atox
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 29, 2019
If that’s not the funniest thing I’ve seen on a cricket field, I’m not here. Plumb. Itchy nose. #BBL
— Tom Haylock (@thaylock) December 29, 2019
Renegades coach Michael Klinger said he considered Davidson’s move to be “gutsy”, given the umpire thought that Webster may have nicked the ball.
“To be honest, I like it,” he said.
“I think he felt he made half a mistake, and he thought that Beau hit it.
“I think it’s gutsy for him to change it halfway through, so I commend him for that.
“I think it’s the right call, whether it happened for us or against us. He felt that he hit it, which I think he probably did. He changed his mind halfway through, and at least he got the decision right, which is the main thing.”
Great feint from the umpire there, the old "go to give it out then scratch the nose" trick! #BBL09 #BBL2019
— Rohan Connolly (@rohan_connolly) December 29, 2019
Arm going up with pointed finger, then umpire swings it around to scratch his nose! The ‘my nose was itchy’ cover up was probably the worst part of it. #BBL09
— 💧 Vonnie V (@visivoz) December 29, 2019
SEEING RED
The heat was on the batsmen, Finch had declared, and apart from him they again failed to deliver.
Boom recruit Shaun Marsh tried to send it square and missed a Rashid Khan delivery to be out for just 16 off 17 balls while opener Sam Harper notched just 11 runs.
Finch, who on Saturday declared he carried plenty of responsibility for the team’s “sloppy” batting, notched a stellar half-century before he was run out the very next ball before Marcus Harris played a shocker to go out the following ball after that.
Only one Renegade has scored more than 60 runs in a game so far this season – no one is going big enough.
Victorian star Finch chalked up his 2000th run in the innings, rocketing him to second place in the list of all-time BBL run scorers.
GADES GET SALTED
Would you like Salt with that?
He’d come highly touted and Phil Salt showed exactly what he was made of in a blistering opening showing.
“We’ll see the best of him soon and you’ll understand why he’s opening,” teammate Alex Carey had said last week.
Salt absolutely demolished countryman Richard Gleeson with five boundaries in the third over of the match before notching a half-century.
Star batsman Alex Carey claimed golden cap honours with his 41 runs off 36 balls to move to the top of the league’s batting table.
“I don’t know if yellow is my colour,” he laughed.
SLOW AND STEADY
Finch knew it would be slow, saying on Saturday it would be imperative not to let the lack of run-on from the ground frustrate his team.
But frustrations from fans were evident as the match wore on with the slow outfield riling many.
It was lashed as a “disgrace” and a “cow paddock” while one punter asked “is the mower broken?”.
The seemingly thicker grass proved costly on the scoreboard, with both teams notching their lowest totals with the bat for BBL09 so far.
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Originally published as BBL: Cricket umpire Greg Davidson causes furore with itchy nose gesture to overturn wicket decision