Debate erupts after Will Parker’s miracle catch in Big Bash knockout final
Hurricanes spinner Wil Parker almost pulled off the catch of the decade on Friday, but the teenager was cruelly robbed by an obscure rule.
The Adelaide Strikers have secured their fifth consecutive Big Bash League victory, defeating the Hobart Hurricanes by 22 runs at the MCG to put themselves one step closer towards an unlikely title.
The Hurricanes were utterly outclassed in Friday evening’s one-sided “Eliminator”, with a mammoth opening partnership between wicketkeeper Alex Carey and Matt Short helping the Strikers register an imposing total of 6/188 in Melbourne.
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After Strikers captain Peter Siddle won the toss and elected to bat first, Carey (67 off 45) and Short (89 off 48) combined for a 145-run stand before Ashes hero Scott Boland broke the season-high partnership in the 15th over.
The Hurricanes were plagued by dropped catches throughout their 20 overs in the field, with seamer Tom Rogers guilty of spilling an absolute soda at mid-off when Short was on 15.
It was the first of four missed chances in the field for the Hurricanes, each with varying levels of difficulty.
“There’s attitude problems here,” former Australian batter Michael Hussey said on Fox Cricket commentary.
“The attitude is not right for the Hurricanes … they’re not switched on at all here.”
The long-awaited breakthrough almost came in the 13th over, when Short slapped a half-tracker towards teenage gun Wil Parker at the long-on boundary.
Parker leapt into the air with an outstretched right arm, and the ball somehow stuck in his hand — but the 19-year-old slid back into the boundary rope after landing on the turf.
“Can’t take a trick tonight,” Fox Cricket commentator Mark Howard said. “He’s taken one of the great catches seen at the MCG.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan continued: “I want a new rule that if you take a catch like that and even if the rope goes back with you, if you stay this side of the rope that should be out.”
Short was awarded six runs, which raised some eyebrows in the commentary box because Parker’s arm hit the deck before making contact with the boundary padding.
“I’m not sure that’s six, he definitely landed inside the field of play and then slid into rope,” Hussey said.
Hurricanes captain Peter Handscomb agreed: “I reckon it’s four.
“He’s hit ground, the ball was in his hand, probably hit the ground when he landed and then he slides into the rope. For me, that just makes sense it’s a four.”
That’s not a six #hurricanes vs strikers #BBL11
— Russell (@russcsk) January 21, 2022
That should be one of the all-time great catches! Unbelievable. Wish they could bend the rules for that #BBL11
— Michael Whiting (@MichaelWhiting) January 21, 2022
Law 19.7.1 states: “A boundary (six) will be scored if and only if the ball has been struck by the bat and is first grounded beyond the boundary without having been in contact with the ground within the field of play. This shall apply even if the ball has previously touched a fielder.”
The Hurricanes could only muster 166 in response, D’Arcy Short top-scoring for the men in purple with 56 off 34 balls.
Ben McDermott, the tournament’s highest run-scorer of the season, was removed cheaply in the opening over of the run chase. He finished the 2021/22 campaign with 577 runs, which ranks fourth on the all-time list of most runs in a Big Bash season.
Siddle was the pick of the bowlers on Friday evening, snaring four wickets to cement his status as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 27 scalps in 15 matches.
The all-time record for most wickets in a BBL series is 30, set by Sydney Thunder all-rounder Daniel Sams two summers ago.
The Strikers will next face the Thunder at the MCG on Sunday evening, with the first ball scheduled for 7.15pm AEDT.
Most wickets in a Big Bash League season
30 — Daniel Sams (ST), 2019/20
29 — Jhye Richardson (PS), 2020/21
27 — Peter Siddle (AS), 2021/22
More Coverage
24 — Ben Dwarshuis (SS), 2020/21
24 — Kane Richardson (MR), 2018/19
24 — Mark Steketee (BH), 2020/21
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