Cricket World Cup 2019 | Bizarre stumps anomaly rears its ugly head again

A “ridiculous” trend has emerged at the Cricket World Cup and current and former players want action taken after David Warner’s escape.

David Warner was saved by the bail.

The recurring phenomenon haunting bowlers at this World Cup struck again as Australia benefited from a huge slice of luck against India.

David Warner was facing Jasprit Bumrah in the second over of the Aussie innings as Aaron Finch and Co. tried to chase down 353 for victory. Warner inside edged a delivery that deflected back onto his stumps but the bails didn’t move.

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It’s the fifth time in the tournament the ball has struck the stumps but the bails have stayed put.

“This is ridiculous … that has hit the stumps hard,” ex-England captain Michael Vaughan said in commentary for the BBC as other current and former players weighed in on social media.

Black Caps star Jimmy Neesham wrote on Twitter: “I understand that the electronics in the stumps and the bails make them heavier. Why can’t the groove the bails sit in just be made shallower? Won’t that fix the problem?”

Today is the 5th instance of ball hitting the stumps and bails not falling.

5th instance, WITHIN this World Cup.

Whats going on?? 🤔🤔

In my entire life i have not seen 5 instances like this, let alone in the space of 10 days or a tournament!!#AUSvIND #CWC19

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 9, 2019

Nice era to Bat when you can’t get bowled !!!!! These stumps/Zinger bail combination have to be changed ..... #CWC2019

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 9, 2019

This can’t keep happening with the bails !!! Hard enough being a bowler nowadays .. needs changing

— Nasser Hussain (@nassercricket) June 9, 2019

Yes time for a rethink 🤔 #ICCWC19 https://t.co/dHQL3v6Spu

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) June 9, 2019

The general consensus is the zing bails — which flash red when knocked out of their grooves — are heavier than normal bails so are harder to dislodge.

Whatever the reason, Warner’s good fortune represented another occasion where a bowler was dudded despite getting through a batsman’s defences in the UK.

Earlier in the tournament South Africa’s Quinton de Kock inside edged a ball onto his stumps but the bails stayed in place. The same thing happened when Sri Lankan star Dimuth Karunaratne was batting against New Zealand while Chris Gayle escaped when Mitchell Starc clipped his off stump at Trent Bridge.

The bails were too stubborn to leave their grooves in England’s win over Bangladesh on Saturday and it was a case of deja vu with Warner at The Oval.

Speaking after the match, Finch said the anomaly was “unfortunate” and hopes it doesn’t affect a crucial match in the World Cup.

“Yeah I think so,” Finch said when asked if the trend was becoming an issue. “We were on the right end of it today but … it’s a bit unfair at times isn’t it?

“It does seem to be happening more and more which is unfortunate.

“You’d hate to see something like that happen in a World Cup final or a semi-final … you’ve done the hard work as a bowler or fielding side to set a player up or get the mistake and it not be rewarded.”

Virat Kohli also said the matter needs to be looked at.

“Definitely. I mean, this is not something which you expect at the international level,” he said.

“You literally have to smash the stumps really hard … and these are fast bowlers. These are not your medium-pace bowlers.

“I don’t know, and MS (Dhoni) said we checked the stump hole, as well. The stump was not in very hard, it was actually loose. So I don’t know what’s actually wrong with the stump, the outer coating of the stump.

“I have no idea what’s going on due to the lights coming on, if the stump is too thick or too rigid.

“But I’m sure no team would like seeing stuff like that when you actually bowl a good ball and then you don’t get the guy out, the ball hits the stump and the lights don’t come on, or the lights come on and the bail comes back on to the stump. I haven’t seen that happen so many times in the past.”

Warner was just checking they weren’t glued on.

After Karunaratne enjoyed a lifeline against the Kiwis, ex-England captain Nasser Hussain said something needed to be done to make it easier for the bails to be dislodged.

“That’s something that needs to be looked into to be honest,” Hussain said in commentary. “We saw it in the IPL on a number of occasions, we saw it in the England-South Africa game the other day.

“The lights flashed on that occasion, they didn’t on this occasion. Just wondering whether it’s with the flashing zinger lights whether the bails are heavier and it’s not coming off for the bowlers.”

However, after Starc hit Gayle’s off stump last week but was denied the chance to celebrate a wicket, the ICC defended the zing bails.

“The zing bails perform exactly as the regular ones and, in fact, are lighter than those used by umpires when it is windy,” an ICC spokesman said. “The lights make any movement more noticeable.”