Somerset’s Will Smeed should have been given OUT in T20 Blast final at key moment when the teenager was caught by Kent’s Jordan Cox via a collision with Daniel Bell-Drummond
- Kent Spitfires triumphed in the Twenty20 Blast final over Somerset
- However, they may have got there a little quicker but for an umpire blunder
- Jordan Cox caught Will Smeed via a collision with Daniel Bell-Drummond
- A six was signalled, but Cricket’s lawmakers have stated it was a fair catch
The MCC have clarified that Somerset’s Will Smeed should have been given out at a crucial juncture of Saturday’s Twenty20 Blast final at Edgbaston.
Cricket’s lawmakers said that as Kent’s Jordan Cox was in control of the ball and remained within playing area, it constituted a fair catch regardless of a collision with team-mate Daniel Bell-Drummond.
Umpire Mike Burns signalled six, following consultation with TV official Neil Bainton, after recognising that their legs touched when part of Bell-Drummond’s body beyond the boundary rope.
Jordan Cox collided with Daniel Bell-Drummond in the T20 Blast final catching Will Smeed
Somerset’s Smeed bagged six due to the collision, but the umpire should have given out
However, such a ‘chain of contact’ was irrelevant, MCC confirmed, as there had been no intention by the pair to aid each other in the fielding of the ball.
A statement from the MCC read: ‘If two fielders are in contact accidentally, then the fielder within the field of play is not deemed to be beyond the boundary.
‘If, however, the fielder beyond the boundary is doing something to assist his/her team-mate, such as supporting or lifting them, then such a wilful action would mean that both fielders are deemed to be beyond the boundary.’
Thankfully, the error did not influence the result, costing only eight runs, as Smeed – who top scored for Somerset with 43 – was caught three balls later by man-of-the-match Cox and Kent comfortably defended their 167 for seven to claim their first silverware for 14 years.
Cox eventually caught Smeed fairly and won man of the match at Edgebaston on Saturday
Kent Spitfires nonetheless took victory in the Blast final over Somerset, sealing a second win