Christchurch: New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has called for a review of run-out rules following the bizarre dismissal of Neil Wagner in the second Test against Bangladesh.
Wagner grounded his bat before the ball hit the wickets but was given out because he had no part of his body nor bat on the ground when the bails came off. In the fraction of a second it took for the bails to be dislodged he was mid-stride with both feet in the air and had lifted the bat off the ground.
“It seems a little bit unfair,” Hesson said Tuesday, although the decision did not impact on the outcome of the game as New Zealand went on to win by nine wickets.
The New Zealand argument was that if the bat touching the ground behind the line completes a single if the batsmen turn for another run, then it should also complete the single if it is the end of the scoring movement.
“When your bat bounces over the line, once you’ve made your ground, that’s not really what the run-out’s all about,” Hesson said.
“I personally think it (the rule) needs a bit of tinkering.”
The second Test win in Christchurch completed a tour sweep of Bangladesh with New Zealand claiming both Tests as well as the three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s.
Hesson said the 8-0 triumph had given his bowlers in particular confidence going into next week’s one-day series Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series against Australia.
Dismissing Bangladesh for 173 in their second innings “was probably our best performance with the ball in 12 months,” he said.
Hesson was also not concerned that Australia were resting two of their biggest draw cards, vice-captain David Warner and Usman Khawaja, for the three-match series.
“I think they’ve got plenty of good players though,” he said, recalling that Australia beat New Zealand 3-0 in an ODI series just last month.
— AFP
