ICC admits Jacques Kallis bizarre dismissal error

Zeenews Sports Bureau

Cape Town: South Africa`s Jacques Kallis stood stunned, rooted to his spot as the DRS betrayed him when he`d called for it after being given out caught off Saeed Ajmal in the ongoing South Africa-Pakistan test match. The incident in question took place on February 15 as onfield umpire Steve Davis adjudged that bat was involved in Kallis parry to forward short leg field Azhar Ali. Kallis, certain it had been all pad, asked for a review at once. Third umpire Billy Bowden, then, first saw that there was no bat involved, but bizarrely found that the ball was then going on to clip the outside of the leg stump. The review, therefore, also gave him out, but for another dismissal altogether, which the ICC conceded was not in keeping with the rules of the game. In a statement issued by the officials, they admitted that this was a wrong decision but added that such incidents were "extremely rare" and was an "honest mistake". "The umpires followed usual umpiring principles in giving Kallis out lbw on umpire`s call. The review was for the batsman out caught. This is because the normal principle is that an appeal covers all forms of dismissal," said the ICC. "However the playing conditions state that when the third umpire observes that the batsman could be out by another mode of dismissal, the decision being reviewed using DRS should be as if the batsman had been originally given not out." "Therefore in this instance Kallis, as the point of impact was umpire`s call, should not have been given out."