Watch: Simon Taufel Explains Why Pat Cummins Was Ruled Out Despite Gap Between Ball And Bat

AUS VS PAK 2nd Test: Australia, led by Pat Cummins, secured a 79-run victory over Pakistan in the second test at Melbourne, wrapping up the 3-match series win on home turf with a game to spare. After their first-test win in Perth, the Australians clinched another series victory in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cummins played a pivotal role, displaying exceptional bowling prowess and consistently claiming crucial wickets for the hosts. However, his dismissal in Australia’s second batting innings on Day 4 drew significant attention. Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel shed light on the issue.

With a 54-run lead in the first innings, Australia stood at 187-6 by the end of the third evening of the second Test. Losing Mitchell Starc at 209, Cummins and wicketkeeper Alex Carey added 28 runs. But controversy arose when Aamer Jamal’s delivery seemed to breach Cummins’ defence, landing in Mohammad Rizwan’s gloves. Despite a visible gap between bat and ball, Cummins was given out following Pakistan’s successful appeal. Upon Cummins’ DRS review, the Snickometer displayed a spike despite the perceived gap between bat and ball. Consequently, he was ruled out.

In a short video uploaded by the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of 7Cricket, Simon Taufel can be heard talking about the dynamics of such dismissals. Discussing Pat Cummins’ dismissal, Taufel suggested that Richard Illingworth’s decision to dismiss the Australian captain was accurate, emphasising the correlation between sound and sight. He highlighted the importance of calibrating sound before play each day, considering the distance between noise and the stump microphone.

Simon Taufel explains why Pat Cummins was given out caught behind, despite there appearing to be a gap when bat passed ball #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/XD0rzlwBkc

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 29, 2023

“This has got to do with the calibration between sight and sound, and of course sound does travel at a different speed to light” said the former ICC umpire.

“Before each day’s play, the technology providers do go out and calibrate the sound, particularly. What we are looking at is the spike as the ball goes past the bat, or up to one frame past the bat. It allows that distance between the noise and the stump microphone.” Taufel elaborated.