Umpire Richard Illingworth’s confusion, which led him to prefer an appeal against Indian skipper Virat Kohli to the TV umpire, helped New Zealand save a review on the second day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final here at the Hampshire Bowl.
Left-arm pace bowler Trent Boult bowled one down the leg side on the last ball of his seventh over — the innings’ 41st — and appealed for caught behind as Kohli looked to glance it.
Umpire Illingworth looked unsure over something even as Boult was convinced and seemed to be telling New Zealand captain Kane Williamson to go for the review.
Williamson had his right-hand finger under the palm of his left hand before the time for a review of the decision was up.
Although it seemed he had lost an opportunity to review, it was later clear that Illingworth’s decision to consult the third umpire for some issue desisted him from going for the review which eventually would have gone waste as, despite Boult’s conviction, there was a gap between the bat and pad.
Although it wasn’t clear what Illingworth consulted the third umpire for, since the catch was also taken by the wicketkeeper cleanly, the decision managed to prevent Williamson from going for a review that would have been wasted.
The Kiwis had wasted a review earlier in the innings when all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme’s appeal and subsequent review for LBW were rejected.
Commentators Nasser Hussain and Simon Doull were unimpressed with the way Illingworth handled it.
