SA vs ENG | Vernon Philander not happy with umpire not banning Jofra Archer for Centurion Test
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After Jofra Archer escaped bowling ban for the Test despite bowling two beamers, Vernon Philander stated that those should have been called No Ball and the pacer shouldn't have been allowed to bowl again. However, Joe Denly differed with his view saying the second one was not a beamer.
On Day 2 of the Centurion Test, Jofra Archer walked a tightrope after two full tosses at Nortje in the penultimate over of the day which were called No-ball by umpire Paul Reiffel, only for his decision on the second no-ball to be withdrawn. Two successive no-balls for beamers would have meant Archer would not be allowed to bowl for the remainder of South Africa’s second innings.
The major reason behind the second no-ball being withdrawn was the protest by English players which convinced the umpire that it was a botched attempt at a slower ball rather than a malicious delivery. England argued that Nortje made it look worse by falling to the ground as the ball flew past him, something that Philander doesn't agree with.
“I suppose if you’re at square leg and you call no-ball you’ve got to stand your ground. At no time did they actually cancel it. I don’t know what happened but there was a little bit of a conversation going on after the game. For me it’s plain and simple, we’re playing a game and we’re setting an example for the rest of the people coming into this game," the pacer said at the end of day's game, reported the Guardian.
Joe Denly, however, different with his opinion saying he was surprised Archer would try two slower balls in a row but standing at the leg slip, he realised that the second delivery dipped markedly and just missed the stumps by a whisker.Â
“I was at leg slip and I wasn’t expecting two beamers. The first one fair enough. The second one ... well, it just missed the stumps. I saw him [the square leg umpire, Paul Reiffel] put his arm out and I think he tucked it in quite quickly. They [the umpires] withdrew that second no-ball.”
