WATCH | Victoria skipper overrules umpire to annul Jake Fraser-McGurk's dismissal in Shield encounter
Not often is Australian cricket perceived as the bastion of sportsmanship, but every so often incidents on its domestic circuit challenge the commonly held belief. Will Sutherland displayed remarkable empathy on Wednesday to recall Fraser-McGurk to the crease after the Redback was wrongly given out.
South Australia fought back from a precarious position of 16/4 to post 252 on the board against Victoria at the Adelaide Oval on the second day of their Sheffield Shield encounter to concede a relatively low first-innings lead of 26 runs. The comeback was spearheaded by a counterattacking Jake Fraser-McGurk ton that came at nearly run-a-ball alongside half-centuries from Liam Scott and Ben Manenti. However, the Redbacks seemed to be resigned to a potentially fatal total in the innings were it not for a brilliant voluntary of sportsmanship from opposition skipper Will Sutherland at a crucial juncture in the encounter.
Jake, batting on 19, was up against Doug Warren in the 30th over with the score 60/4 when the left-arm orthodox landed a full ball extremely wide of off that spun away sharply after pitching. The youngster, tempted by the width, went down on one knee and threw his bat at the Kookaburra but was beaten all hands up by the turn which ended up even deceiving the wicket-keeper Sam Harper on its way to the hands of first slip. However, the red cherry slightly brushed Harper's gloves on the way through which made the umpire believe there was an edge. Even as the bowler expressed his dismay at being unable to earn a wicket off the delivery while the keeper offered no reaction, the briefest of innocuous queries from the slip fielder was enough for the umpire to raise his finger.
Fraser-McGurk was left distraught by the declaration but unwilling to repeat Peter Handscomb's embarrassing antics from earlier in the game, he eventually began to walk off after a brief halt. Much to his surprise, the 21-year-old was recalled to the crease before he had reached the dugout following a discussion in the huddle amongst Victoria's players, an act of goodwill that would earn the youngster his maiden first-class century.
Bizarre scenes at Adelaide Oval as Jake Fraser-McGurk is given out caught, but is allowed to keep batting moments later 😲 #SheffieldShield pic.twitter.com/WaDPTGYkt3
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 29, 2023
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