Shan Masood surprised by Hawkeye trajectory after his dismissal
During the second Test against South Africa, Pakistan captain Shan Masood was part of a controversial decision during the final day in Cape Town. Despite his brilliant innings of 145 which helped the visiting team to fight back, Masood’s dismissal left him confused by the ball-tracking technology, Hawkeye, which overturned an on-field not-out decision and adjudged him lbw.
The incident occurred when South Africa’s left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka delivered a back-of-a-length ball that came back in and kept low. Masood, who was batting for over six hours was struck in his back leg. On-field umpire Nitin Menon ruled the decision not out, but the hosts opted for a review. Hawkeye showed the ball clipping the off stump, resulting in three reds and the dismissal of the skipper. Masood, however, felt the trajectory displayed by Hawkeye didn’t align with the reality of the delivery.
“It’s simple. It was an outswinger. If you see the ball that I was beaten by, it jagged away a long way. I was beaten on the outside edge, and it was shown as an inswinger. I was baffled by that to be very honest,” Masood said after the end of the game in the post-match press conference.
I just felt it was a different picture: Shan Masood
After the decision was displayed on the screen, the southpaw was shocked and in disbelief. Even as he walked back to the pavilion, he was visibly displeased with the decision. Masood’s innings were crucial in Pakistan’s second-innings fightback, where they registered 478 following on, after conceding 615 to South Africa in the first innings. Despite his efforts, the hosts eventually secured a 10-wicket victory, clinching the series 2-0.
This wasn’t the only controversial lbw decision involving Maphaka during the Test. Earlier in the day, Saud Shakeel survived an appeal when the ball appeared to be heading towards the leg stump. South Africa chose not to review, with Hawkeye later indicating the ball would have hit the stumps. Masood called for introspection from the administrators regarding the accuracy of the technology.
“With the naked eye, you could see it felt like it was outside the line as well. I just felt it was a different picture. I didn’t get hit where Hawkeye was showing it to be hit. I was hit more on the outside of the leg than the inside; it shows it on the inside. That’s not an inswinger. I was beaten by an outswinger and that’s what the umpire thought as well, and that’s all I can say to that. It’s up to the administrators to see if that’s a fair decision or not, but I certainly felt that technology didn’t show the trajectory of how that ball was,” Masood concluded.
