ICC World Cup: Zing Bails, And Why ICC Won’t Review Their Use
One peculiar thing during this World Cup has been the failure of bails to fall despite the ball hitting the stumps.
More than 10 days have passed in the ongoing World Cup and a lot of drama and action have been already witnessed in the 13th edition of the prestigious quadrennial event.
Be it the harsh treatment with which Steve Smith has been subjected to by the fans in England or the jaw dropping catches at boundary lines, there has been enough for the cricket fans to keep them glued to their television sets across the globe.
However, one peculiar thing which has been a constant in this World Cup is the failure of wicket bails to fall despite the ball hitting the stumps.
There have been five instances in the 14 matches of the World Cup so far where the 'zing bails' have refused to dislodge, despite being hit hard by the ball, and thus, denying the bowlers a hard-earned wicket.
What are Zing Bails?
The zing bails being used in the ongoing World Cup contain lights that flash when the ball hits the wicket, are powered by hidden low voltage batteries and contain a microprocessor that detects when contact between the bails and the stumps has been broken. They have been in use since 2012 and also featured in the 2015 World Cup.
As per the rules of the ICC, "The wicket is put down if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground."
The zing bails used at the World Cup weigh somewhere between a light bail and a heavy bail which would be used for high wind.
World Cup: Zing Bails Save 5 Batsmen
During India’s second World Cup tie, Aussie opener David Warner became the fifth batsmen in the tournament who had luck on his side as the bails remained unmoved despite his off stump being clipped by a 140+ Jasprit Bumrah delivery.
In the second over of the Australia's big chase of 353, Bumrah bowled a short of length delivery to Warner who hopped across for a defensive push. The ball took the inside edge and rolled onto the leg-stump but the bails remained firm as if telling "hit me hard".
Earlier, Quinton de Kock (off Adil Rashid), Dimuth Karunaratne (off Trent Boult), Chris Gayle (off Mitchell Starc) and Mohammad Saifuddin (off Ben Stokes) all had luck on their side as the bails didn't fall even after the ball hit that stumps, that too firmly.
Cricket Fraternity Raise Questions
After the match, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said, "I haven't seen that happen so many times in the past." (Jump to 1:11 time stamp in the video below)
"I'm sure no team would like seeing stuff like that when you actually bowl a good ball and then you don't get the guy out, the ball hits the stump and the lights don't come on, or the lights come on but the bail comes back on to the stump," he added.
This failure of the zing bails to fall has led many former cricketers questioning the ICC over their usage.
After Sunday's match at The Oval which India won by 36 runs, former England captain Nasser Hussain said, "This can't keep happening with the bails!!! Hard enough being a bowler nowadays... needs changing."
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was also off the view that the ICC needs to take a look over the issue. "What's going on?? In my entire life, I have not seen 5 instances like this, let alone in the space of 10 days or a tournament."
Cricketer-turned commentator Mohammad Kaif tweeted: "These zing bails, something needs to be done. As if applied glue. Lights and stump mic making their mark for probably the 5th time this WC."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said, "Nice era to bat when you can’t get bowled!!!!! These stumps/Zinger bail combination have to be changed..”.
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham tweeted: “I understand that the electronics in the stumps and the bails make them heavier. Why can’t the groove the balls sit in just be made shallower? Won’t that fix the problem?”
Zing Bails Lighter Than Regular Ones: ICC
Despite the recent incidents raising an alarm, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has made it clear that it will not review the usage of zing bails. "The zing bails perform exactly as the regular ones and, in fact, are lighter than those used by umpires when it is windy," an ICC spokesman told The Telegraph. "The lights make any movement more noticeable.”
However, in a game which is already titled heavily in batsman's favour, such incidents only take the game further away from the bowlers and the ICC definitely need to review their usage.
(With inputs from IANS)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)