Out-or-Not-out-sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

While there is always pressure on the players to perform, there is an equal amount of pressure if not more on the umpires who are officiating in the match. While a player's underperformance can cost the team a match, an umpire' error can spoil the enjoyment for the spectators which can be threatening to the sport itself.

Another controversial decision was given by the on-field umpire standing in the County Championship match between Kent and Hampshire. During Kent's second innings, when the team were battling it out to get past Hampshire's mammoth first-innings lead of 347, the umpire raised his finger when Jordan Cox shouldered his arms and the ball hit his pad with the catch being taken by the short-leg fielder.

Although it clearly looked not out to the naked eye, the umpire raised his finger and the batter looked in disbelief and did not move before realising that he will have to walk back to the pavilion. Cox was batting on 64 and had already faced over 180 balls when the decision was made on the bowling of Felix Organ.

Have a look at the dismissal here:

Despite the strange nature of the umpire's decision, a few have come to his rescue pointing out that the ball may have hit the back of the batter's bat before it went towards the fielder.

"Looks like it might have hit the back of the bat," a user wrote.

"On seeing how far the ball was caught in front on the leg side I think you may be correct in that it hit his bat high up behind him. I think he stayed there for so long because he couldn’t believe he hit it rather than disappointment at the decision," another responded.

However, not everyone seemed to agree with these users suggesting that slow-motion replays clearly showed that the bat was nowhere near.

Kent trail by 55 runs and only have 2 wickets remaining in their second innings.