Widespread India-Japan T20I controversy: What MCC laws say about overturning umpire’s decision

India survived a battle against Japan on Tuesday to beat the hosts by two runs in a rain-hit one-off T20 International that was reduced to five overs per side at the Sano International Cricket Stadium.Japan needed six runs from the last four balls while chasing India 32 for 4. However, the match took another turn when a wide call was overturned following India’s protests.Left-handed batsman Alexander Shirai-Patmore attempted a reverse strike against Axar Patel and missed the ball which went well down the leg side. The referee called it wide. The same sequence was repeated on the next serve with another Wide call.A second wide decision was also initially given, but after Axar and India captain Shreyas Iyer protested, the umpire spoke to the umpire, New Zealand’s Chris Brown, and overturned the decision.The equation then returned to six runs from three balls. Japan could only score three more runs to finish on 30 for 3 with India winning by two runs.The result gave India the record for the lowest number of successfully defended in T20 cricket. It was also the first men’s T20 encounter between India and Japan.India struggled with the conditions after electing to bat. The surface was slow and the outfield was slow, making it difficult for the batsmen to score. Iyer was the only Indian batsman to reach double figures, reaching 16.

What do the laws say?

In white-ball cricket, a delivery that goes down the leg side is generally called a wide. The rule is to prevent negative bowling in limited overs cricket.However, the rise of backswings and tosses has led to questions about how the rule should apply when a batsman moves across to attempt such shots.The MCCLaw 22.4.1 says: “The umpire will not adjudge a delivery to be Wide if the striker’s movement either causes the ball to pass outside him as defined in 22.1.2 or brings the ball within enough range for him to hit it with an ordinary cricket stroke.”The laws do not specifically mention reverse turns or tosses, leaving some room for interpretation when a batsman changes position and misses a delivery that would otherwise be called a wide.The MCC also sets out when a referee can change a decision. Law 2.12 states: “An umpire may change any decision, provided that such change is made immediately and does not contravene Rule 20.6 (Dead Ball Cannot be Appealed). This separate decision of the umpire, once made, is final.”