Australia vs South Africa: Live Score Final Day - Umpire Paul Reiffel might have saved SA
After two controversial calls on the final day of the third cricket Test between Australia and South Africa at the SCG, Nathan Lyon has taken a swipe at umpire Paul Reiffel.
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Nathon Lyon dissatisfied with umpire Paul Reiffel.On Sunday, Australia needed to take 14 wickets to win the match by an innings, but just after lunch, they had only taken two.
Simon Harmer controversially survived two reviews for LBW within the span of two overs, with Reiffel rejecting two vehement appeals from Lyon and his Australia teammates. Pat Cummins sent both verdicts to the DRS, and both referrals indicated that the ball had struck the stumps.
The first, however, was deemed an "umpire's call" because the ball didn't strike enough of the leg stump; the second, meanwhile, was ruled the same because of where the ball connected with Harmer's pad, although the review showed the ball was on its way to clipping leg stump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Close review but Lyon is spinning the ball TOO much <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/DrqXwJNziy">pic.twitter.com/DrqXwJNziy</a></p>— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricketcomau/status/1611915582487801857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As a result of the decision being left to Reiffel's questionable on-field call, the third umpire had no option but to rule not out. When the second appeal was denied, Lyon was heard saying: ""It only has to be hitting the bails, not the entire stump."
Fortunately for the Australians, they promptly dismissed Harmer for 47. Fans and commentators, however, were still dissatisfied with Reiffel's choices.
To make matters worse for Australia, third umpire Richard Kettleborough later ruled, after they had enforced the follow-on, that Steve Smith's catch off the edge of Heinrich Klaasen’s bat from a Lyon delivery had bounced just short of the former Aussie skipper's dive. Yet another wicket was thus ruled out by a review, leaving the hosts even more frustrated.