NEW DELHI: The success of a batsman in cricket is also determined by their luck. No matter how good or bad they are, luck does play a role in their career and dismissals.
Suppose a batsman edges a ball, but it falls short of the fielder, resulting in a dropped catch or a boundary. Weather conditions like rain or bad light can interrupt play, giving a batsman a lucky break. Misfielding or dropped catches by the opposing team can give a batsman extra chances.
But have you ever heard or seen when a batsman was saved by a dropped towel?
The incident happened in the County Championship Division One 2024 match between Somerset and Hampshire in Taunton on September 26 when Somerset were 136/8 and Kyle Abbott dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore to reduce them to 136/9.
The last man in for Somerset, Shoaib Bashir was clean bowled for a first ball duck with a prefect outswinger as Abbott almost had two in two. But Bashir refused to leave the crease and pointed out to the umpire that he was distracted by a towel that had dropped off from Abbott's trousers.
The Hampshire cricketers had just started to celebrate when the umpire ruled it not out and the replays showed that a towel had indeed dropped off from Abbott's trousers just as he released the ball from his delivery stride.
The Law 20.4.2.6 enables umpires to call a dead ball when "the striker is distracted by any noise or movement or in any other way while preparing to receive, or receiving a delivery."
But Bashir's fortune didn't last long as he was dismissed LBW by Abbott just three balls later and Somerset were all out for 136 runs.
The Vitality County Championship shared a video of the dismissal that wasn't to be on their official X handle:
