England vs Pakistan: Was Fawad Alam's dismissal legal?
What's the story
Day 3 of the ongoing third Test saw Pakistan getting bowled out on 273 in the first innings despite skipper Azhar Ali's unbeaten 141. Hosts England then enforced a follow-on as bad light stopped the play. Notably, wicket-keeper Jos Buttler had a great day behind the stumps. Although he took three magnificent catches, the one off Fawad Alam's bat raised eyebrows. Here's why.
Catch
Buttler's gloves were in front of stumps
In the 37th over, Buttler made a difficult catch look easy when Alam nicked one off Dom Bess, that spun profusely. Following the dismissal, the former earned praise from the commentators. However, in one of the slow-motion replays, it was highlighted that his gloves weren't completely behind the stumps while the delivery was bowled. Several views emerged that Alam should have received a reprieve.
Law
What does the law state?
Here is what the law pertaining to the dismissal states. The Law 27.3 states that, "The wicket-keeper shall remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker's end from the moment the ball comes into play until a ball delivered by the bowler touches the bat or person of the striker or passes the wicket at the striker's end."
Information
The rule as per Law 27.3.2
In addition to this, Law 27.3.2 states that, "In the event of the wicket-keeper contravening this law, the striker's end umpire shall call and signal No ball as soon as applicable after the delivery of the ball."
Depiction
Did Buttler break the Law?
According to these laws, the gloves should have been "wholly" behind the stumps from the point when the ball was delivered. However, according to a number of replays (side-on angle), his gloves appeared to be slightly in front. In this case, a no-ball must have been signaled by the umpires. Notably, an off-field umpire is already designating for calling front-foot no-balls in this series.
Twitter Post
A Twitter user questioned the dismissal
Looks like Buttler's gloves weren't "wholly behind the wicket". If the ball was in play at this point (released by Bess), I believe it should have been called a no ball. #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/AhuQiWiOAx
— Danny (@dafrankland) August 23, 2020
Performance
Buttler impresses with his glovework
Besides the controversial dismissal, Buttler has been impressive throughout the Test. He took a couple of majestic catches, leaving the fans in awe. Buttler dived to his left as Mohammad Rizwan nicked one off Chris Woakes. The second dismissal was even better wherein he flew to his right with the ball clipping Shaheen Afridi's bat. Earlier, Buttler slammed his second Test century.