David Bedingham escaped an 'obstructing the field' dismissal after he 'handled' the ball during the SA vs AUS ICC WTC 2025 final on Thursday, June 12. This incident happened in the last over before the lunch break, which was bowled by Beau Webster. Alex Carey had come up to the stumps and the delivery from Beau Webster came back in, got an inside edge of David Bedingham's bat and seemingly got lodged in the right-hander's back pad. With Alex Carey coming in front to collect the ball, David Bedingham quickly took the ball out and dropped it to the ground before the Australian wicketkeeper could have a chance at catching it. The Australian players then were seen asking the umpire about the same. Kagiso Rabada Dismisses Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green in Same Over in Both Innings During SA vs AUS ICC WTC 2025 Final (Watch Video).

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The right-hander, who showed a lot of resolve in the opening session on Day 2, took out the ball from his pad and dropped it to the ground, leading Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja to be seemingly interested in an appeal. However, umpire Richard Illingworth and Chris Gaffaney had a word before indicating that it was not out. Matthew Hayden, who was pn commentary at that time, too, stated the same thing, adding that the ball was dead before David Bedingham had touched it. However, let us take a look at what the rules state. Law 37.3.,1 which talks about obstructing the field dismissal, states, “The striker is out obstructing the field if wilful obstruction or distraction by either batter prevents the striker being out caught.” Pat Cummins Registers Best Bowling Figures by a Captain at Lord's in Tests, Becomes Eighth Bowler to Pick 300 Wickets for Australia During SA vs AUS ICC WTC 2025 Final.

However, a ball is deemed to be dead when it is trapped between the bat and the batter or in his/her equipment. Law 20.1.1.4 explains, “The ball becomes dead when, whether played or not, it becomes trapped between the bat and person of a batter or between items of their clothing or equipment.” However, the question remains whether the ball was dead before David Bedingham took it out and dropped it, as it was still moving and it cannot be ascertained if it would be stuck there or not. Alex Carey, at this very venue, was at the centre of a controversy in the 2023 Ashes when he completed a 'stumping' to dismiss Jonny Bairstow. This incident sparked a lot of debate and became one of the biggest talking points of the Ashes that year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2025 10:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).