Melbourne Stars 155 for 6 (Cartwright 47*) beat Sydney Sixers 154 for 8 (Vince 83, Mir 3-19, Rauf 3-38) by four wicketsBut they were forced to do it the hard way after cricket’s controversial clean catch rule reared its ugly head early in the chase. With Stars 28 without loss after four overs, Tom Rogers was given out for 20 when Henriques leapt high into the air and grabbed the ball one handed. Replays, however, showed the ball was planted onto the ground as Henriques landed, hurting his left shoulder in the process. Cricket’s laws state a catch cannot be claimed until the fielder has full control of his body and therefore the ball cannot touch the ground in that time.
Former Sixers marquee player Brett Lee admitted in Fox Cricket‘s commentary the ball “clearly” touched the surface and was not out according to the rule book. “I actually think it’s out,” Rogers said after the game. “Moises controlled it and took it beautifully, but I suppose it’s just a grey area with what’s happened in the other game with Mitch Starc’s one. “It’s obviously a hard one to be on the rough side of it, but at the end of the day I’ve hit a bad shot and he has taken a nice catch so it probably is out.” Still, Rogers was forced to walk off after third-umpire Claire Polosak viewed several replays and did not change the on-field soft signal of out. Unlike in international cricket, where the soft signal no longer plays a role, it remains in Australian domestic cricket including the BBL.
