In the on-going Under 19 World Cup a South African opener Jiveshan Pillay was given out for obstructing the field. The incident happened during West Indies clash against South Africa in Mount Maunganui. South Africa were 77 for 2 in the 17th over of their innings when Pillay after under-edging the ball, tried to it from ricocheting onto the stumps.
The opener picked up the ball and handed it over to the West Indies captain and wicketkeeper. The West Indies skipper started appealing for obstructing the field dismissal which forced the umpire to refer the decision to the third umpire.
The third umpire ruled the batsman out as per rule 37.4 Returning the ball to a fielder, Either batsman is out Obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and without the consent of a fielder, he uses his bat or any part of his person, including a hand not holding the bat, to return the ball to any fielder.
The West Indies captain was slammed by Ian Bishop, “This is an unfortunate issue. The batsman isn’t trying to gain an advantage. He is not trying to be unfair. The umpires have done what they need to do. The ball has stopped. It’s not threatening the stumps. I don’t really necessarily feel as if that’s a good law. It could take a re-look,” Bishop was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.