‘Never seen this’: Green recalled as umpire reverses decision
New South Wales allrounder Chris Green was recalled to continue batting after being given out caught behind in one of the more extraordinary pieces of umpiring seen in the Sheffield Shield.
Green had made 20 during the NSW second innings in Perth on Monday when he attempted to duck under a short ball from Western Australia quick Matt Kelly.
There was a noise as the ball passed Green on its way through to wicketkeeper Joel Curtis who appealed for the catch alongside slip fielder Cameron Bancroft.
Believing the ball had brushed the glove, standing umpire Gerard Abood upheld the appeal to send Green on his way, which would have left the visitors 6-67 leading by just 76 runs in the round one match WACA Ground.
Abood speaks with WA players on day two of the match // Getty
The NSW right-hander remonstrated with the decision straight away and remained sitting on the pitch – where he ended up in trying to avoid the well-targeted short delivery – and gestured towards point fielder Ashton Agar, who along with the bowler and first slip Cameron Green, didn’t appear to appeal for the catch.
After consulting with his square leg umpire Mike Graham-Smith, Green was again giving his marching orders by Abood despite his protests and had made it halfway to the pavilion before Abood changed his mind and asked him to wait.
The umpire, with more than 15 years of first-class experience, spoke with WA captain Sam Whiteman before inviting the batter to resume his innings, seemingly having realised he had made a mistake and Green hadn’t hit the ball.
While front on and reverse angle replays were inconclusive, the side-on camera and ground-level vision from behind the mid-on fielder appeared to show the ball glancing Green’s helmet and not his glove.
The 32-year-old subsequently underwent a concussion assessment from NSW medical staff after making his way back to the middle to continue batting.
Former Test and NSW opener Phil Jaques said in commentary he’d “never seen” an umpire, presumably without the help of DRS, reverse their decision like Abood.
“It looks like he’s got it right in the end, but it opens up a very big Pandora’s box,” Jaques said.
“You can’t take a batter’s word for it because they’re never out, so it’s a very strange one.
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“I’ve seen captains call back batters before when umpires have got it wrong, but I’ve never seen an umpire overturn (their decision) after giving it out.
“He’s overturned it (after giving it out) twice.”
The Sheffield Shield playing conditions allow the on-field umpires to refer run out, bowled, hit-wicket and no-ball decisions to the third umpire in all televised and streamed matches where the specific review technology is available.
They may also consult with the third umpire for fair catch, obstructing the field and boundary adjudications before making a decision.
Typically, the Sheffield Shield final is the only match of the season played under such conditions and no third umpire was appointed for any of the three matches in round one.
But the Laws allow for a batter to be recalled “at any time up to the instant when the ball comes into play for the next delivery”, which Abood did after consulting with his square leg umpire and WA captain Whiteman.
Green faced a further 11 balls and added eight more runs before Kelly eventually claimed his wicket, caught at slip by Bancroft after his attempted pull shot deflected off the toe of his bat.
“We’ve just got to play the game; sometimes in cricket it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t,” WA spinner Corey Rocchiccioli said at stumps on day three.
“It didn’t in that situation, but we were lucky enough to get him out a couple of overs later.”
While rare, Abood’s call to reverse his decision is not unprecedented in the Sheffield Shield.
Victorian batter Sam Elliott initially survived a caught behind appeal against NSW at the MCG last season, but umpire Sam Nogajski reversed his not out decision after consulting with his square leg umpire Shawn Craig.
On this occasion, Elliott had begun walking back to the changerooms after the ball ballooned off his gloves and was caught by wicketkeeper Josh Philippe but stopped when he realised Nogajski had given him not out.
By then however, Nogajski – voted Cricket Australia’s leading umpire for the past three years – realised he had missed something.
“Obviously, front on there is a depth perception issue. The moment it impacted Elliott, I honestly thought it came off his shoulder,” Nogajski told cricket.com.au at the time.
“NSW were all very confident it was just a fait accompli and that it was out.
“When looking at the ground (after shaking his head to indicate not out) it was clear to me that I might have missed something that was actually quite obvious to everyone else.”
After conferring with Craig, who confirmed with almost certainty the ball had in fact hit Elliott’s gloves rather than his shoulder, Nogajski reversed his decision to out.
Replays showed it was the correct one and he said the decision wasn’t mentioned again for the rest of the match.
In an age where DRS is prevalent, Nogajski believes it has allowed umpires to become more comfortable acknowledging a mistake to ultimately make the right decision, even in state domestic cricket when there is no review system in operation.
“I’d be really surprised if anyone in our (umpiring) group didn’t love what DRS has brought into the game,” Nogajski said.
“Because at the end of the day, we do love a high percentage of correct decisions being made.
“The way DRS enables us to then analyse performance as well over a period of time – we get to see what the ball tracker is indicating … that’s a resource we can use and learn from in the hope that we will continue to make good decisions.”
Sheffield Shield 2025-26 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
NSW Men
NSW
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Queensland Bulls
QLD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
South Australia Men
SA
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
Tasmanian Tigers Men
TAS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
Victoria Men
VIC
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
Western Australia Men
WA
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points