Chris Green’s Tuesday in Perth will not be forgotten quickly. The New South Wales all-rounder was given out, then out again, before finally being waved back to the middle during the Sheffield Shield fixture against Western Australia. It all happened inside one over, it all felt faintly surreal, and it left most of us reaching for the Laws rather than the highlights.
The flashpoint came in the 22nd. Matthew Kelly banged a short ball into the wicket, Green ducked, and the ball brushed something on its way through to keeper Joel Curtis. Umpire Gerard Abood raised the finger. Green, flat on his back, stayed put, shaking his head. Abood spoke briefly with square-leg colleague Michael Graham-Smith and, oddly, signalled out for a second time. Only then did Green trudge off, still gesturing that the ball had clipped his helmet, not his glove.
Replays, shown on the Shield stream but not part of the official decision-making process, offered mixed clues. Front-on and rear views were inconclusive; side-on seemed to show helmet only; a later frame from mid-on strengthened that impression. Green was still inside the rope when Abood suddenly called him back, conferred with WA skipper Sam Whiteman, and reversed the decision under Law 2.12, which allows umpires to correct a call promptly if play has not moved on. A concussion test followed as a matter of protocol.
Former Australia opener Phil Jaques, on commentary, was as intrigued as anyone. “It looks like he’s got it right in the end, but it opens up a very big Pandora’s box,” he said. “You can’t take a batter’s word for it because they’re never out, so it’s a very strange one. 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.”
Jaques’ point about process matters because the Shield, apart from the final, operates without a third umpire. Decisions rest with the two on-field officials. They can consult each other but cannot lean on slow-motion footage or ultra-edge technology. In practice that means human judgement, human error, and – once in a while – a scene like this.
Green’s return lasted only 11 more balls. He added eight runs before toe-ending a pull to Cameron Bancroft at second slip. Even so, the moment dominated the day’s chat. On debut at the other end, Will Salzmann admitted he was largely a spectator. “I didn’t have much idea because I guess I didn’t get a good look from our end, couldn’t tell it was off his helmet, the sound wasn’t clean as you’d expect from metal,” he said. “Being my first game I sort of kept my mouth shut and let things play out in front of me. Think the right decision was made in the end. Western Australia should be given a lot of credit, it’s a good display of the spirit of the game. Credit to the officials and well played to Greeny for speaking up on something he didn’t believe in.”
WA off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, bowling earlier from the Lillee-Marsh Stand end, kept his own counsel, noting only that the home side “just got on with it”. Not much else they could do, really.
Beyond the immediate drama, two talking points linger. First, the balance between getting decisions right and maintaining flow when no review system exists. The Laws empower umpires to change their minds, yet repeated U-turns can jar. Second, the role of television pictures. Viewers saw evidence the officials could not officially act upon, a quirk that will irk some and amuse others.
In the book, Abood acted within his rights, Green was eventually treated for a potential head knock, and play resumed. All very tidy on paper; on the field it felt a touch chaotic. Cricket’s capacity for the odd procedural tangle remains undimmed.
