There are always good and bad days for any individual in a calendar year. However, few tragic incidents are hard to forget and the flashbacks can be intensely painful as Jimmy Nessham felt after the umpire denied a clean catch in the SA20 League clash between the Paarl Royals and Pretoria Capitals.
Eyeing to bounce back from a losing streak, the Pretoria Capitals opted to field first against Paarl Royals at the Boland Park. Opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius was outdone in the first over by Will Jacks but Joe Root kept the scoreboard ticking. After the second blow in the form of Rubin Herrmann inside the powerplay, Root was almost a goner if not for an umpiring error that ruminated with World Cup 1999’s infamous incident.
Having conceded four runs in five deliveries of the fifth over, Jason Behrendorff bowled a short of a length delivery outside the stumps that Joe Root pulled towards deep square leg region. Neesham, sprinting along the boundary ropes almost grasped the ball before it came off the palm in a second or two. The white rock popped up due to the momentum of the fielder after he neatly grabbed it. However, the onfield umpire referred it upstairs and sparked an intense drama in the game. To everyone’s surprise, Root was adjudged Not Out via the big screen, leaving the players baffled in the center of the field.
This incident rumination of the 1999 World Cup where Herschelle Gibbs did a similar against Steve Waugh in a Super Six clash, leading to a defeat. The Twitterverse was quick to draw labels from the game and buzzed about it.
1999 Horror returns!
