Proteas wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock is most likely to get away with any sanction over the run out of Fakhar Zaman during the second ODI in Johannesburg.
After reviewing the footage multiple times, the match officials have come to the decision that de Kock didn’t violate any rules with regards to fielders deceiving batsmen.
The incident took place in the last over of the game when Pakistan required 30 to win the game on Sunday. Fakhar bludgeoned the ball down the ground and was coming back for the second run when de Kock gestured Aiden Markram to throw the ball towards the bowler.
Distracted by that, the left-hander looked back to see if Haris Rauf (non-striker) had made his ground and lost focus for a bit and meanwhile the throw hit his stumps.
Zaman was batting on 193 off 155 balls and looked set to reach his second double hundred. After the dismissal, social media immediately went into overdrive with cries that de Kock had flouted the law on fake fielding which states that “it is unfair for any fielder wilfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball”.
Fakhar in the post match conference said that he was taken off guard but took the blame of run out on himself rather than making a case against Quinton de Kock.
“I was looking at Haris Rauf because I thought the run-out would be at his end. It was my own fault,” he said.
Officials are understood to have deemed that de Kock’s actions were not a trick and that he was indicating for the throw to go to the bowler’s end.
