Kent’s Dickson becomes the 60th man in the history to be dismissed for handling the ball

Dec 24, 2018 at 12:49 PM

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Kent’s Dickson becomes the 60th man in the history to be dismissed for handling the ball

South Africa-born Sean Dickson on Sunday became only the 60th man in first-class cricket history to be given out for handling the ball.

Dickson suffered the brain melt-down on the first morning of Kent’s English Division Two county match against Leicestershire at Grace Road. He was dismissed without scoring after facing just eight balls.

Dickson in an unusual fashion chopped down on a full delivery from Ben Raine before the ball started to trickle back towards his stumps. Despite having enough opportunity to just kick the ball away or just hit the ball with his own bat, Dickson hilariously leant down and obstructed the ball with his right hand.

Leicestershire wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien made no mistake but to appeal before umpires Steve Gale and Russell Evans came together to decide on the Kent batsman’s fate and Dickson was ultimately sent on his way.

Dickson happens to be only the second Kent player and the first since George Bennett in 1872 to be given out handling the ball.

Interestingly, the most recent example of handling the ball in a first-class cricket match also came against Leicestershire. Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed in the same fashion while he was playing for Derbyshire two years ago.

There have been 59 previous recorded incidents of a batsman being dismissed for handling the ball in first-class cricketing history. The first was James Grundy, who suffered the same fate while representing the MCC against Kent in 1857.

It has happened just 10 times at international level and only three number of occasions this century at the highest level – Australia’s Steve Waugh in a Test against India in Chennai back in 2001, England’s Michael Vaughan also in a Test against India in 2001 and the most recent victim Zimbabwe’s Chamu Chibhabha in a one-day international against Afghanistan late last year.

However, Michael Vaughan managed to see the lighter side while welcoming a brand new member to one of the most exclusive clubs of an embarrassing record in world cricket.

Vaughan although commenting on his own dismissal claimed originally that he just wanted to give the ball back to the fielder at short leg before admitting his mistake, saying: “I got it all wrong. I’m an idiot.”

The former England captain later tweeted a video of Dickson’s dismissal with the caption: “What kind of idiot would do this…”

Legendary England batsman Graham Gooch did the same thing in the first Ashes test at old Trafford in June 1993.

Others rounded on Dickson after his error.

Daniel Ingleton posted: “What a pathetic dismissal!”

Andy Harris reacted: “What an idiot. Not exactly a secret rule that you can’t handle it, is it?”

But Robert Fanner wrote: “That is shameful all around – batsman’s obviously wrong to do it but bit pathetic of the Leicester captain to claim it.”

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