‘Administrators to see if that’s a fair decision or not’ – Shan Masood opines on Hawkeye’s trajectory after lbw dismissal

Shan Masood, the captain of Pakistan, participated in a contentious decision on the last day in Cape Town during the second Test match against South Africa. Masood’s elimination left him perplexed by the ball-tracking technology, Hawkeye, which reversed an on-field not-out judgement and declared him leg before wicket (LBW), despite his outstanding innings of 145 that enabled the visiting team to rally.

Kwena Maphaka, a left-arm seamer for South Africa, threw a back-of-a-length ball that returned in and remained low, causing the incident. Masood got hit in the back leg after batting for more than six hours. The hosts chose to have the decision reviewed after on-field umpire Nitin Menon declared it not out. Hawkeye demonstrated the ball clipping the off stump, which led to three reds and the captain’s expulsion. However, Masood believed that Hawkeye’s trajectory didn’t match the actual delivery.

“It’s easy. An outswinger was used. The ball that beat me jagged away quite a distance, if you can see it. It was displayed as an inswinger, and I was beaten on the outside edge. In the news conference held after the game, Shaan Masood stated, “To be really honest, I was perplexed by that.”

I simply thought the image was different: Shan Masood

The southpaw was stunned and incredulous when the decision appeared on the screen. He was clearly unhappy with the choice, even as he made his way back to the pavilion. After giving up 615 to South Africa in the first innings, Pakistan rallied in the second innings, scoring 478 thanks in large part to Masood’s effort. In spite of his best efforts, the hosts won by 10 wickets and won the series 2-0.

Kwena Maphaka was involved in several contentious LBW decisions during the Test than this one. Saud Shakeel escaped an appeal earlier in the day when it looked like the ball was going to the leg stump. Hawkeye later stated that the ball would have struck the stumps, but South Africa decided not to review. Regarding the technology’s accuracy, Masood urged the administration to reflect.

“It was evident to the unaided eye that it also felt out of line. I simply thought the image was different. Hawkeye indicated that I was hit, however I wasn’t hit. The interior of my leg shows that I was struck more on the outside than the inside. Not an inswinger, that is. All I can say is that the umpire also believed that I had been beaten by an outswinger. The administration will have to decide whether or not that was a fair conclusion, but I felt that the ball’s trajectory was not shown by the technology,” Shan Masood said.