Catch drama takes center stage with Heather Knight’s innings as the former England captain thought it to be a fair catch.
‘At first look, I thought it was out’ – Knight on the catch reprieve.
After England won their women’s World Cup 2025 match in Guwahati by a margin of four wickets, third umpire Gayathri Venugopalan’s decision to substitute Heather Knight against Bangladesh came under scrutiny.
Knight smashed legspinner Fahima Khatun to the covers in the 15th over of England’s chase of 179. Shorna Akter jumped to her right and appeared to have collected a low catch. Knight began to walk, but the TV umpire was called in by the on-field umpires because they believed the fielder did not have her fingertips under the ball, therefore they declared it not out. At that time, Knight was on 13. She took her team home with 23 balls remaining after finishing undefeated at 79 off 111 balls.
“At first look, I thought it was out,” Knight said after the match. “I thought it carried and thought it was a fair catch and walked off. But the TV umpire decided otherwise. I certainly had a bit of luck today. But probably with the year I have had, I deserved a little bit of luck. I tried to ride it and really make it count.”
The tricky part of these non-dismissals was that the TV umpire declared the replays she had access to “inconclusive” while rendering her decision. An on-field decision of out in the first case of the caught behind was reversed due to “inconclusive” evidence, potentially going against Bangladesh. Replays appeared to indicate that the fielder got her fingers under the ball in the “catch” in the covers as well, but the on-field umpires hadn’t actually given the batter out in the first place.
Knight, however, was so certain that the catch was lawful that she had crossed the boundary line and then walked all the way back.
Fahima, who finished with 3 for 16 from her ten overs, certainly felt the catch-that-wasn’t affected the final result.
“It was a disappointing decision for us,” she said. “Every player in our team felt it was a clear dismissal. The decision was overturned after being given out, which was disappointing. We all know how crucial that wicket was. Had the call gone our way, there was every chance the outcome of the match could have been different.”