Patel sacrifices wicket in favour of a faster runner
Nottinghamshire retired out Samit Patel during their Vitality Blast match against the Birmingham Bears on Sunday to replace him with a batsman who could run faster between the wickets.
With three runs needed to win off one ball, Nottinghamshire’s Tom Moores was on strike. Patel, who was the non-striker, was retired out and replaced by Calvin Harrison, who is a faster runner.
In the event, Moores managed only a single off the final ball – a yorker delivered by Craig Miles – and his side lost by one run.
Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores told ESPN Cricinfo: “Calvin’s got a few years on Samit and we know that an extra yard is quite a bit when it comes to a run out. It’s a quirk in the rules but it made sense at the time.”
Patel was the second batsman to be retired out in the match, a record for a T20. The match had been reduced to eight overs a side by rain. In Birmingham’s innings, Carlos Brathwaite retired himself out at the start of the last over because Harrison, a leg-spinner, was coming on to bowl, and he has a poor record against that variety of slow bowling. Brathwaite had scored 17 off 11 deliveries.
Birmingham hit 18 off the over, which proved to be crucial in their narrow victory.
“It’s one of those quirks that really you could only see being used in the shorter formats because otherwise wickets are too valuable,” Peter Moores said. “It’s got to be a unique set of circumstances and a shortened game like that has more chance of throwing it up than a full T20 game. I don’t think we’re going to see lots of it because I don’t think the circumstances are going to happen very often in a way that feels like there’s going to be a competitive advantage.
“The rule is there and so I think it’s fair to use it. People make comments about this, that and the other, but for me, when Carlos walked off, there’s no problem with that at all.”