VIDEO | Furious David Warner lambastes Aleem Dar for slapping Australia with five-run penalty

01/06/2020

Batsmen running on the middle of the wicket and getting away with the offence has become a common notion, but as things turned out, today was not Australia's lucky day. After umpire Aleem Dar slapped a five-run penalty on them for running on the pitch, a furious David Warner lost his temper.

How many times have we, in modern-day cricket, seen batsmen irrationally run right down the middle of the pitch, ball after ball, only for them to get away lightly with an unofficial warning? The number is perhaps incalculable. And so when David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne were batting together today on the morning of Day 4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, they thought they could do just that and get away with it. The duo were seen often running on the middle of the pitch and this act irked umpire Aleem Dar, who, on the fifth ball of the 50th over, gave the duo an official warning, after Labuschagne was found guilty of running bang on the middle of the pitch.

And two balls later, the Aussies' worst nightmare became true as after Warner clipped Matt Henry towards mid-wicket to take a single, the on-field umpire Dar pulled him over to the other side and indicated that his run wouldn't count and his side were going to be handed a five-run penalty. And after umpire Dar gave the signal, of Australia being handed a penalty, a clearly infuriated Warner lost his temper and questioned Dar's decision in disbelief, getting into a mild verbal altercation of sorts. The umpire also informed Warner that the single he took would be considered invalid, owing to the offence.

The situation did flare down eventually, however, with both parties - Dar and the Australians - moving on with the game without making a huge fuss out of it. Interestingly, the five runs were added to New Zealand's first innings total, increasing it to 256 from 251. But it was to no avail, as they were bowled out for just 136 in the 2nd innings and ended up losing the Test by 279 runs and the series 3-0.