Quinton de Kock ‘set to escape any punishment’ after fooling Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman to run him out following stunning knock of 193 – despite South Africa wicketkeeper laughing in ODI victory
- South Africa won the second ODI by 17 runs to level the three-match series 1-1
- Fakhar Zaman was run out for 193 in the final over of Pakistan’s innings
- But he was deceived by Quinton de Kock’s gesture towards the other end
- This led to accusations that De Kock was illegally fake fielding
- But match officials have decided he did not intend to deceive the batsman
Quinton de Kock is not expected to face any sanctions from the ICC, after he deceived Fakhar Zaman into being run out for 193 in the second ODI between South Africa and Pakistan on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the final over of the game with Pakistan still needing 30 runs for victory. Zaman was pushing for a second run that would’ve kept him on strike, but slowed down when De Kock’s gesture towards the bowler’s end had him believing that he was safe.
Instead, Aiden Markram’s direct hit went towards Zaman’s end, and he was left short of his crease.
Quinton de Kock (left) celebrates after Fakhar Zaman (right) was run out for 193 from Aiden Markram’s direct throw
The fake fielding law states that a fielder can’t intentionally deceive a batsman after the striker has received the ball, but it’s believed that the match officials decided that De Kock did not intend to trick Zaman.
According to ESPNcricinfo the officials were happy that De Kock called ‘bowler’s end’ even before the first run was complete.
Zaman admitted after the game that it was his own fault to slow down when completing the second run as he looked back to see if Haris Rauf was safely in his crease at the other end.
South African captain Temba Bavuma called De Kock’s actions ‘clever’ while spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has taken to Twitter to defend the wicketkeeper.
Pakistan management are believed to have spoken to match referee Andy Pycroft after the incident, but didn’t file an official complaint.
Tabraiz Shamsi has taken to Twitter to defend Quinton de Kock’s actions in the second ODI
He added that the focus should be on Fakhar Zaman’s innings, not De Kock’s actions