South African batter David Bedingham elaborated on his extremely nervous and controversial moment during the second day of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at Lord's. The batter dropped the ball with his gloves after it was struck in his pads for a few seconds following a massive inside edge, just as wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey was reaching to claim a catch. There were doubts among fans and Australian players whether the ball was in motion or declared dead when Bedingham picked from his pads and threw down.
Carey came right in front of the ball, creating a frenzy among spectators whether it was out. However, there were no loud appeals by the Aussie team regarding the incident. The South African batter was batting on 31 at that time, and the game was poised at the knife's edge. The right-hand batter went on to add 14 more runs before he was dismissed by Pat Cummins in the 56th over.
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The Protea player admitted that he dropped the ball in an extreme state of panic and revealed that the Aussie players assured him they won't go up for the appeal.
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David Bedingham explains the incident during the second day of the WTC 2025 Final
"Yeah, I think I panicked big time. Because Carey was standing up, he was quite close. The umpires said, regardless, it was a dead ball. But I think the way I picked up the ball and dropped it came across a bit dodgy," the South Africa batter said in a press conference after Stumps on Day 2 (via ESPN Cricinfo).
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"I'm just glad they withdrew the appeal because there [would be] more controversy and that type of stuff. I'm glad nothing happened out of it, really. The slip cordon just told me, 'Don't panic, just leave it…' but at the moment, I think I panicked big-time," he added.
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