Umpire howler to have 'big bearing' on Test: Ross Taylor

NZ senior batsman Ross Taylor says howler by TV umpire over Aussie tailender Nathan Lyon at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday will have a 'big bearing' on historic pink ball Test

Adelaide: New Zealand's players claimed a contentious challenge decision that went against them could have a major bearing on the outcome of the first-ever day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday. The second day was dominated by the fall-out over a review where Australia's Nathan Lyon survived after the Hot Spot thermal imaging revealed a mark on the back of his bat before he had scored. It was a major let-off for Australia, flailing at 118 for eight and still trailing the Kiwis first innings total by 84 runs in a low-scoring Test match.


New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (centre) talks to Indian umpire S Ravi over the decision to rule Australian batsman Nathan Lyon not out in Adelaide on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images

Lyon walked three-quarters of the way off the ground believing he was out before he returned to continue batting Lyon went on to make 34 as the Australians hit back to take a 22-run innings lead with Peter Nevill reaching his highest Test score of 66. Former Kiwi skipper and senior batsman Ross Taylor diplomatically chose his words, but it couldn't hide the anguish of the far-reaching TV umpire's clanger. "The players were pretty confident that it was out," Taylor told reporters.

Hot Spot showed up
"Obviously, the Hot Spot that showed up. I think it's had a big bearing on the match. We've just got to get on with it and hopefully we can bat as long as possible tomorrow." Taylor, who joked about keeping his match fee in the face of the media questioning over the umpires' decision, added: "We can understand when the umpires make the wrong decision on the field, but once you've got so many different angles and what-not, you think that more often than not, 99 to 100 per cent of the time you are going to get the right answer. I guess we didn't today."

The Lyon let-off had further repercussions with the Australian tail batting on to force the Kiwis to face the pink ball in the more challenging batting conditions under lights. "We always thought we were going to hang in there and we were only a couple of wickets away. The new ball does a lot under lights," Taylor said. Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was sheepish over the officiating fiasco. "I'm not too sure. It's one of those things, with all that technology there and still couldn't quite get a decision," Hazlewood said.

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