WATCH | Cam Bancroft given caught behind after stumps get rattled in glitchy Shield sequence

Today at 10:21 PM

A set of stumps remaining intact after being struck by a leather rock being slung at over hundred kilometers per hour never fails to amuse fans, or crush a bowler who did everything right. Thankfully for quick Ryan Hadley, there was no such deprivation as Cameron Bancroft was given out all the same.

Cameron Bancroft was dismissed caught behind after the ball took a huge deflection off his stumps in the Sheffield Shiel, at WACA on Sunday

Western Australia found themselves under the pump with the bat on Day 2 of the season's first Sheffield Shield round, against New South Wales on a calmitous WACA track in Perth. The Blues had been bowled for a paltry 170 after batting first as Ashton Agar triggered a late collapse with three scalps at the cost of just five runs but their rivals found runs equally hard to come by, heading into Stumps at 116/7 with 54 runs still separating them from New South Wales. However, the narrative could have turned out much differently had Cameron Bancroft not fallen victim to a bizzarre occurrence that understandably had the umpire send him walking even though it was the incorrect decision.

Bancroft had already seen his opening partner and skipper Sam Whiteman caught behind off Ryan Hadley when he found himself up against the quick on the penultimate ball of the eighth over. Hadley steamed in from over the wicket and delivered a full delivery from wide of the crease that pitched around off stump and threatened to angle in further. Bancroft saw the opportunity to drive it down the ground but was deceived by movement off the deck as the Kookaburra missed his outside edge by a whisker. However, to his amazement, the opposition was convinced they had gotten the better of him with the umpire agreeing, even though the stumps behind him were still intact. Reluctantly, Bancroft eventually walked off and the replays later revealed the ball had kissed the top of off-stump, which made the ball take a massive deflection typical of a caught behind dismissal. The theory was confirmed when slow motion showed the bails jumping off their grooves for a moment before settling back in just as the ball passed by.