After the completion of the Test on Sunday (November 29), which was won by Australia by 3 wickets in a tense finish, New Zealand had sought clarification about the decision from ICC.
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The decision was referred to television umpire Nigel Llong, who viewed numerous replays as play was held up for in excess of five minutes.
ICC chief executive Dave Richardson earlier had told the Sydney Daily Telegraph he was adamant Llong followed correct “process”, and in the end it boiled down to a “judgement call”.
Lyon then went on to score 34 runs and shared a 74-run partnership with Peter Nevill that changed the course of the Test match on Saturday.
Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum immediately asked for a review and was shocked when Llong upheld the on-field decision despite evidence on Hot Spot showing a mark on Lyon’s bat.
“Everybody at the ground saw what unfolded”. “It’s been spoken about a lot”.
Hesson said he had contacted Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee for the match, but did not reveal what his specific demands were.
“We’re going through the proper channels and we’re awaiting a response”, Hesson said.
The decision review system regularly generates controversy but Hesson was clear on where he felt the blame should fall.
“You hope that when mistakes are made, they don’t have a major bearing on the game but, I guess, none of us are naive enough to overlook that fact that it did in this instance”.
“That’s not appropriate for me to comment on”.
Hesson believed the pink ball match was a success but said there needed to be some adjustments to the ball. “It’s one of those things, with all that technology there and still couldn’t quite get a decision”, he said. “No issues (with the process)”. We can understand when umpires make the wrong decision on the field but once you’ve got so many different angles you think 99 to 100 per cent of the time you’re going to get the right answer.
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New Zealand made a spirited fight in Adelaide accounting for seven wickets in the final innings while defending 187 but they could not prevent Australia from winning the series 2-0.
