Leicestershire submit complaint to ECB over Hassan Azad dismissal
Hampshire 612 for 5 (Vince 231, Dawson 152*, Alsop 119) beat Leicestershire 202 (Swindells 59, Crane 3-11) and 305 (Dearden 62, Hill 65, Crane 3-102) by an innings and 105 runs
Hampshire took just 30 minutes to complete an innings victory on the fourth morning at Grace Road, but the result was overshadowed by the fallout from a controversial stumping completed by wicketkeeper Lewis McManus on day three.
Leicestershire opener Hassan Azad was given in the second innings after McManus knocked off the bails with his left hand while holding the ball in the air with his right hand appealing for a catch.
Leicestershire released a statement on Sunday to express their “disappointment” over the incident, and said they were “fully aware that the ECB is taking this matter very seriously”. An ECB spokesman said the board would wait for the match officials to conduct their investigation before making any further comment.
Hampshire captain, James Vince, said his players “weren’t aware” of an issue at the time and that Azad would have been called back if it had been spotted.
“Lewis is pretty down about how it looks but from his and our point of view we weren’t aware there was an issue until a few overs later,” he said. “We’re talking split seconds. Had we known instantly we would have called [Azad] back and knowing Lewis if he’d known exactly what he’d done he would have said something.”
Match referee Stuart Cummings spoke to both captains after the game and said a statement would be issued by the ECB in due course. A spokesman for the club said Hampshire would be making no official comment at this stage.
Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon said: “We were disappointed with what happened and we’ve spoken to the match referee, it’s something we don’t want to see in our game – I’ve never seen it before in all my years of cricket, and we’ll wait to see how the ECB handle it.”
Leicestershire chief executive Sean Jarvis said the club would be writing to the ECB to “express their disappointment with the behaviour of the Hampshire wicketkeeper”.
Hampshire had wasted no time taking two wickets they needed on Sunday to complete a comprehensive innings victory in their opening LV= Insurance County Championship match. Kyle Abbott pinned Gavin Griffiths leg before wicket for 16 before Mohammad Abbas, formerly of Leicestershire, bowled Alex Evans for 2, leaving Chris Wright unbeaten on 31.
Vince, who made a superb double-century in Hampshire’s only innings, said: “We’re delighted, winning the toss on an incredible wicket to bat on for the time of the year was ideal, and a score like ours at the rate we made it gives you a bit of leeway.
“I felt pretty good, the wicket was so true and had decent pace in it and from the word go I felt in good touch and was timing it well. It couldn’t have gone any better for myself and the team.”
Regarding the match Nixon said: “We had to be at our best to compete against a very good side and we weren’t. It was the perfect pitch, but we had a very bad session on the first day, and James Vince was outstanding in the way he took advantage of some wayward bowling. Allsop and then Dawson backed him up and made it tough for our bowlers.
“We battled well in our second innings but have to convert 50s and 60s into hundreds.”