AHMEDABAD: Expressing astonishment over the fracas created by Lahore Badshahs on Mohammad Sami's catch in the second final of the ICL World 20-20 Championship on Sunday night, Hyderabad Heroes skipper Chris Harris has demanded a hearing into the incident.
The Heroes defeated Badshahs on Saturday night by eight runs to level the best of three finals 1-1. But their celebration was marred by an uncalled incident that took place in the dying stages of the match just after Sami was controversially caught by Justin Kemp in the boundary line.
Tension rose high after Badshahs were not convinced of the catch and called for the decision to be reverted even after both the on-field umpires and third umpire gave Sami out.
"It was one of the best catches that I have seen in the tournament. It was an important catch because it could have easily gone for a six.
"It was a shame to see the catch got into controversy. It was a clear catch and I am really surprised with the way Lahore Badshahs behaved," Harris said.
"The catch clean. The third umpire saw it from four different angles and gave him out. When umpires give you out you just have to walk off. I am surprised that all of a sudden a row kicked off and there was this controversy. I want a hearing into the matter otherwise I would be disappointed," he added.
The catch also led to a rift between the two teams as some of the players got involved in war of words which led to disruption of play for around five minutes. Later, the Badshahs also skipped the post-match press conference.
Interestingly, disappointed with the on-field behaviour of Badshah's, Heroes' skipper Harris even asked his players to get off the field.
Later when asked why he told his players to leave the field, Harris said, "It went a little too far. Everyone had given him (Sami) out and obviously when the batsman refuses to go out, what could anyone do. So I told my players to just have a drink and regroup once again."
Heroes' coach Steve Rixon also expressed disappointment with the ugly way things shaped up in the middle in Saturday night's match.
"A decision was made, they reviewed and the third umpire gave the decision but if they still don't abide by the decision and there is a controversy, then it's a problem with the Lahore, not ours," he said.
