Hampshire Hawks bowler Chris Wood received a warm round of applause for choosing not to run out Kent’s Matt Parkinson, who had been hit and hurt by a straight drive.
The incident came in the final over of the first innings of today’s T20 Blast clash at the Rose Bowl. Wood, bowling with the new ball and at the death, began the final over with excellent figures of 1-12 from three overs. He added a second wicket quickly, pinning Australian overseas Xavier Bartlett lbw.
That left Kent nine down and brought Parkinson to the crease, and the leg-spinner began with a single. After all-rounder Joey Evison hit a couple off his next ball, he looked to finish with a flourish, aiming a booming drive down the ground.
However, Parkinson, backing up a long way down the wicket, was in the way, and was hit on the body. He collapsed in pain, dropping his bat, and the ball ricocheted to Wood. He picked up the ball, but, looking towards the injured tailender, chose to walk past the stumps rather than knocking off the bails to end the innings. The home crowd greeted the gesture with a round of applause, and Parkinson resumed his position at the non-striker’s end.
There were echoes of a 2022 incident in which Nepal won praise for choosing not to run out an Ireland batter after a collision.
Evison did find the boundary off the final ball, setting Hampshire Hawks 166 to win. Parkinson was able to bowl, taking figures of 1-21 off four overs.
The extra four runs almost proved pivotal. After an undulating chase, Hampshire Hawks were left needing seven off the last three balls. Liam Dawson was the last-over hero, hitting six before a skewed single sealed victory.
Watch Chris Wood choose not to run out Matt Parkinson below:
The Spirit of Cricket on display 👏
After Matt Parkinson was hurt by a full-blooded straight drive, Hampshire Hawks’ Chris Wood chose not to complete the run out.pic.twitter.com/ZhNfIdxeRv
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 2, 2024
