Shamar Joseph denied five-wicket haul after third umpire disallows clean catch to spark controversy

Despite getting little support from his fielders - West Indies dropped four catches on Day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Barbados - Shamar Joseph would have, or rather should have, ended up with a five-wicket haul but for a controversial decision by third umpire Adrian Holdstock. Shamar Joseph of West Indies bites his shirt and smiles during the first day of the 1st test match against Australia at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados(AFP)

Shamar Joseph, brimming with pride for ripping through the Australian top-order, delivered a short and wide delivery on the second ball of the 46th over to Travis Head. The Australian batter gave it an almighty swing but ended up making no contact. There was a noise as the ball went past the bat, Joseph went up in a huge appeal, he almost ended up pleading but umpire Nitin Menon shook his head.

Joseph then asked the keeper, Shai Hope, who was unsure whether it carried cleanly or not. West Indies captain Roston Chase also denied going upstairs but umpire Nitin Menon decided to have a chat with the squareleg umpire and sent it upstairs, asking the third umpire to check whether the ball had carried into Hope's gloves or not. That meant, Menon was sure that Head had got some bat on it.

The UltraEldge confirmed it. There was a clear spike as the ball went past Head's bat, confirming a bottom edge. Now came the difficult part: Did it carry? The West Indies players started to celebrate after seeing the first replay, so did the crowd at the Kensington Oval for obvious reasons but Head also had his reasons to believe that it had bounced. One replay showed it did but the other, a bit hazy, painted an unclear picture. Holdstock took his own sweet time, as he should have but surprisingly, ruled in favour of the batter, stating that there was no conclusive evidence that the ball head carried cleanly into Hope's gloves.

"The ball seems to carry through to Hope, but the third umpire (Adrian Holdstock) says that there is no conclusive evidence that the ball has carried. Oh my word - that call will be debated long after this day is done, and how big a decision will that prove to be?!" read ESPNCricinfo's live commentary.

There were many reactions on social media, mainly criticising third umpire Holdstock for denying Joseph a five-wicket haul.

Head could not inflict more damage as he could only add six more runs to his tally before getting dismissed for 59.

Joseph, who took four out of the first five Australian wickets on the opening day on a lovely Barbados pitch, could not complete a five-wicket haul but teammate Jayden Seals did it for him.

Seales took 5-60, his third test five-for, all at home, but Shamar Joseph was the more impressive bowler with 4-46. In nine tests, he has 34 wickets, 17 of them Australians. He owned the morning session.

Australia was all out inside 57 overs for its lowest total - 180 - in the West Indies after batting first. Only three batters got into double figures: Usman Khawaja (47), Travis Head (59) and captain Pat Cummins (28).

The Australian quicks, however, gave a strong reply by reducing West Indies 57 for 4 at stumps. Mitchell Starc struck twice while captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood picked up a wicket apiece.

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