Pakistan have wasted a crucial review on the very first ball of their clash with Australia, sending a David Warner LBW appeal to the third umpire.
And matters only got worse for Babar Azam’s side with a shocking dropped catch coming moments later.
Seamer Shaheen Afridi charged in and caught the Australian’s pad to open the game, delivering a huge appeal before pleading his case with his skipper.
Pakistan’s captain signalled for a review, before it was almost immediately clear that Warner had made contract with the ball, collecting the inside edge.
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“I think Shaheen needs to look at the guys at point and square leg as well… oh no Babar Azam has gone,” Simon Doull said.
Afridi’s blunder left his side with only one review remaining for the rest of their innings and Mitch Marsh made him pay four balls later with a mammoth six.
Waqar Younis explained there was “everything wrong” with the review, with the ball also going over the stumps.
“I’m not sure why Shaheen was so persistent, he was literally forcing the captain to take a review and they might be needing that review later on,” Younis said.
“He’s an emotional bowler Shaheen Afridi, and they need him up inside these 10 overs,” Matthew Hayden added.
“He wants to be part of the game, he has done it over the years and picked up early wickets… he got a little emotional and forced that review,” Younis said.
For Kiwi seamer Simon Doull, Azam should have stood his ground and listened to the players who claimed Warner had made contact with the delivery.
“It’s a really poor review first up, especially when you had a man square on who was saying ‘he has hit it, he has definitely hit it’,” Doull said.
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“Even if he hadn’t hit it, it was high and outside the line, it had nothing going for it.”
14 balls later Warner scooped an attempted pull shot off Afridi, sending the ball high in the air in the direction of Usama Mir.
Warner began walking down the wicket, disappointed with his mistimed shot before the ball hit the ground in shocking scenes.
Replays showed Mir’s hands didn’t even make contract with the ball, with struck his foot and shot forward, allowing Marsh to scamper through for a single.
Fox Cricket’s commentators were in shock after the horrific effort, with Mir dropping a catch in his first involvement, making his World Cup debut.
“Nervous hands, he had ample time and just sat himself… Warner thought he was gone, the hands left a bit of room to go through,” Younis said.
“That is a massive miss, Shaheen’s head has gone down very quickly.”
“This was straight up in the air, you take those 10 out of 10 times in warm-up,” Hayden added.
“As soon as your hands are tight against your chest like that it is a recipe for disaster, poor fielding.”
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