Third umpire Richard Kettleborough has once again denied Australia a crucial catch off the bowling of Nathan Lyon as the hosts attempt to secure an unlikely victory.
Lyon managed to force an edge off Heinrich Klaasen’s bat and Smith took what looked to be a certain catch as his teammates celebrated their second wicket in South Africa’s second innings.
Klaasen refused to leave the field as the catch was sent upstairs for a lengthy review before it was eventually deemed to have bounced just short of Smith’s grasp.
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Australian skipper Pat Cummins, alongside Lyon, both were left stunned and Fox Cricket’s commentators were equally surprised Klaasen wasn’t sent packing.
“Gone this time surely, we won’t be having much doubt about that, or are we?” Fox Cricket’s Ian Smith said.
“He’s going to need some counselling Nathan Lyon.”
“I thought he was out again,” Fox Cricket’s Mark Waugh said.
“I just thought with the naked eye he got his fingers under the ball, but the more forensically you look at it, the more you can find a blade of grass,” Fox Cricket’s Kerry O’Keeffe said.
“Smith believed he caught it, Nathan Lyon believes he is out, Heinrich Klaasen knew straight away, I’m not going for this.
“More conjecture over a catch… I think he’s caught that, but the camera angle will suggest that it has hit the ground.
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“He was confident he caught that, but the previous day he was less than confident he had got the fingers under this.”
The controversial moment came after two other catches were denied by the third umpire — and each were equally confusing.
The first came when Marnus Labuschagne’s edge to first slip Simon Harmer was judged to be not out, before the Proteas skipper Dean Elgar survived a similar chance on day four.
Elgar edged the ball to Smith, who was able to dive to his right and take what looked to be an impressive catch before Kettleborough adjudicated the ball hit the ground.
While all three catches in the final Test were ruled to be not out, Mark Waugh didn’t agree.
“I think the three catches in this game were all out to be honest,” Waugh said.
