COLOMBO — Pakistan was granted an extra review option Friday after being robbed of a wicket due to an apparent error by TV umpire Paul Reiffel during the second Test in Colombo. The incident took place during the opening day's play at the P. Sara Oval Thursday when Pakistan as ked for a review after on-field umpire Sundaram Ravi turned down an appeal for a catch at slip against Kaushal Silva off Zulfiqar Babar. After repeated replays — the Decision Review System (DRS) for the series does not feature snicko or hot-spot — Reiffel, the former Australian fast bowler, ruled in favor of the umpire indicating there was no edge off the bat. But the replays also suggested that if the ball had not hit the bat, the batsman was leg-before since the ball would have gone to hit the stumps, a possibility Reiffel did not take into account. International Cricket Council (ICC) rules on DRS state that .”.. in reviewing a dismissal, if the third umpire believes that the batsman may instead be out by any other mode of dismissal, he shall advise the on-field umpire accordingly.” Pakistan coach Waqar Younis approached match referee Chris Broad to seek an explanation, but the decision could not be overruled because play had already resumed. Silva, who was on 13 at the time of the DRS decision, had moved to 21 in Sri Lanka's score of 70-1 by stumps. There was no comment from the ICC, but television graphics after play resumed Friday confirmed that Pakistan still had both their reviews left in the innings. McCullum signs 1-yr deal New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum announced he had signed a one-year contract extension with the Black Caps Friday, ending speculation about his immediate international future. The 33-year-old, who led his side to a maiden World Cup final in March, has committed to the Black Caps until the ICC World Twenty20 in March-April next year. However, he will sit out next month's limited overs tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, citing a busy schedule in recent months, including the just-concluded tour of England. McCullum had faced questions about his future as he battles a long-standing back injury, but he said he wanted to help the Black Caps maintain momentum. “It's a critical time for the team,” he said. “We've had a very good past 18 months but we've got some real challenges ahead of us and we need to keep making progress. “This is a young, emerging side with some very big series on the horizon and it's a really exciting time to be involved.” New Zealand has home-and-away series against trans-Tasman rival Australia in 2015-16 and will also host Sri Lanka and Pakistan. — Agencies
