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Inexplicable dismissal divides opinion in cricket world

A truly bizarre dismissal in Victorian cricket appears to have defied the laws of physics and divided opinion as to whether or not it's out.

A seemingly inexplicable photo has gone viral in recent days, showing a set of stumps with the middle stump missing but both bails still on.

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Moonee Valley batsman Jatinder Singh was given out against Strathmore Heights on Saturday despite the bails not being dislodged when the middle stump was knocked out of the ground.

What the? Image: Twitter
What the? Image: Twitter

Moonee Valley captain Michael Ozbun has a few theories as to how the anomaly can be explained.

"We had no idea what the actual ruling on it was, but we all admired it for a few minutes," Ozbun told the Moonee Valley Leader.

"You probably couldn't do that again if you tried.

"We weren't sure if maybe (the stumps) were put it at a slight angle so there was just a little bit of pressure.

"When they were sitting on the stumps, they were in the grooves. It wasn't like the middle of the bails were above the stumps or anything.

"The ball had to have hit at the exact right point that the stump didn't fly up, it went down."

MYCA president Neil Daly said it was a "once in a lifetime" scenario.

"The only similar incident I had was a bail slipped down between the stumps and wedged between the stumps," Daly said.

"It was given not out because it hadn't completely been removed.

"They put the bail back on."

The photo has divided opinion since being posted on social media:

However despite many saying 'not out', it is indeed out.

Law 28 of the rules of cricket states: "The wicket is put down if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground."