Kiwi batsman Williamson says Petersen's catch was 'debatable'

Wellington, Mar 28(ANI): Kiwi middle order batsman Kane Williamson believes the umpires' decision to declare him not out, when Alviro Petersen had caught him during the last day of the final Test, was right, as the catch was 'debatable'.

Petersen had caught Williamson, when the score was 16 for two on the final day of the Wellington Test. However, neither of the on-field umpires, Aleem Dar and Richard Kettleborough, could decide if he was clearly out, and the matter was referred upstairs to Billy Doctrove.

The television replays were unconvincing, and allowed Williamson to bat on.

Sixty-nine overs later he was still there, having progressed from seven to 102 not out, and securing a memorable draw for his team in the process

"I just wasn't 100 per cent sure, so naturally I thought I'd stay and obviously TV would be able to confirm whether it was out or not. I heard it was very close, so I'm sure Alviro thought he caught it too. So it's just one of those things, isn't it," Stuff.co.nz quoted Williamson, as saying.

South African captain Graeme Smith said letting Williamson bat again was the wrong decision, as generally field players are consulted in such cases.

Smith, who was fielding at first slip, said Petersen was very confident he had caught the ball before it hit the turf.

"The guys who were in the vicinity, at gully and slip, were pretty confident. But that decision went against us. The third umpire's made decisions and, I guess, most times it's gone with the on-field guy who believes he's caught it. But today it was different," said Smith. (ANI)