Pat Cummins opened up on a strange incident involving South Africa batter David Bedingham during the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 at Lord’s in London. The controversy struck on Day 2 when Bedingham, batting against Beau Webster, got an inside edge. The ball ended up lodged against his pads. In a moment of panic, Bedingham used his hands to lift the ball away just seconds before Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey rushed forward to collect it. Some Australians raised eyebrows immediately, questioning if touching the ball was against the spirit of the game. The incident drew the umpires’ attention — Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth held a brief meeting on the field. After their deliberation, the umpires called it a “dead ball.” Later in the press conference, Cummins explained the view from his side. Speaking to press, Pat Cummins said, “Yeah, well the umpires said it was dead ball first of all, but yeah I think we probably would have withdrawn, yeah.” His comments made it clear there was no intent from the Australians to pursue the appeal once the umpires made their ruling. Read also: Watch: Confusing Pad-Ball Incident Involving Bedingham at Lord’s Bedingham Panicked in the Heat of the Moment Bedingham himself described the incident from his perspective afterwards. He explained how panic made him act quickly. Bedingham said in the press conference, “Yeah, I think I panicked big time. Because Carey was standing up, he was quite close. The umpires said, regardless, it was dead ball. But I think the way I picked up the ball and dropped it came across a bit dodgy.” According to MCC’s cricket laws, a ball is considered dead when it becomes lodged in a batter’s equipment or person. The ruling meant the ball was no longer in play and dismissed any appeal from Australia. Bedingham was dismissed for 45 off 111 balls by Cummins, while South Africa fell for 138 in their first innings. Nevertheless, the Proteas struck back strongly in their bowling, reducing Australia to 144/8 by stumps. Lungi Ngidi (3/35) and Kagiso Rabada (3/44) stood out with their powerful opening spells.