Watch- Marais Erasmus Explains Reason Behind Disallowing Mitchell Starc's Catch

Umpire Marais Erasmus has explained the reason behind adjudging Mitchell Starc’s catch as unfair on Saturday (July 1). The ongoing second Ashes Test between England and Australia was thrown into controversy after the visitors were denied the crucial wicket of Ben Duckett late on day four.

Two overs before the stumps, the in-form opener attempted a ramp shot off a short delivery from Cameron Green. The ball flew towards fine leg where Starc took a clean catch in the air before dragging the ball along the field as he slid. The Australian players started celebrating while Duckett also started walking off before being asked to wait.

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After seeing the replays, Erasmus, who was the third umpire, ruled that Starc’s catch was unfair. Consequently, Duckett was called back and he finished the day on 50 not out. It was a huge reprieve for the home side as they continued their recovery after being reduced to 41 for 4.

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Watch: Marais Erasmus explains his decision

The decision from Marais Erasmus has caused a huge uproar in the cricketing fraternity with several stars of the game openly criticizing the call. South Africa superstar Faf du Plessis took to Twitter to question the decision while former Australia captain Aaron Finch called the decision shocking. The likes of Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting were not impressed with the call either.

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How is that not out ? complete control of the ball ? #ashes

— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) July 1, 2023

Marais Erasmus, on Sunday (July 2), explained the reason behind his call. Mentioning the law, Erasmus stated that Starc was still not in control of the body when he dragged the ball along the ground.

“The law is specific in it says that the fielder has to have control of his body and movement. And that particular case, he was still moving and he put the ball on the ground. Now if you take that example and say you were sliding towards the boundary, if you slid into the boundary, we would’ve deemed it either four or six, depending if the ball touched the ground before. So there’s no difference in our interpretation for the catch,” Erasmus told Sky Sports.

?️ | Third Umpire Marais Erasmus explains why #MitchellStarc‘s catch was ruled as Not Out ? ??‍♂️

Thoughts on the decision❓ ?#SonySportsNetwork #Ashes2023 #RivalsForever #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/EJlGziJFvS

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 2, 2023

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