Ashes 2023: 3rd Umpire Marais Erasmus clarifies his verdict on Starc's controversial catch

The second Test match of the Ashes 2023 series featured several interesting moments, with a few stirring controversies. One such incident took place on Day 4 of the second Ashes Test, which involved the veteran Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc. The 33-year-old stirred a massive controversy by claiming the catch of Ben Duckett near the boundary ropes but later got turned down.

3 Things You Need To Know

• Ben Duckett was out for 83 runs on Day 5 of the 2nd Ashes 2023 Test
• Australia set a fourth-innings target of 271 runs for England
• England haven’t won the Ashes series since 2015

ALSO READ | Controversy Mars Ashes: Starc's Catch Gets Overturned, McGrath Calls It ‘Load Of Rubbish’

Marais Erasmus provides verdict on Mitchell Starc’s controversial catch

Ahead of Day 5’s play in the second Test of Ashes 2023, third umpire Marais Erasmus was asked to shed his thoughts on why Mitchell Starc’s catch was not considered legal. “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,” said Erasmus in a video shared by Sony Sports Network.

Further explaining his take, the renowned umpire added, “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”.

ALSO READ | England Vs Australia 2nd Test Day 5 Live Updates

What do the cricketing rule books say?

Earlier in the day, the cricket lawmakers, MCC also weighed in on the umpire’s decision while citing the rule books. The grand old body of cricket referred to the law that talks about the legality of a catch. “Law 33.3 clearly states that a catch is only completed when the fielder has 'complete control over the ball and his/her movement'. The ball cannot touch the ground before then. In this particular incident, Mitchell Starc was still sliding as the ball rubbed the ground, therefore he was not in control of his movement,” said MCC.

Coming back to Day 5’s play Duckett went back to the pavilion after scoring 83 runs, while Jonny Bairstow was dismissed in a bizarre fashion. He walked out of his crease after ducking a ball by Cameron Green, as Alex Carey removed the bails with an under-the-arm through. In the meantime, Ben Stokes reached his century in 141 balls by smashing three consecutive sixes.