The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has issued a statement following the controversy regarding the decision of Mitchell Starc’s catch of England opener Ben Duckett in the final session of the fourth day. The third umpire felt that the Australian pacer was not in control of the catch, as decided in favour of the English opener.
Australian players were seen as visibly upset by the decision made by the third umpire, as they felt the Starc was in full control of the ball before keeping it on the ground. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc had a conversation with the on-field umpires regarding the decision.
Experts were divided by their opinion on the decision made by the third umpire to clarify the incident, MCC put out a statement, as the catch is only completed when the fielder has complete control over the ball, as the ball cannot touch the ground before that. Mitchell Starc was seen sliding as the ball rubbed on the ground which worked against him on the Lord’s test.
“In relation to the below incident, Law 33.3 clearly states that a catch is only completed when the fielder has “complete control over the ball and his/her own 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.”
There have been several occasions on the catches taken close to the ground, starting from the crucial catch of Shubman Gill by Cameron Green in the World Test Championship final followed by a catch of Joe Root taken by Steve Smith in the 1st innings, which worked in the favour of the fielders, whereas the decision went in favour of Ben Duckett in the Lord’s test.
“I don’t think he had control of his body, he did scrape the ball. Starc should have been sharper. He will turn his hand next time,” Michael Vaughan said.
“He caught that catch in his hands while still moving and he quite obviously scraped the floor. I wasn’t sure of the rules, but it should be simple if the ball touches the ground, it shouldn’t be out,” Alastair Cook said.
Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath was baffled by the decision made by the third umpire, as feels that it was a clear catch taken by Mitchell Starc at the boundary.