England captain Eoin Morgan was furious with Australia after Ben Stokes’ bizarre handling incident at Lord’s.
Today’s #360debate is: Was Morgan right in kicking off about Stokes’ dismissal?
The boos that rang out around Lord’s after Ben Stokes’ dismissal speak for themselves and Eoin Morgan was right to challenge proceedings.
‘Law 37’ states that a batsman must be trying to “willfully attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side” to be dismissed obstructing the field.
Technically the decision could have been correct, but the very fact that it was referred to the third umpire condones Morgan’s actions, given that the officials on the field were unsure of what to do.
Unfortunately for England the man with his finger on the trigger was Joel Wilson. The West Indian official has been an on-field umpire in one Test match, in Bangladesh, and his decision at Lord’s looked every bit as juvenile.
Could Stokes really have had enough time to make a ‘wilful’ decision to intercept a ball hurled from a height of eight metres at 80 miles an hour? The ramifications of the decision could prove that Morgan was right to contend as a dangerous precedent has now been set.
Batsmen can now look-forward to an onslaught of bowlers trying their luck with similar tactics.
Surely the only way that Wilson could determine whether Stokes threw an intercepting arm at Mitchell Starc’s throw was by reviewing the incident in real time? The Australians were justified to an initial appeal as that was their natural reaction in real time.
Amidst all the outrage at the press conference, very fair of Eoin Morgan to say that the Stokes decision wasn’t the reason England lost.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 6, 2015
However, once it appeared in slow-motion on the big screen, captain Steve Smith should have withdrawn his appeal and Morgan was correct to let him know this.
Morgan’s decision to remonstrate with counterpart Smith was less about the intricacies of cricket’s laws and more to do with upholding the game’s traditions and values.
The onus is now on Smith to admit that this situation just isn’t cricket and that Morgan had a point.
Eoin Morgan is a wonderful limited overs batsman and an equally good captain in the format but he was way off the mark in creating such a fuss about the unusual Ben Stokes dismissal.
As an England player and supporter you may have a reason to feel bad about the decision but the way Morgan argued with rival captain Steven Smith and questioned third umpire Joel Wilson’s verdict, he has only ended up fuelling a needless controversy.
Morgan’s public criticism of the umpire’s decision could also invite sanctions from the match referee as it violates the International Cricket Council player code of conduct.
– UAE: Javed welcomes chance to qualify for 2016 Asia Cup
– ENGvAUS: Visitors win second ODI amidst Stokes controversy
– PSL: Akram and Raja named new T20 league’s ambassadors
– Shane Watson: Aussie all-rounder announces Test retirement
As a neutral observer I felt Wilson’s decision was clear as daylight because television replays proved it beyond doubt.
Stokes was way out of the crease and nowhere near the stumps when he thrust out his left hand blocking bowler Mitchell Starc’s throw which was heading for the wickets.
Wilson followed the letter of the law and Morgan’s argument that Stokes was taking evasive action doesn’t hold water because the normal reaction is to recoil in defence not stretch out as his batting partner did.
The judgment is similar to the ones taken by football referees while awarding penalties for handball inside the box. Morgan’s other line of reasoning that the umpire should have taken the decision based on real time and not on slow motion replays is a load of rubbish.
The third umpire and technological assistance are additions to iron out deficiencies in decision-making but in this case, according to Morgan, is not feasible because it has gone against him!
I hope he maintains the same stance while appealing for future leg before wicket decisions.
If Morgan had taken it on the chin and got on with the game, I don’t think it would have snowballed into such a big issue.
