The Ball Din't Hit The Stumps...: Ben Stokes Cries Foul After Rajkot Humbling, Calls For Massive DRS Change

ind vs eng: the ball din’t hit the stumps…: ben stokes cries foul after rajkot humbling, calls for massive drs change

leEngland Cricket Team Captain Ben Stokes was quick to voice his frustration over the Decision Review System (DRS) following England’s humilating 434-run defeat to India in the third Test match of the five-match series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.

After what was the second worst defeat in England’s test history by runs as well as India’s biggest in history, Stokes went to complain about the decision that saw Zak Crawley dismissed in the second inning. Crawley was sent back to the dressing room after making 11 runs after being trapped in front of the stumps by Jasprit Bumrah.

After the game, Stokes claimed that the replay showed the ball was not hitting the stumps after Crawley reviewed the decision, and the decision went on an ‘umpires call.’

Stokes claimed he had a long discussion with a match referee and revealed he was told the calculations showed the ball was in the umpire’s call zone. The England captain went on a rant and called for the umpire’s call to be removed.

“We just wanted some clarity around Zak’s DRS when the images came back. The ball is quite clearly missing the stump on the replay. So when it gets given umpire’s call and the ball’s not actually hitting the stumps, we were a bit bemused. We just wanted some clarity from Hawk-Eye. It came back saying the numbers were saying that it was hitting the stumps but it was the projection that was wrong. I don’t know what that means. Something’s gone wrong,” said Stokes on Telegraph.

“I think when [the] people in charge of it say something has gone wrong that is enough in itself. We’ve been on the wrong end of three umpire’s calls this game and that is part of DRS. You’re either on the right side or the wrong side. Unfortunately we’ve been on the wrong side. I’m not saying and never will say that’s the reason why we’ve lost this game, because 500 is a lot of runs.

“You just want something that is consistent, so when the people that use the system are saying something that has gone wrong, whatever it is, who’s to say it’s not gone wrong at another time that could prove pivotal? Umpire’s call, personally I think we should just get rid of it. If it’s hitting the stumps, it’s hitting the stumps, then it’s a level playing field. It’s not me blaming that on what’s happened here, like I didn’t last week. It’s just… what’s going on?,” Stokes aded.

After England’s defeat in the second Test, Stokes had complained about the usage of DRS in Crawley’s dismissal too on Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. At the time, the England captain stated that technology got the decision wrong.