Tushar Ben Stokes Wants DRS Rule Changed
England skipper Ben Stokes is really pushing for a serious rethink of the Decision Review System (DRS) after that dodgy lbw call in our recent Test against India in Rajkot. You could practically feel Zak Crawley’s frustration when he contested umpire Kumar Dharamasena’s decision to send him packing. Despite the replay showing the ball missing the top of the leg stump, the decision stood, leaving Crawley shaking his head in disbelief. Stokes’ call for a review hits home how important it is to get these decisions spot on, especially when they can swing a match.
England’s frustration
It seems Lady Luck hasn’t been too kind to Crawley lately. Just before this Test, he was caught up in another nail-biting DRS call. This time around, it’s got Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum scratching their heads. They wasted no time in seeking clarification from match referee Jeff Crowe post-match, clearly not happy with how things panned out. It’s tough when these tight decisions keep going against you, but it’s good to see the team standing up and making their voices heard.
Stokes spilled the beans, mentioning that there was a recognition of an error in the image shown, but Hawk-Eye backed up the on-field decision with its underlying calculations.
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Stokes’ interview with TalkSPORT
“We just wanted some clarity around Zak’s DRS when the images came back,” Stokes told TalkSPORT.
“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. So, we just wanted some clarity from the Hawk-Eye guys,” Stokes explained to TalkSPORT.
“It came back saying the numbers, or whatever it is that is, it was 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, so, yeah. 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 expressed his confusion during the discussion
England suffered a crushing 434-run defeat in the Test in Rajkot, but Stokes was clear that he didn’t want to attribute the loss solely to the DRS calls. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the concept of umpire’s call should be done away with entirely.
“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,” Stokes explained, acknowledging the role of DRS in their challenging situation.
“It is not something you pin down to result of the game. Sometimes, when you are on the wrong end of those decisions, it hurts, but that is part of the game. You want them to go your way, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.
“You just want a level playing field. The umpires have an incredibly hard job as it is, especially in India when the ball is spinning. My personal opinion is if the ball is hitting the stumps, it is hitting the stumps. They should take away ‘umpire’s call’ if I’m being perfectly honest. I don’t want to get too much into it because it sounds like we are moaning and saying that is why we lost the Test match.”
England’s crushing 434-run defeat
The 434-run loss represents England’s largest defeat, in terms of runs, since Ben Stokes took over as Test captain. The visitors succumbed within just two sessions on Day 4, mustering a mere 122 runs while chasing India’s formidable total of 557. India’s batting prowess, led by emerging talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Shubman Gill, proved too much for the English side to handle, resulting in a comprehensive victory for the hosts.
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