New Delhi: Expressing his thoughts on Mitchell Starc’s contentious catch during the Day 4 of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, senior England seamer Stuart Broad said if that method of catching were deemed legal, it would become a widely adopted technique among all players.
On Day 4 of the second Test at Lord’s, England opener Ben Duckett had a fortunate escape when he struck a short-pitched delivery towards fine leg. Mitchell Starc, who was fielding at the fine leg, managed to reach to the ball and seemingly caught it but he pressed the ball into the turf while sliding.
Consequently, the third umpire, Marais Erasmus, made the decision to declare it not out.
In his column for the Daily Mail, Broad gave his take on the incident that caused significant debate and stated that it was correct to rule it as not out as the ball should not make contact with the ground as per the rules.
“Ultimately, from my understanding of the rule, the ball isn’t allowed to hit the ground. We’ve all played cricket where a catch is attempted with your hands facing upwards and your elbow hits the ground and the ball pops out.
But you catch the ball and turn your hands and grind the ball on the ground, the ball can’t pop out of your hand. If that was a legal way of catching, we’d all be doing it,” Broad wrote.
The 37-year-old also reflected on the blow he received to his neck while batting on the second day from Green’s bowling and revealed his disappointment at having to spend two hours in the hospital.
“I was a bit frustrated that I spent Friday evening on a two-hour hospital visit after being struck by a Cameron Green delivery. Unfortunately, it caught me under the grill and struck me in the neck, going up into my jaw. It was sore,” Broad wrote.
