The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has responded to Mitchell Starc's disputed catch, a close call on Lord's turf near the conclusion of day four of the second Ashes Test.
In the waning moments of the day, Australia believed they had secured the crucial wicket of Ben Duckett after the left-handed England batsman top-edged a Cameron Green delivery to deep fine-leg.
Replays revealed that Mitchell Starc, scraped the ball across the ground shortly after he grabbed it while racing and sliding to his left.
Watch the video here:
Well then...
What do we think of this one?
Cleary grounded #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/bPHQbw81dl
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 1, 2023
Law 33.3 of the MCC's Laws of Cricket states that "the act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement."
Law 33.3 clearly states that a catch is only completed when the fielder has 'complete control over the ball and his/her 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."
Cummins Told Not To Bat Injured But Lyon...
Australian cricketer Nathan Lyon was told by his skipper Pat Cummins not to bat with a significant calf strain in the ongoing second Test against England but the veteran spinner ended up doing that to "support" his teammates.
Lyon, playing in his 100th consecutive Test, is suspected to have torn his right calf while running to catch a ball on day two of the second Ashes Test at Lord's. But on Saturday, he hobbled on to the batting crease and helped Australia add 15 runs to increase their lead to 370 runs.
Lyon was the last man out for four runs, his cameo finishing Australia's second innings on 279.
At stumps on Day 4, England were 114 for four chasing an improbable 371.
"Pat (Cummins) originally said to wake up to myself, that I'm not going out there," Lyon told Sen Radio on Sunday.
"But I had a chat to (head coach) Andrew McDonald and our medical team and tried to find a way that I could figure out how to go about it."
Lyon, a veteran of 121 Test and just four wickets short of the landmark 500 scalps in the longest format, added that the painstaking effort from team physios helped him bat those 13 deliveries in the second innings.
"I spent a lot of time in the physio room and in the gym upstairs here at Lord's with a lot of tape on my leg and trying to figure out how to bat.
"I was just going out there and trying to do my role. There's a lot of talk about my innings but I went out there to support my teammates. That's what I do and I'd do it again tomorrow (Sunday). That's just part of it."
A severely injured Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc had bowled despite blood dripping off his finger during the second Test against South Africa at the MCG in December last year.
Lyon said he had been through an emotional roller-coaster over the last two days because of the injury.
"I'm absolutely shattered, heartbroken. Speechless is probably the best way to put it. I had a dream to win an Ashes series over here, I've said it publicly, privately and everything else. Right now to have a severe calf strain it's disappointing, it's heartbreaking."
