As Australia prepared to lose to South Africa in the Cricket World Cup in Lucknow for the second time in a row, Marcus Stoinis was at the core of a contentious decision.
Stoinis was caught behind and given out as Pat Cummins’ squad had already fallen to 70 for five in their chase for 312
The decision made by the third umpire left Stoinis and his partner at the other end, Marnus Labuschagne, unhappy.
When the Proteas appealed, the on-field umpire had first ruled Stoinis not out. Temba Bavuma chose to exacerbate the situation by asking for a review, despite Quinton de Kock, who was positioned behind the stumps, seemed indifferent.
Stoinis was given out after UltraEdge signalled a surge. The hitter shouldn’t have been disqualified, though, because video later showed that the spike was caused by the ball hitting a glove that wasn’t on the bat handle.
Stoinis was forced to leave the pitch even though he made his case to Bavuma and the umpires.
The judgement shook the cricket community as well.
This was the second time during the match that the Decision Review System (DRS) was questioned; the first time was against Steve Smith.
When a leg before wicket (lbw) judgement was reviewed, Smith was confused. Both the batter and the on-field umpire had first declared it not out, but Smith had to leave after the screen showed three reds.
Australia was already having trouble at 70 for five, so Stoinis’ removal did not change the outcome of the game, but it is still a source of dispute.
This is the only truly contentious call made by an umpire in the tournament thus far.
