Explained: Why Mitchell Starc’s catch of Ben Duckett was disallowed

A massive controversy erupted on Day 4 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s on Saturday, July 1 as a catch of Ben Duckett claimed by Mitchell Starc was disallowed.

The incident occurred in the 29th over of England’s second innings, after they were set to chase 371 by Australia. On the fifth ball of the over, Duckett, having just reached his 50, was caught in two minds over how to deal with a Cameron Green bouncer.

The left-handed batter tried to ramp the ball over the keeper, but it went towards fine leg. Starc ran towards his left, took a sliding catch, and started celebrating. A dejected Duckett started walking back to the pavilion. However, he was asked to wait as the decision was referred upstairs.

After watching replays, third umpire Marais Erasmus concluded that the catch had not been completed cleanly, much to the shock of Starc and other Australian players. The decision led to a huge controversy as several formal Aussie cricketers slammed it.

Releasing an official statement, ICC explained that the third umpire was not convinced about the catch being taken cleanly.

The statement read:

“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’.

“In this case, it was deemed by third umpire Marais Erasmus upon review of the catch that Starc was not in control of his own movement when the ball was brushed against the turf,” the statement added.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) also issued a clarification over the catch controversy on its Twitter handle and wrote:

“Law 33.3 clearly states that a catch is only completed when the fielder has ‘complete control over the ball and his/her own 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,” the tweet added.

Having survived the close call, Duckett went to stumps on Day 4 unbeaten on 50*.

---

Starc claimed two crucial wickets on Day 4

Before the catch controversy, Starc delivered with the ball, claiming the big wickets of Zak Crawley (3) and Ollie Pope (3). Set to chase 371, England were in big trouble at 45/4 as Pat Cummins sent back Joe Root (18) and Harry Brook (4).

England need a further 257 runs on Day 5 of the Lord’s Test to square the five-match series 1-1.