Marcus Stoinis dismissal sparks debate on review system in ODI World Cup, refreshes Liverpool VAR controversy

The ODI World Cup has taken the cricketing world by storm as South Africa and Australia served a treat in a blockbuster contest on Thursday (Oct 12) in Lucknow. While South Africa won by 134 runs to condemn Australia to back-to-back defeats in the tournament, it was the Marcus Stoinis dismissal that caught the eye for a controversial dismissal. Third umpire Richard Kettleborough has now caught the eyes of the sports fans while his fellow English football official Darren England was in hot water for disallowing a Liverpool goal in the Premier League.

What was the controversy?

On the second ball of the 18th over, Stoinis was dismissed caught behind on the bowling of Kagiso Rabada with Quinton de Kock taking a fantastic low catch. However, he was initially given not out by the on-field umpire Joel Wilson as his bottom hand was not in contact with the bat where the ball had struck. Going by the rule books, if the hand is not in contact with the bat and the ball makes contact with it the batter is deemed not out.

However, South Africa opted for review where third umpire Kettleborough deemed that one hand was in contact with the other with the same in contact with the bat, but that close contact was minimal which was hard to trace from the naked eye. Upon review though Kettleborough decided to give Stoinis out that condemned Australia to 70/6.

Recently, English football official Darren England made headlines when he decided to disallow a Liverpool goal. Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz was onside but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) failed to overturn the decision. This sparked a huge debate in the Premier League, leading to the suspension of the officials. The English football governing body Football Association (FA) was put under the scanner as they were criticised for the failure to deliver a right verdict.

What happened in the match?

South Africa got the better of Australia in the traditional World Cup rivalry with De Kock being the centre of attraction. He smashed back-to-back tons in the World Cup that saw the Proteas put 311/7 on the board. Aiden Markram was also on the show as he put on 56 runs with the bat while Kagiso Rabada scalped four wickets with the ball. Australia showed little resistance with the bat as they were bowled out for 177 with Marnus Labuschagne top-scoring with 46.

South Africa will next take on qualifiers Netherlands in their next match on Tuesday (Oct 17) in Dharamshala while Australia will look to bounce back having lost back-to-back World Cup games. They will take on former champions Sri Lanka on Monday, who in turn have lost their opening two matches at the marquee event.

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