19 February 2024 , 10:14
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England captain Ben Stokes has urged cricket chiefs to "get rid" of the umpire's call element in its decision review system.
Stokes' argument follows Zak Crawley's controversial dismissal during England's second innings in their third Test humiliation against India, who cruised to a staggering 434-run victory. Crawley lost his wicket for just 11, having been trapped LBW by devastating Indian seamer Jasprit Bumrah.
England's opener was then softly called out by the umpire and Crawley, 26, immediately signalled for a review. Despite the ball seemingly missing the stumps, the decision was given as umpire's call and Crawley had to walk, much to the bemusement of Brendon McCullum's side.
After England's chastening defeat was confirmed later on day four, Stokes criticised DRS technology, as he did after the second Test. "We just wanted some clarity around Zak's DRS when the images came back," the 32-year-old told talkSPORT, having taken up his grievance with match referee Jeff Crowe.
"The ball is quite clearly missing the stump on the replay. So when it gets given umpire's call and the ball's not actually hitting the stumps, we were a bit bemused. We just wanted some clarity from Hawk-Eye. It came back saying the numbers were saying that it was hitting the stumps but it was the projection that was wrong.
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"I don't know what that means. Something's gone wrong. I think when [the] people in charge of it say something has gone wrong that is enough in itself. We've been on the wrong end of three umpire's calls this game and that is part of DRS. You're either on the right side or the wrong side. Unfortunately we've been on the wrong side."
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Stokes, though, was keen to stress that England's heavy loss wasn't down to the technology. "I'm not saying and never will say that's the reason why we've lost this game, because 500 is a lot of runs," the Durham star admitted.
"You just want something that is consistent, so when the people that use the system are saying something that has gone wrong, whatever it is, who's to say it's not gone wrong at another time that could prove pivotal?
"Umpire's call, personally I think we should just get rid of it. If it's hitting the stumps, it's hitting the stumps, then it's a level playing field. It's not me blaming that on what’s happened here, like I didn't last week. It's just… what's going on?"
This was the DRS for Zak Crawley's wicketStokes wants to put the incident behind him and turn the series around, with England having stormed to a 1-0 lead before back-to-back defeats. "Losing a Test match always hurts, you don't want to be on the losing end. You don't want to be bowled out for that total when you're chasing," he continued.
"Writing it off wouldn't do justice to the professionalism of the players in the dressing room. You've got to learn from disappointment but use it in a positive way, not let it eat you. I've played 100 Test matches now and I know that thinking too deep into certain things can send you on a downhill spiral.
"It's about what we do the next two games. It doesn't always work out how you want, but we still have a great chance to win the trophy 3-2 We leave this game behind us, just as we did with the first two matches, and we know we have to win the next two games to take the series."
The series will resume in Ranchi on Friday.