Why Starc's catch of Ben Duckett in the 2nd Ashes Test was ruled not out?

 

Drama ensued in the dying minutes of the 4th day of the 2nd Ashes Test on Saturday when Mitchell Starc's attempted catch was controversially declared not out by third umpire Marais Erasmus. Ben Duckett, batting on 50, got a thick top edge when he tried to play a lap shot and the ball went to the left of fine leg, Starc caught it impressively. However, it seemed that the Australian star was not in complete control of his sprint and as he dived, the ball hit the ground.

After careful deliberation, Erasmus eventually ruled in favor of Duckett, surprising Australia's fielders as well as Starc, who had already raised his finger when signaling to a fellow infielder. The decision caused an uproar on social media as well as on the commentary panel, where Glenn McGrath became absolutely furious with Erasmus and described the decision as "disgraceful".

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting also noted that there are discrepancies in such calls, referring to Steve Smith's catch of Joe Root in the first innings of the Lord's Test; Ponting said that Starc looked more in control of his catches than Smith.

Following an outcry on social media, the Marylebone Cricket Club, the guardians of cricket law, posted a thread explaining why Erasmus was correct in making the decision. The MCC cited Law 33.3 of the rulebook, which states that a catch is complete only if the fielder has control over "the ball and its motion".

"In relation to the incident, 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 MCC wrote on their official Twitter account.

“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.”

In recent weeks, several examples of the application of the law in question have come to light; Root's catch of Smith was also suspicious but he was given out. In the World Test Championship final, Cameron Green's catch of Shubman Gill sparked massive social media outrage when third umpire Richard Kettleborough declared the Indian batsman out.