Published: Dec 14, 2017, 12:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 14, 2017, 12:34 PM (IST)
Australia made Mark Stoneman dance to chin music on the opening day of the third Ashes Test at Perth. Of course, Stoneman had gritted out a fine half-century before Australia decided to bounce him out. And as he got his eye in, Josh Hazlewood troubled the set batsman with short stuff. Stoneman, however, was lucky to have survived on a few occasions: some hissed past the edge, while some fell short of the fielders.
Steven Smith summoned Mitchell Starc to do the same. It was an encore of the previous appeals, but the Australians opted for a referral after Marais Erasmus turned it down. Although the HotSpot did not show an edge, third umpire Aleem Dar overturned the on-field decision based on a faint spike on the Snicko.
Plenty of debate after that review! Thoughts? #Ashes @Gillette #CloseMatters pic.twitter.com/NozC4L6O8T
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 14, 2017
The Englishmen in the dressing-room looked upset with the decision. The otherwise cool Joe Root punched the glass door in disappointment. To add fuel to the fire, the commentators criticised Dar for deciding despite lack of sufficient evidence to overturn Erasmus’ decision.
Stoneman went for 56.
