Explained: Here is why Ben Stokes’ catch of Steve Smith in fifth Ashes Test was illegitimate

Ben Stokes had it under control for the most part but only to drop it while breaking into celebration.

Explained: Here is why Ben Stokes’ catch of Steve Smith in fifth Ashes Test was illegitimate

Steve Smith, Ben Stokes (Image via Cricket Australia, ICC Twitter)

The 2023-24 Ashes series is nearing a befitting end. What started with Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon pulling off a thrilling win will probably end with another Australia victory. However, not much can be said yet as the fifth Ashes Test stands evenly poised with Australia needing 146 runs while England needing seven wickets which could have been six had Ben Stokes not dropped an easy catch of Steve Smith. 

Just before lunch on Day 5, Steve Smith gloved a ball while trying to defend against Moeen Ali. The ball lobbed up in the air and flew to leg slip where Stokes did a great job to catch it. The England captain timed his jump to perfection and grabbed the ball with his right hand. However, right when Stokes landed he lost control of the ball and it was down on the ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlLCluaLth0&pp=ygUVYXNoZXMgMjAyMyBoaWdobGlnaHRz

The England captain wore a disappointed look and his body language clearly reflected that he was not convinced about the legitimacy of his catch. Although he took a review. The TV Umpire took his time before concluding that the catch was illegitimate. 

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Why Ben Stokes’ catch was considered not clean?

england and ben stokes react
England and Ben Stokes react to his catch called illeginitmate (Image via ICC Cricket)

Now, as with everything happening in the Ashes, this entire episode also drew significant reactions from the fans. As the England cricket team’s Twitter handle sought fans’ opinions on the legitimacy of the catch, the answer was mostly negative. Later, the International Cricket Council shared an article explaining the reason behind it.

In its article, ICC cited law 33.3 of the MCC rule book while terming Ben Stokes’ catch of Steve Smith as not clean. The law states, “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.” 

The incident was pretty similar to Mitchell Starc’s catch of Ben Duckett in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

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