Ashes: Trott dismissal angers Anderson

JAMES Anderson admitted England felt aggrieved by third umpire Marais Erasmus’s decision to dismiss Jonathan Trott yesterday despite an incomplete set of television replays.
England captain Alastair Cook in action. Picture: GettyEngland captain Alastair Cook in action. Picture: Getty
England captain Alastair Cook in action. Picture: Getty

The hosts were attempting to bat their way back into the game after Ashton Agar had handed the tourists an unlikely 65-run lead when Trott was given out first ball.

Umpire Aleem Dar turned down the lbw appeal by Mitchell Starc, perhaps sensing the inside edge Trott clearly felt he had made.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Australia were confident and sent the decision upstairs to Erasmus.

Unusually, the crucial side-on “hotspot” replay was unavailable at the time as it was being used to re-run Joe Root’s nick and had not recorded the following delivery. Erasmus nevertheless chose to overrule Dar’s verdict, leading to England’s management requesting official clarification from match referee Ranjan Madugalle and his ICC employers.

Anderson said: “Trotty hit his (ball) and was given not out on the field. Whatever happened after that I’m not sure. It is frustrating that it got overruled or overturned; I’m not sure what went on.”

England may also have been on the wrong end of an earlier marginal call by Erasmus, who ruled Agar had not been stumped off Swann while he was on six. Had he read inconclusive replays the other way, Australia would have been all out for 131 instead of 280, and England would have had a much more handsome lead than the 15 runs they managed by reaching 80 for two at stumps.

Anderson also believes that decision went against his side but was quick to reiterate the team’s long-standing support for DRS as a rule.

“I only saw the stumping on replay screen and it’s difficult to tell from that, (but) I thought it was out,” he said. (Wicketkeeper) Matt Prior was pretty confident it was.

“We’re all for technology because more decisions are given out correctly than wrongly. From our point of view, whatever has gone on with a couple of talking points, on the whole we are happy to have it.”

Related topics: