England all-rounder Ben Stokes has recommended for a rule change following his side’s 58-run loss against South Africa in the second T20I at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday.
Rilee Rossouw was the star of the night, propelling South Africa to victory with an excellent 96 off just 55 deliveries. However, controversy hit the contest when England captain Jos Buttler caught Rossouw at a score of 37.
It all happened during the 10th over when Chris Jordan bowled a wide delivery down the leg side, and the batter seemed to flick it. Wicketkeeper Buttler dived across to complete the catch.
As Rossouw was given not-out by the umpire, it prompted Buttler to go for a review. In real-time, it looked like he had taken a clean catch, but TV footage showed that the ball bounced of the surface before reaching Buttler’s hands. Therefore, the third umpire ruled Rossouw ‘not-out’.
After the game, Stokes took to his official Twitter handle and suggested that the rule of ‘soft signal’ should be scrapped as the third umpire took the decision without considering it.
“Ohh, 3rd, umpire decides without a soft signal..so can we get rid of the soft signal now….PLEASE!,” Stokes wrote on the micro-blogging platform.
Ohh 3rd umpire makes a decision with out a soft signal..so can we get rid of he soft signal now….PLEASE! https://t.co/9D4Z8St05X
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 28, 2022
Buttler, who believed to have taken the catch, was immovable even after the game.
“I thought I had it. But the people who matter disagreed,” he said during the post-match presentation.
“It’s frustrating to have lost, and we are trying and working hard to be more consistent, but we’ve not managed to string our best games together. Sunday is a pressure game and will be a good test for where we are as a team. We haven’t won a series yet this summer which we are not accustomed to,” the English skipper added.
