'We've been on the wrong end..' - Ben Stokes raises questions after Zak Crawley's LBW decision in third Test against India

England captain Ben Stokes has advocated for the elimination of umpire's call following a contentious decision that went against Zak Crawley and the visiting team during day 4 of the 3rd Test against India in Rajkot. The legendary all-rounder also asserted the need for a level playing field, emphasizing the importance of unequivocal decisions. During the ninth over of England's second innings, umpire Kumar Dharmasena adjudged Zak Crawley LBW off Jasprit Bumrah's delivery.

The opening batter Crawley opted for the Decision Review System (DRS), which revealed that the ball marginally grazed the leg-stump, leading to Crawley's dismissal. After the match, Stokes and McCullum were observed conversing with match referee Jeff Crowe. Addressing the media post-match, Stokes acknowledged the challenging nature of the umpires' role and emphasized the necessity to eliminate ambiguities.

"We've been on the wrong end of three umpire's calls this game and that is part of DRS. You're either on the right side or the wrong side. Unfortunately, we've been on the wrong side. You just want a level playing field. The umpires have an incredibly hard job as it is, especially in India when the ball is spinning. My personal opinion is if the ball is hitting the stumps, it is hitting the stumps. They should take away 'umpire's call' if I'm being perfectly honest. I don't want to get too much into it because it sounds like we are moaning and saying that is why we lost the Test match," the star England player said as quoted by Sportskeeda.

Previously, Naseer Hussain, the former skipper of England also explained about the DRS call related to the Umpire's call during India vs England Test match;

Virat Kohli said the same thing
And this is how Naseer Husain cleared up the confusion 🫡 pic.twitter.com/8Z7urqqzF3 https://t.co/YOVLkSbXsa

— ` (@musafir_tha_yr) February 18, 2024

Something's gone wrong: Ben Stokes

England's third-ranked batter, Ollie Pope also appeared discontented with the decision to dismiss him in the first innings in Rajkot, as the ball-tracking indicated it was hitting the leg-stump despite the ball making contact with the right-hander above the knee-roll. Stokes also expressed his confusion regarding the referee's explanation following the match.

"It came back saying the numbers, or whatever it is that is, it was saying that it was hitting the stumps but it was the projection that was wrong. I don't know what that means. Something's gone wrong, so, yeah. I'm not saying and never will say that's the reason why we've lost this game, because 500 is a lot of runs. It is not something you pin down to result of the game. Sometimes when you are on the wrong end of those decisions it hurts but that is part of the game," Ben Stokes concluded.