Australia furious about wrong umpire calls after loss against South Africa in ODI World Cup 2023

The ODI World Cup 2023 match between Australia and South Africa saw some bizarre umpire calls as two Australian batters were sent to the pavilion.

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Sarah Andrew
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Marcus Stoinis

Australia vs South Africa (Source: Twitter)

In their 134-run ODI World Cup 2023 loss to South Africa, the team was not pleased about the third umpire's ruling to declare Marcus Stoinis out. Batter Marnus Labuschagne as well as coach Andrew McDonald said they will seek clarification from the supreme cricket body. 

When South Africa challenged the decision, Stoinis was declared out after being caught behind during the 18th over from a delivery from Kagiso Rabada. When the ball landed on Stoinis' bottom hand, the Ultra edge displayed a spike. However, the fact that Stoinis' top hand had left the bat,  there was some debate. The controversy was whether the bottom and top hands were both attached to the bat.

Coach Andrew McDonald spoke after the game about the bizarre decision. He said, "You have got to accept the umpire's decision in these moments. I'm sure there will be some sort of explanation coming from the apex cricket council around the dismissal."

Marnus Labuschagne also was pretty heated up about the decision and spoke about his view on the matter. He said, "We will get clarity or will seek clarity because it's the World Cup. The umpires really did not know what was going on. They saw what we saw so it wasn't too much going on. For me it looked on the field... his hand was off the bat, it hit the glove and because it didn't go to the side on angle Marcus and I were just asking have they checked.”

They didn't get the close up: Marnus Labuschagne

The Australian batter then added how the third umpire did not check properly. He wanted the third umpire to focus more on the point of impact.

Labuschagne said, "Because they just checked the spike from the front on. They didn't get the close up, zoom in of the side, that we had and that just looked like there was clear daylight between the two gloves and handle. But once again I have been in the third umpire's room and the screen is big, much clear than me watching from the middle in the pixelated screen.”

Featured ODI World Cup 2023 Marnus Labuschagne