Allrounder controversially becomes first Englishman in ODIs to be given out by rare mode of dismissal
Stokes given out obstructing the field
England allrounder Ben Stokes has become just the seventh batsman in the history of international cricket to be out obstructing the field during the second one-day international at Lord’s.
England captain Eoin Morgan says he would have withdrawn the appeal for obstructing the field #ENGvAUS
— Samuel Ferris (@samuelfez) September 5, 2015
The incident happened in the 26th over of England’s run chase when Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc fielded a defensive shot from Stokes off his own bowling and threw the ball back towards the striker’s stumps.
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England captain Eoin Morgan protests // Getty Images
Out of his crease, Stokes swivelled around to make his ground while raising his left hand to block the shy at the stumps.
Australia appealed Stokes’ actions and after a quick conference, the on-field umpires sent the decision upstairs to the third umpire where Joel Wilson decided Stokes had indeed obstructed the field.
The more you look at the Stokes dismissal, the more out it looks. No way of knowing intent, you have to judge the action, the movement.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 5, 2015
"Wadey (wicketkeeper Matthew Wade) had a good view of it behind the stumps," Australia captain Steve Smith said.
"He said straight away that he thought the ball was missing Stokesy and it was going to hit the stumps.
"So he appealed and we went upstairs and the umpire gave it out.
"The way I saw it was he was out of his ground and he wilfully put his hand out which is the rule I’ve been told and he got given out by the umpire."
Watch: Full highlights of Australia's 64-run win at Lord's
According to Law 37 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, a batsman is out obstructing the field if he "wilfully obstructs the opposition by word or action", a line upon which the debate immediately raged.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said on Twitter he thought Stokes was defending himself, while ex-skipper Alec Stewart said Smith should have recalled Stokes.
Common sense would tell you @benstokes38 was taking evasive action & was not obstructing the field. Smith should have withdrawn the appeal
— Alec Stewart (@StewieCricket) September 5, 2015
The decision was not a popular one at the home of cricket, with the packed crowd booing the call and carrying on with their vocals throughout the remainder of Starc’s over.
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The England dressing room reacts // Nine Network
Between overs captains Smith and Eoin Morgan were seen in heated discussion as the boos continued whenever Starc was involved in the play.
"My interpretation of it was that his reaction wasn’t deliberate," Morgan said.
"I feel that the ball was thrown so fast that you can only react in a way that defends yourself and he put his hand up to protect himself and followed the ball.
"How you can interpret is open but certainly I didn’t think it was deliberate."
It’s the sixth time in ODI cricket a batsman has been out obstructing the field, with the last time coming in 2013 when Pakistan’s Anwar Ali was out for seven against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
Stokes is the first Englishman to be given out in ODIs via the rare mode of dismissal, though Sir Leonard Hutton fell the same way in a Test against South Africa at The Oval in 1951.
Instances of obstructing the field in international cricket
Leonard Hutton (Eng) 27 v South Africa, The Oval, 16 Aug 1951
Rameez Raja (Pak) 99 v England, Karachi, 20 Nov 1987
Mohinder Amarnath (Ind) 28 v Sri Lanka, Ahmedabad, 22 Oct 1989
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 16 v India, Peshawar, 6 Feb 2006
Mohammad Hafeez (Pak) 0 v South Africa, Durban, 21 Mar 2013
Anwar Ali (Pak) 7 v South Africa, Port Elizabeth, 27 Nov 2013
BA Stokes (Eng) 10 v Australia, Lord's, 5 Sep 2015
*Hutton’s dismissal was in a Test match, while the other six were in ODIs