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England’s batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, described the use of the decision review system in the third Ashes Test as “not ideal”, at the end of another day of questionable spikes, dubious frame-alignment and a dismissal of Jamie Smith that echoed the confusion of the opening day.
The DRS technology in use in Australia was widely criticised on day one after Alex Carey had been wrongly reprieved by the third umpire after feathering a catch to Jamie Smith on 72. The culprit in that case appears to have been operator error involving a mismatch of sound-wave and picture frame selection.
On Thursday Smith himself was also given not out in mid-afternoon despite Australia being convinced he had gloved a bouncer from Pat Cummins. Mitchell Starc could be heard through the stump mic calling for Snicko to be “sacked”, while Marnus Labuschagne scoffed at the idea Smith needed a concussion check, doubting he had been struck on the helmet at all.
Shortly afterwards Smith was given out on review after toe-ending another Cummins short ball, despite another audio spike that may or may not have matched up with the pictures.
“It’s not an ideal scenario,” Trescothick said at close of play. “Of course, we’ve been on the back end of some poor ones yesterday, and a few ones that you sort of question over the course of today. So it’s up for the powers that be behind the scenes to try and work that out, but as players, we’ve just got to trust in the process of what the ICC [International Cricket Council], the match referees, the umpires and everybody officiating on this game.”
Trescothick was equally nonplussed over Smith’s dismissal, maintaining that he hadn’t asked England’s wicketkeeper if he had actually nicked the ball. “There was some debate about the timing of Snicko, but I think there was enough chat out on the field [about that].”
Either side it was a day of toil for England’s batters as they moved to 213 for eight in pursuit of Australia’s 371, with the prospect of a series-saving victory increasingly distant. “I think we’re still fighting, we’re still scrapping away in terms of what we’re trying to do. Australia bowled well, and didn’t make it easy for us. and credit to them for that, but you’ve just got to keep digging in.”
Trescothick revealed Stokes had been suffering from cramp throughout the afternoon as he batted out the day in 37C heat. “He found it hard getting the volume of sort of carbohydrate drink into him, I think more than anything else because he was sweating so quickly. He couldn’t drink as much as he wanted so he’s feeling a bit ill. He was cramping for probably most of that last session. But it’s kind of what he does, and it almost sort of focuses him at his best.”
England’s batting coach denied the top order had let their captain down by failing to replicate his doggedness at the crease. “I think everybody’s trying 100% and working as hard as they can do and doing everything you need to be working. Success comes and goes. It’s not a given that you’re going to succeed in every series. It’s just maybe we haven’t had the success that they wanted to have at this stage.
“Everybody has the opportunity when they go out there to read the situation and judge what they’re going to try and do. Ben has chosen to play in that fashion today and he’s gone about it in a way that he thought was right. I thought Australia made it tricky for the guys to get in and dominate or control the situation just when we were trying to get going.”
