Difference of opinion between Steven Smith and Brendon McCullum over Marsh's "mob rule" dismissal
Australian skipper Steven Smith remained riled over Mitchell Marsh’s controversial dismissal in the final ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton which the Australian media dubbed as a “mob rule” dismissal. Smith however assured that this fallout would not spill over to the upcoming Test series against the same opposition.
There were some heated exchanges on the field between the Aussie and the Kiwi players after Marsh’s strange dismissal. The ball ricocheted from Marsh’s bat to his shoe then back to the waiting hands of the bowler Matt Henry.
When Henry caught the ball he made a half-hearted appeal before walking back to his delivery stride. The umpires weren’t initially interested, till the crowd roared vociferously after the reply was showed on the gig screen.
When reviewing the match the Australian captain said, "My thoughts are still the same as last night, the whole process of it needs to improve. I don't think there should be a replay on the screen before the next ball's bowled. I don't think that's how a decision should be made."
New Zealand did appeal for Marsh’s wicket: McCullum
While there some clear hard feelings on the field at the time of the incident, Smith said this would not affect the Test series starting in Wellington on Friday.
He said, "We both play a good, hard, aggressive brand of cricket. It's going to be another tough series,”
He added, "I think we are all happy with the way the game is being played. It's been played hard and fair throughout this series, like it always is with Australia and New Zealand and I'm sure it's going to continue to be the same in the Test series."
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who played his final ODI on Monday after an eminent career was clearly happy to end his limited-overs career on a positive note. He said, the umpires’ concern was whether the Blackcaps had actually appealed for Marsh’s dismissal.
He said, "They came over and said I didn't think you guys appealed but we did, and that's when they then discussed it. The only thing I said was, 'Surely the right decision has to be made' and in the end it was."
McCullum was disappointed that the Marsh controversy had detracted from New Zealand’s Chappell-Hadlee Trophy win.
He added: "To walk away beating the world champions in the Chappell-Hadlee series which means so much to us is a fitting way to step away from the game."