"Now that I have retired, I can say it should be scrapped" - Aaron Finch backs England skipper Ben Stokes' argument to scrap umpire's call
England captain Ben Stokes recently claimed that the umpire's call rule in LBW decisions should be done away with, and the opinion has sparked a massive debate. Stokes was blunt in his take after opener Zak Crawley was adjudged LBW by the on-field umpire in the Rajkot Test and replays showed that it would have just clipped the stumps.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch accepted that during his playing days, he was lucky with some umpire's call decisions. However, he agreed with Stokes and believes the technology should be made even more accurate to eradicate the umpire's call.
Here's what Aaron Finch had to say to ESPN (24:20):
"I think it should be scrapped. You need to have technology that's either good enough or don't use it at all. Having two decisions that can be out or not out and both are right is just ridiculous. I have been a beneficiary of a few umpire's calls. Now that I have retired, I can say it should be scrapped (laughs)."
Former cricketer Callum Ferguson was also present on the panel and had a different opinion to that of Finch. He opined (24:12):
"Nah I don't think it should be scrapped (umpires call). They're just being bitter about it because one decision didn't go their way."
Former England captain Nasser Hussain and former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop have also been pretty vocal about why the umpire's call should stay. They believe it adds the human element to decisions as technology may not always be completely accurate.
Michael Clarke on England opener Ben Duckett's statement
Another statement from the England camp that raised a few eyebrows was Ben Duckett saying that the visitors deserved credit for indirectly influencing Yashasvi Jaiswal to play an aggressive brand of cricket.
Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke had a go at Duckett, reminding him of some of the great Australian batters of the past who played an aggressive brand of cricket. He stated (15:10):
"He (Duckett) must have missed Australia for 20 years. Has he heard of Matthew Hayden, Michael Slater, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist? Mate, these guys used to smack them as good as anyone. So because you're playing a switch-hit, a reverse sweep or a ramp shot, that doesn't mean you're batting aggressively either. You need to be a bit more realistic."
Clarke clarified that he loved the Bazball style of batting by England, but didn't agree that they were the ones influencing others to play positively. England and India will lock horns in the fourth Test at Ranchi beginning on Friday, February 23.