James Neesham Trolled Third Umpire After Ben Stokes’ No-Ball Controversy: England’s star all-rounder, Ben Stokes was indulged in a controversy on Day 2 of the ongoing first Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Gabba on Thursday. Stokes was denied a crucial wicket of David Warner, who was batting on 17 at that time as it was a no-ball.
It soon transpired that Stokes had overstepped each of the previous three deliveries as well, but none of them were called out. Things got even worse when Australia’s Channel 7 highlighted that Stokes had bowled a total of 14 no-balls in the opening session of the game, out of which only 2 were called out by the umpires.
Stokes’ mistake turned out to be a loss for the side as Warner went on to smash 94 runs helping his team reach 343/7, gaining a strong 196-run lead at the end of Day 2.
Meanwhile, several former and current cricketers came out and criticized the umpires. Among many, New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham, who is known for his witty Tweets and outspoken nature, also took to his Twitter and has reacted to the controversy.
Quoting a compilation video of Ben Stokes’ 14 no-balls, Jimmy Neesham took a hilarious dig at the third umpire. He wrote:
“When the only explanation is “uhhhh I forgot that was my job lol””
Here, check out the Tweet:
When the only explanation is “uhhhh I forgot that was my job lol” https://t.co/LquKC1uJyz
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) December 9, 2021
It was later revealed by Cricket Australia that the incident took place due to a technological fault as the third-umpire, Paul Wilson, couldn’t review ball-by-ball TV replays to check if bowlers were over-stepping the crease, leaving it to the on-field umpires to make the calls.
Also Read: Ricky Ponting Slammed Third Umpire For Ignoring No-Balls Bowled By Ben Stokes