Ben Stokes has called for the 'soft signal' rule to be abolished following England 's 58-run defeat to South Africa in the second T20I in Cardiff. Rilee Rossouw powered the Proteas to victory with an excellent 96 off just 55 balls, but England captain Jos Buttler was adamant he should have been given out when he was on 37.
After gloving a delivery from Chris Jordan down the leg side, wicketkeeper Buttler dived across and felt he had taken a clean catch. However, the umpire gave Rossouw not out, prompting Buttler to call for a review.
In real time, it looked as though he had taken a clean catch, although when the replay was slowed down the ball appeared to bounce right as Buttler was gathering it. As a result, the third umpire also gave Rossouw not out, with the 32-year-old going on to play a match winning innings.
Reacting to the moment on Twitter, Stokes did not give his opinion on whether he felt Rossouw was out, instead drawing attention to the fact the third umpire made his decision without being swayed by a 'soft signal' from the on-field umpires. Stokes wrote: "Ohh 3rd umpire makes a decision with out a soft signal..so can we get rid of he soft signal now….PLEASE!"
Typically, catches like the one Buttler took are reviewed by the umpires, who give a 'soft signal' to indicate to the third umpire whether they felt the ball bounced or not. The third umpire then has to find conclusive evidence to overturn the 'soft signal', which is usually difficult because television replays provide a 2D image.
They foreshorten the image and flatten it, meaning catches taken close to the ground often look as though the ball has been grounded first. However, in this case there was no 'soft signal' as Buttler reviewed it, presumably thinking the umpire did not believe Rossouw had hit the ball.
And while the decision did not go England's way, Stokes would like to see similar decisions decided solely by the third umpire with no influence from a 'soft signal'. Buttler, meanwhile, was adamant after the game that it was a clean catch.
"I thought I had it," he said. "But the people who matter disagreed. It's frustrating to have lost and we are trying and working hard to be more consistent, but we've not managed to string our best games together.
"Sunday is a pressure game and will be a good test for where we are as a team. We haven’t won a series yet this summer which we are not accustomed to."
