Watch: Australia legends fume over umpire's controversial not-out ruling on Mitchell Starc's sliding catch on Day 4 of 2nd Ashes

Mitchell Starc. (Source: Twitter)

The final moments of Day 4 of the second Ashes Test at Lord's witnessed a controversial incident when Mitchell Starc's incredible catch was overturned by the third umpire. Starc made a brilliant effort to take a catch off England opener Ben Duckett, but Marais Erasmus felt the Australian pacer didn't have control over the catch as the ball hit the ground while his hand came down.

A wicket of Duckett would have been like adding fuel to the fire for Australia as England were struggling to rebuild the innings. Chasing 371, the hosts were in trouble before the incident as they lost their first four wickets for just 45 runs. However, Duckett and captain Ben Stokes held their nerve to ensure that no more wickets were lost before the stumps.

At the moment, the game is evenly matched, with Australia requiring six wickets to win and England needing 257 runs on the last day. Australia would have had a little advantage if they had caught Duckett just two overs before the end of the day. The left-handed batter found a thick edge that went left of the fine leg region, and Starc took a sliding catch. The Australians started to celebrate and Duckett started to leave the field, but in the end, Erasmus ruled in England's favour.

Watch the video below: 

Well then...

What do we think of this one? 👀

Cleary grounded 😉 #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/bPHQbw81dl

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 1, 2023

Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting were not pleased with umpire's call 

Legendary Australian bowler Glenn McGrath, who was on air during the incident, was enraged by the umpire's decision. "That is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever seen. He has got it under control. I've seen everything this game has to offer, if that is not out, then every other catch that has been taken should be not out. That is a disgrace,” McGrath said.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting also expressed his displeasure with Erasmus's ruling. He pointed out that Starc had more control than Steve Smith who took the catch of Joe Root. "Mitchell Starc had much better control of that ball and for longer than when Steve Smith did when he caught Joe Root," Ponting said on Sky Sports.