Overview
- During the fifth Test in Sydney, Rob Hatch declared Ben Stokes run out while reacting to a replay of Jamie Smith’s earlier dismissal by Marnus Labuschagne.
- Alastair Cook immediately corrected the call on air, noting England were six down and that Stokes was still at the crease.
- Stokes was genuinely dismissed minutes later, caught by Steve Smith, with England 267 for seven late on day four.
- Viewers mocked the mistake on social media, dubbing it a “ghost” run-out and describing the coverage as “very amateur.”
- The Times reported Hatch, a cycling commentator working from the SCG for this Test, was described by a TNT insider as mortified as criticism of the broadcaster’s London-based model intensified.