England lost Sydney Test in Ashes 2025 by five wickets.
England Test captain Ben Stokes expressed his frustration with the UltraEdge DRS system following a controversial not-out decision from the third umpire involving Australian opener Jake Weatherald during the fifth Ashes 205 Test in Sydney.
Ben Stokes voiced his frustration over inconsistency in DRS-review decisions after Australia secured a five-wicket victory, chasing 160 runs and winning the series 4-1. He particularly mentioned an incident in the seventh over of Australia’s second innings where the umpires judged the batter not out on a caught behind call against Weatherald, even though there appeared to be a clear sound when the ball passed the bat.
“This one here, I just thought was out,” Stokes told reporters in the post-match press conference. “There was a noise, a frame after the ball obviously passed the bat … so it should have been given out.”
Pacer Brydon Carse was visibly upset by umpire Ahsan Raza’s decision and exchanged words with Weatherald, prompting Stokes to step in. Weatherald went on to score 34 runs off 40 balls before being dismissed by Josh Tongue’s bouncer before lunch.
Weatherald’s debut series saw him score 201 runs in 10 innings, including one half-century. His innings in Sydney was important, but another low score might prompt Australian selectors to seek options for upcoming tours.
Ben Stokes also drew a comparison to a dismissal involving Alex Carey in Adelaide, which helped clarify his thinking before he made a critical comment about Weatherhead’s DRS decision.
“The rule is, there was a noise, murmur, even a frame after the bat, then, there’s ruling on how umpires, particularly the third umpire, on review, must decide, especially after Adelaide, where we chatted with Jeff Crowe. I thought that decision was correct as per umpire guidelines, as the murmur wasn’t near overturning standards, even though we knew it was wrong, but the umpire couldn’t give Alex Carey out due to the process. But this one, there was a noise frame after the ball passed the bat… so it should have been given out.”
In the Adelaide Test, Carey survived an appeal for caught behind on a nearly similar shot. The Snicko technology displayed a slight spike well after the ball passed the bat. However, there was a clear deflection after the ball crossed the bat. This was judged not enough to overturn the original decision, following ICC rules. Later, the Snicko owner had publicly stated it was an operator error that caused the sound to be misaligned.
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While Ben Stokes admitted the poor performance of his team cost them the series, he spoke out for consistency in decision-making and the use of technology.
“Why do we not use the same technology all around the world? He believes that bilateral series should use the same technology as ICC events.”
Jake Bethell’s score of 154 was a highlight for England in the fifth and final Ashes 2025 Test, but Australia’s 567 in their first innings and the unbeaten partnership between Alex Carey and Cameron Green in the second innings ultimately secured their victory.
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