During the fourth day, Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc warned South Africa batter Theunis de Bruyn, after the batter tried to move out of his crease before Starc could finish his bowling stride. The incident happened in South Africa’s second innings when Starc, who was bowling with a finger injury, stopped right before releasing the red cherry after spotting De Bruyn moving out of the crease. Starc could be heard on the stump mic, warning the batter not to do it again and telling him that it is not difficult to stay inside the crease till the bowler complete his run-up.
Notably, it wasn’t the first time Starc warned a batter. During the home series against England ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, Starc had warned England captain Jos Buttler informing him that he might not run him out, but that does not give Buttler the right to take undue advantage.
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During the drinks break, Starc said that he reminded De Bruyn of what he was doing and suggested the batter to stay inside his crease. In a conversation with Fox Cricket, Starc said: “He’s halfway down Punt Rd, wasn’t he? It’s bad enough in white-ball cricket, I don’t know what the need is in red-ball cricket. I was just letting him know that if I have to keep my foot behind the line, he can at least keep the bat behind the line.”
After the match, Starc also indicated that he would take the bails off if a batter kept repeating the same mistake.
“That’s not just taking off before a bowl, that’s a metre down the wicket. I gave him a couple of warnings, but if he wants to keep doing it, I’ll take them. I had a word with him last night, actually, because he was doing it yesterday. I keep saying I’m not going to take the stumps, but you at least keep your bat behind the line,” said Starc.
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